Tires for '83 300D
 

I searched and found a thread with some discussion on sizes, but not a lot on brands and models. My 83 300D is getting ready for some new tires, and I would like to keep the stock 195/70-14 size. I have Bridgestone Potenzas on the car now, and they have excellent performance, but Bridgestone doesn't make them in that size anymore. In fact, selection in that size is pretty limited.

I'm looking for something with good wet and dry performance, not too much noise, decent ride, and decent tread life. I'd also like to keep the purchase price under $100 a tire.

I went to Tire Rack and used their tire selector. Based on what I found there, I'm strongly considering the Sumitomo HTR 200, but I wanted some outside opinions first.

For the last 4 yrs we have been running Big O tires. have had good results with them. we up graded to the 205 70 14. car handles much better than the 195 70 14.
Just purchased two replacemants same tire. $194.36.
these are the Legacy Tour Plus. this is a discontinued tire, but still available. next month I will get 2 more.
the ones we replaced had a little over 71000 miles. never had a problem with them wet or dry or coming over 80 to Reno, Carson city on hwy 50. even in the snow a few times.
the reason I stayed with the Legacy and not what ever their newer tire is, the price was less.

Charlie

I have tried others but always come back to michelin. They cost a bit more but never hum and last a long time.

Tom W

I went ahead and got the Sumitomos. I have about three miles on them so far, so it's a little early to tell if I'm going to like them. I picked them up in person at Tirerack's "Reno" warehouse (actually about ten miles east of Sparks) for $205 and had them mounted at a local shop for $64.

I didn't go with Michelins because family members have had them in the past and I wasn't impressed with the value, and because they only offer two tires in my size, neither of which was what I was looking for. I will say that I have lots of experience with Michelin's heavy truck tires and have found them quite satisfactory.