My car eats tires....

Hey i have a 1987 300E and this car eats through tires very fast, the ones i have on there right now are slicks in the back due to fast acceleration and fast turning (which i just can't give up) so i need a good lowprofile tire thats long lasting and wont cost too much more/less than $550 for 4.

Please tell me someone does the same thing and found a good tire

Thank You everyone

[JCE]

Chris17H

I have been known to drive a tad fast on twisty back roads. Most of the high performance tires give up tread life for handling. That is one of the reasons I have been using Michelin Pilot XGT V4s and Yokohama AVS dBs on my cars. They handle pretty well, but are formulated as all season and tend to last longer. If top handling for fast driving is your need, I would check the Tirerack test and customer comment sections on high/ultra high performance tires, choose what looks like the best trade off on lifespan (high UTOG rating) vs handling, and live with the choice. Otherwise slowing it down is the only other answer that comes to mind.

My daughter thinks she drives an F1 car. She says she doesn't speed or corner fast, but she might as well be using cheerios for tires, they burn so fast. My friend at the tire store says that tires tell how they have been driven, and hers are used HARD!

[James L]

Chris, I agree with JCE. Go to Tire Rack do your homework on the reviews/test/comparisions/feedback. I did just that and a search on this wonderful forum about various tire brands for my 1983 300SD (see Yokohama vs Michelin Post in wheels and tires). What I surmized after all this for good tries was:

Michelin Energy MXV4 Plus
Michelin Pilot XGT V (or H rated)
Yokohama AVS db
Dunlop SP 5000
Bridgestone Potenza PE950

Check em out and compare at www.tirerack.com or your favorite tire dealer.

I am probably going to order the Yokohama AVS dBs for my 300SD based on the ride/noise/wear/value reviews. I want the Michelin MXV4 Energys but they are almost double the price. For performance you may want to compare the Michelin Piots vs the Dunlop SP5000.

[ymsin]

You can't have the best of both worlds. Performance tyres won't last as long as you would touring ones - unless you decide to use the car once a blue moon.

You might want to go for compromise and hope that the life-span would be a little longer than you expect on the full-fledge performance tyres. That is, if you're on a budget.

If there i no budget - just race to the end of the world with luxury performance low-profile tyres that could just eat the road's heart out.

[Lee Scheeler]

One very important thing to consider is having the right tire setup for the job. You can kill a set of "long life" touring tires (shoulder is gone to the belt) in an afternoon of auto-x.... Having the highest UTQG rated tire is not always the best option.

Given my "life is an auto-x" driving style at times I've adopted this philosophy for tire selection. If you drive in a manner that kills tires and have a tight budget, go best "bang for the buck" tire. Don't go cheapest, don't go top gun tires...find what is the best bang for the buck tire. Second, get something that can be rotated as many ways as possible. This means that asymetrical treads and directional treads can work against you. The michelin Pilot XGT V4 (NOT the H4) is a top notch tire that can be rotated as many ways as possible yet is still a respectable performer even against some rather handling biased tires. Third, play with inflation pressures... If you are killing the outer shoulder of the fronts increase the pressure some. If you are killing the center of the rears drop rear pressure a bit. I would say use min specs as those listed on your gas cap door and max specs as those listed as max cold psi as listed on the tire sidewall. Of course, make sure the alignment and suspension check out before ANY of this applies.

Do your research on tires, sizes that are compadible with your vehicle setup, etc before you talk to Luke/Tirerack. Then when you are ready call him and discuss your thoughts, budget, and position with him. That's should put you in the best position possible....

As far as my tire picks (in order): Michelin Pilot XGT V4 (skip the H4, it sucks in comparison), RE 950, AVS DB....but again, do your own research and talk to Luke

Hope this helps,
Lee

PS next time your car is being aligned, ask the tech if he can take it towards (or fully to) factory "sportline" specs. This should help some of the aggressive treadwear issues.