Tires secrete their own type of lubricant when they are for lack of a better word, squished. Basically, when you drive, you are moisturizing your rubber. If you would take it around the block once a month, or at least a couple times a year, your tires will last forever. (Not forever, but a really long time.)

I have yet to install my new tires as I am knee deep in control arm replacement. I will report back when I finally get them mounted

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

That's it. Jim seems to think that exposure to the sun is the only thing that ages tires, hence parking the car in the garage.

The tires have their own built in emollients which are only secreted when the tires are rolling as intended. Cars that sit for long periods, like RVs dry rot their tires. Even if they were stored away from the sun.

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

I have Primacy HP tires on the '95 E300 (I changed to 16 inch W210 wheels) and Primacy MXV-4's on the '96. The HP's are summer-only tires (they are NOT "M+S" rated) and have a very soft tread compound. Handling is great wet or dry, the HP's are smooth and quiet but wear is not as good as the MXV-4's. I have about 20,000 miles on the HP's and the remaining tread is 5/32". Unfortunately I failed to measure tread depth when the tires were new so I'm not sure how many more miles I'll get out of them. I haven't decided whether to get another set of HP's or switch to MXV-4's.

For the occasional winter trip to snow country I have a set of Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires on a spare set of rims; these fit either car depending on which one we decide to drive. They were great last winter in Salt Lake City. I haven't tried Michelin snows but they are said to be excellent.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

check TireRack for your tire model and size, they have new tire tread depths listed

Thanks for the suggestion. Tread depth is 10/32 new so I've gone through half the tread.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Incorrect.

The tires are legally bald at 2/32s so you've used 62% of the tire and have 38% left.
Usable tread is from 10/32 to 2/32= 8/32. You've used 5/32 of that. You have 3/32s remaining before you get to 2/32s which is the point your tires should be replaced.

__________________
'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

I totally agreed to this...This is true...

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hot slowpitch softball bats

Many folks believe the limit is 2/32, and, legally, they are correct.

But, take a look at the wet performance of tires that drop below 4/32. You'll be astounded at how little traction they have in the wet. After reading up on it, I don't believe anybody will drive them past 4/32. You're asking for a death wish if you ever seriously need them in the rain.

Once you get to 5/32, you have used 83% of the tread life. It's already time to be thinking of replacements.

Funny this thread pops up as I was going to post an update.

After running about 2 thousand miles on my primacy's, my opinion is that they are not worth the added expense. My first set (7 years ago) where the conti tech (the 85$ ones) and they handled really well. They still had decent tread left when I replaced them. I believe i put about 60k miles on them give or take.

The primacy tires are a little bit squishy, and I feel sometimes when I corner hard that the tires seems to "roll" slightly. In a straight line they ride very well.

All in all, the michelins are slightly better, but not so good to justify an extra $40 per tire. I will surely buy the conti tires on my next set and will recommend them to all Mercedes owners.

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

Consider Yokos in lieu of the Contis

I'm quite pleased with them on the BMW..........so far.

I found two good used ones (8/32) on e-bay for $120 shipped. They're going on the front of the 300SE. Hopefully get rid of the tire problem (out of round on LF).

I should have drove the SE back to the tire shop right away. That thing shook ever since I had those tires installed. Thats what happens when you ask for the "cheapest" available. Lesson learned.

I have an excellent set of sumitomo tires on my 540. My only complaints are the expense( $$$$) and the fact they are only good for about 10k miles. I can quite literally dump the clutch in first gear with the traction control off and barely leave a patch before it grips and launches me forward.


Im sure there are plenty of other good options. For me, I am a bit neurotic about having 4 matching tires. For about $500, I can get 5 brand new conti tires mounted and balanced, and forget about them for 7 years or 75k miles.

The michelins where almost $750 for 5 tires- installed. They simply are not 50% better.


The way everyone was talking about these primacy tires, I thought this was going to be a life changing experience..... Thats what I get for believing what I read on the internet...

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

Yep, they are cheap!

But, I did take some runout measurements on all four and found the LF to be, by far, the worst at .050". The two on the right side are less than .020" and I'm going to put them on the rear and see how she runs with the Yokos on the front.

I might be pleasantly surprised if they will run smooth and I can get 40K more out of them. They're still at about 8/32 on the tread. I'll leave them on the rears permanently and see if the Yokos wear about the same on the front.

The Primacy MXV4 is a luxury touring tire; it is meant to be a quiet smooth ride, not a sports car ride. They have a curved shoulder area which prevents "sudden breakaway" when turning aggressively. In other words, they start to slip before they lose traction. This signals to the driver that the tires are at the edge of their traction. Tires that are more sporty in nature tend to have a squarer shoulder which can breakaway with no warning. For a sportier tire you should have been looking at the Primacy MXM or even a Pilot MXM.

But, in the arena encompassing performance tires there is a lot more competition from lower priced tires and even from generic name brands (Titan etc) At that point you have to make your own cost benefit analysis.

When it comes to simple all season long lasting quiet comfortable tires, it is very very hard to beat the Michelin Primacy MXV4.

Some Tire Rack tests.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

It appears what you want is something a little more sporty.

However, I encourage you to keep updating us about the status, condition and performance of your tires. Weighed against your expectations of course.
Too many of these tire threads end when the tires are purchased and then nobody knows anything about how well the tires performed.

__________________
'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

I agree.

The price of Michelin has become almost ridiculous and it's time to find some alternatives.

The BMW has the Yokohamas on it and, so far, they're doing very well. I found another set of two Yokohamas on e-bay for $120. shipped...........they have about 8/32 of tread remaining. They're going on the front of the SE and we'll see how they do.

@neanderthal : maybe I was expecting a bit of a sportier ride. Compared to the conti's, (same class) they feel a bit squishy in the corners. Keep in mind that I don't drive this car aggressively because it is always fully loaded with appliance parts (heavy!), plus, I have a pretty fast sports car if I ever fancy a speeding ticket.

I will admit that the ride comfort is better, but looking at the tire rack data, only marginally better.

I think in the real world, the conti and the mxv4 are nearly identical. I just can't see how anyone can justify a 10% better tire at a 50% higher price.

__________________
Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2