Tire Recommendations for new w123 300TD owner

Tire recommendations for my 1981 300TD? I just drove home from KC- there are Michelins on there now but they won't last through the summer, I'm sure. I plan on putting snows on this winter so I'm looking for a good overall tire with the best combination of ride, quiet, maybe a stiffer sidewall for some stability at highway speed, right?
I'm on a little bit of a budget and don't think I want to spring for Michelins again, even though I know they're supposedly a great tire.
My manual recommends 195/70/14's...can I move to a 60 series and if so, what size?
thanks much for your advice!
-shawn

Between my wife, kids and myself, we've probably logged around 750,000 miles or so in 123 cars. Through those miles I've tried several different sizes, brands and types of tires.

My experience has been that the best compromise is a Michelin high mileage passenger car tire in size 195/75R/14. I have had great service from the 80,000 mile XH. One very important thing is that these tires be DYNAMICALLY BALANCED! This means that the weights be applied to the inside AND the outside of the wheel with the balancer set for a dynamic balance. It is most common for the tire stores to give you the line that they don't want to put weights on the outside because they will scratch the wheel. The devil with that. See that the wheel is dynamically balanced, this means weights on the outside of the wheel. If you do, the car will be silk smooth at any speed the car is capable of achieving. Additionally, shocks, front end parts and everything will last much longer.

What makes the Michelin tires different is the mold arrangement. If you will notice, a Michelin has mold marks radially on the sidewalls. This mold type allows more uniform placement of the belts during the molding process. The only other tire I've seen with these mold marks have been Continentals. I would be interested in knowing of any other brands that have radial mold marks. All other tires I've seen have the mold marks around the center of the outside tread, not conducive to uniform belt placement.

I fully expect a zillion replies to this thread saying that this tire or that tire will make the car handle better or what not. Possibly, albeit marginally so, but can you really consider a 123 Mercedes to be a performance machine. For my money the 123 car may be the greatest car ever built for its time. But it is NOT a performance car. The passenger car radials are totally adequate for achieving the limited cornering abiliity of these cars.

Well, that's what my experience has to offer. The 75 series passenger car Michelins are not ridiculously expensive, and, if balanced properly, they will far outlast any other rubber you can put on it. Period!

Best of luck,

I'm running Michelin Pilot H-series 225/60 X 14 at equal pressures (34) front and rear, and the car does handle worthy of such -- much more like my son's BMW than it did with the Bridgestone 195/70 that the previous owner had put on. If your TD is an early one which does not have at least 6" ET30 rims, though, the 225/60 are too wide for anything narrower than 6", and they barely clear on the steering arm on the ET30 offset -- You might then have to go with a 205/70. Leave 195/75 for old Datsun Pickups (like mine).

To me, the handling of the 300TD reminds me of my old '66 Maserati Quattroporte, which felt quite dull when just cruising, but when you challenged it to make time on a winding road, it rose to the occasion beautifully! The harder I drove either one, the sportier it felt -- quite the opposite of most other cars I have owned.

[Palangi]

As you mentioned, sidewall strength is important. These cars are heavy, and do not tolerate cheap tires very well. My 84 is doing well on Bridgestones, but did very poorly on Goodyears. On my 75, we put some cheap Wally-World Uniroyals on it to bring it home from California. The car has a "fishtailing" feel with these tires, sort of like sitting in the last row of an old DC-9. If I rock the car side to side, I can see the car wobble back and forth on the tires about an inch. If I do that on the car with the Bridgestones, it doesn't do that. I think it is money well spent to put a premium brand of tire like Michelin or Bridgestone on a 123. I think you will be disappointed with most any domestic tires.

As I predicted, there are many who feel they can make a Ferrari out of a 123 Mercedes. The handling can be improved with tires as with ANY car. Tires are probably the most important single link in handling. But, remember, these cars are heavy, and any marginal performance gain that you might experience will be at double or triple the cost per mile.

My $0.02,