Mercedes Approved Tires
 

The Sticky note at the top suggest that MB has a list of "approved" tires for their cars.

Does anyone know where this list can be found?

I dunno, but you probably have to import special Mercedes Benz air to fill them with. ;-)

It is late Sunday, too late to be watching message lists, but couldn't help it

I never heard of such a thing as "approved" tires.

Good luck,

I think if you call 1-800-FOR-MERC they may be able to give you such a list of specifically approved & specifically not approved tires.

Regards,

I've got this label on the b-pillar. The summer tire is supposed to be a Continental or Dunlop.

I now think that it is time to go see in which tire companies MB owns stock.

Have a great day,

there is not an official "tire approval" list ... but, there are tires which are frowned upon

I inquired about installing Michelin's Hydroedge on my Mercedes E300DT at Eurotire in NJ, and they refused to do it because it is T-rated and they said they would only install H or V rated. Is that a legitimate legal reason to refuse installation? Do you have any thoughts about the Hydroedge on the MB?
Thank you...
rsl

your car requires a minimum of a"H" rated tire .... lower rated tires will have issues with wear and heat created by tire flex

I called MB and they told me the list of approved tires for my car. However, I am not sure when it was last updated. It had Michelin MXV4 but not MXV4 plus.
Anyway, I did not buy tires from the list.

Not always.

The speed rating denotes the speed at which a tire is designed to be driven for extended periods of time. An "H" means you can drive 130 mph for at least 30 minutes. A "T" rating is good for 118 mph for the same time period.

The tire rating required by the manufacturer is suited to the car's maximum performance which few of us can actually use.

As long as the other aspects of the tire are correct like max load allowed, you will be okay.

I'd find another place to buy tires.

I've never bought this argument either. I think it's perfectly legitimate to buy tires based on your driving habits and needs. Early 124s were V rated, later ones H rated. The cars didn't change - Mercedes changed their mind on what was the right tire for the car in this market. And yet some tire shops will not put H rated tires on early V-rated 124s but will on later 124s - very silly stuff. The simple reality is that higher speed rated tires cost more and wear out sooner - both of which are good for people selling tires. Everyone wants you to move to higher speed ratings / lower profiles, etc. - but they have a vested interest in so advising. I think do what's best for you - not them.

Except for my Corvette on which I keep Z rated tires, my other cars never see much more than 100MPH and that is a rare, quick burst.

I use tires that match my needs. Just because I drive a car that is supposed to have a top end of 144MPH doesn't mean that I will ever drive it that fast.

A tire store that tells me melarky like that will NEVER get my business.

My $0.02,

higher speed rated tires will flex less and have less of a problem with the heat created by that flexing. Heat can destroy a tire in very few miles .... it's a safety factor ... remember all of the Ford Explorers flipping over a few years ago .... the tires were overloaded almost all of the time since Ford recomended 26psi in the tire to avoid flipping over when corner hard. The tire flexed so much that they overheated and had blowouts ..... just because you don't drive 130 mph doesn't mean that your car shouldn't have "H" rated tires ... there are more factors to speed ratings than "how fast can I go"

Low tire pressure, improper response to a blow out, and rumored sabotage at the factories is a dangerous combination for any tire and driver to overcome.

Here is how necessary it is to follow the manufacturer’s required rating. Bentley had to have a special tire designed for the Continental GT. They wanted a tire to last a full tank of gas at maximum speed. That would be 20+ gallons and getting around 5 mpg at 200+ mph. You can do the math but this tire would just have to last a little over 30 minutes.