When I took my car in for service, the tech at MB dealer told me the tires on my car are not the right type. He said I have snow tires on my vehicle. I bought the car from them in August, and I have noticed the car always pull to the right plus vibration over 60 mph. This is the second time I told them to check alignment and wheel balance. Currently the tires are Toyo Observe G-03 225/55R16 94 T M+S steel belted radial. Can someone tell me if this is the right kind of tires to use year round. I think they are cheap tires, but I have very little knowledge on tires. I live in Maryland, and my car is a 95 SL320 with 61K on the engine.

Those tires aren't exactly cheap; they retail for around $160 apiece. I have on excellent authority that they are high quality tires (have recently been selected by Porsche as an OE supplier), and I've owned several sets of Toyos....I have Z-rated Toyos on my Wagon right now.

Your tires are absolutely dedicated snow tires, and are unsuitable for year-round use (loud, poor wear characteristics, optimized for crummy weather thus poor grip in the dry).

I'm actually quite impressed by that particular tire design, and plan to mount them on my 500E this winter. I chose that tire over competitors from Bridgestone, Dunlop, Nokia, and Michelin. I'd suggest, if you see any snow where you live, to put them on the car Dec-March and then go with either a dedicated summer tire or a high quality all-season tire...M&S-rated non-snow tires, even though they aren't particularly great in the white stuff, usually have superior wear characteristics but give up a bit of dry grip at the limit.

As regards the pull and shake, I'd make sure they're doing the work; as regards an alignment, ask them for a "printout" of the before/after specs. If a particular tire won't balance, it could be either a faulty tire or a bad rim, but both causes should be relatively easy for a qualified tech to diagnose.

Hope this helps.


------------------
Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

First of all, thanks for the speedy reply. I wonder if it is still OK to keep driving wth those tires on the car? I understand that they have bad wear characteristic and poor grip on dry road. This is in case the dealer refuse to change them out. I hate to spend a grand for tires since I just bought this car not too long ago.

Presuming none of the tires are bad (balance issue), no prob running them now that it's cooler out. However, I'd try to get them off the car in the early spring.

As regards replacements in the spring, don't count Toyo out...I've had a set of Toyo Proxes FZ4's on my 500E and Z1s on my wagon, and (in the case of my 500)they were light years better than the Pirelli P6000s I pulled off which they barely held the road, sucked in the rain, and were loud. The Toyos wear very well (got 48k mi. out of the Z1s on the wagon, which I think is great for a Z rated tire), stick quite well under all conditions, run quietly and were pretty darn reasonable... think I paid about $140 or so apiece for the FZ4s and they're the same size as yours.

Give it some thought, and good luck!

------------------
Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

Michael, just to let you know that I took the car to dealer this afternoon, told them they sold me a car with dedicated snow tires on. And I was not happy even they are brand new tires. They told me they will replace all four tires back to brand new Pirelli P6000, and I can pick up the car tomorrow. Thanks for all your help. This is truely a wonderful site for all MB owners.

I'm really happy things worked out for you...great news!

And the best news is yet to come, because if you've only driven your car up until now with snows on it, than you're going to really appreciate the much-improved handling!

Enjoy your car!

P.S. Now you have a great reason to register!

------------------
Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

Elau:

I have also lived in Maryland (in the Rockville area), and have never felt the need for snow tires. With the excellent snow plowing they do, the roads are clear within a day, and you are back to bare concrete or macadam. Therefore, snow tires seem unnecessary, unless you live where there is no snow plowing. In that case, a 4WD might better for you anyway.

With respect to tires, I have had 225/16 on my car, from Goodyear through Yokohama through Goodrich, through Bridgestone, through Continentals, and I have found that the Conti is just as good, if not better, than all of them. Since a Mercedes is a sedan, is heavy, and is defintiely not a sports car, and since the speed limits in the USA do not allow for sustained 140 MPH speeds, I have never understood why people think they need Michelins rated higher than HR. Yes, I have ZR on my Porsche which I race in club events, but I don't race the Benz (except once), and therefore the Contis are just perfect. And look at the price !!!!

I am not an advocate of Conti, necessarily to the exclusion of anything else, but the Conti Touring CH95 are standard equipment on some BMW and Merecedes in Europe, and at the speeds we can drive in USA, are more than adequate. Yes, they do not have the cachet that Michelin does, but, really, how many people have ever stopped to look at the brand of tires you have on your car? Do you think anyone else really cares?

So my advice, and it is just that, is to try some Contis at $54 per tire for 205HR16, and see if their performance and smoothness is all that you need.

Keep the faith, and keep asking questions. That's the way to enlightenment....Andras

Not to start anything but... Have driven Conti's on both street and track on a wide variety of vehicles. Without exception they have underperformed for their respective category. Meaning that the Conti Sports didn't handle as well in grip nor predictability vs other brands of tires and that the Conti Touring tires (though they did ride as quiet as others) have always felt twitchy + vague to me. They seem to want to hunt rather than track. Hence seek out every strip, dip, groove, etc in the road and try and follow that rather than the inteneded steering path. I've had the unique opportunity to drive the same model car back to back on Conti's vs other brands. For whatever role they were put in they did not perform that role as well as the Michelin's or other brands. I've also seen Conti tires have some quality and balance problems that don't seem to plague other brands. Their upside is that they are inexpensive, quiet, and that most people never use their cars (except in emergency situations) hard enough to show up the differences so they are just fine for that set. We have found one good use for Conti's...burnouts. They are cheap, don't grip a whole lot, and squeal like hell when pushed.

Though I'm partial to Michelin, many other brands do offer very good tires. The only two makers whom I've had (and heard) of consistently bad experiences with are Conti and Goodyear. Aside from the noise, Pirelli makes a good tire. Budget performance the Firestone SZ50 or Yoko AVS Sport are both a good option. Bridgestone makes a good tire but they just tend to be a bit down on grip compared to the Michelins they compete against. Don't have any firsthand with Toyo's yet, but Michael seems to like them.

Though I hate to beat the dead nag...Use those 4 contact patches wisely for they control everything your car does. Everyone has their own driving style and preferences for intangible "feel". If the Conti's work for you then by all means use them. Just that they certainly do not suit my tastes or preferences/priorities. There are certainly worse choices out there.

Hope this helps...Lee

The dealer advised me not to put Pirelli on because of the noise and the agressive characteristic. They said Bridgestone touring will be more comfortableand practical. Any suggestions on Bridgestone. I understand everybody has their preference, I am only looking for suggestion and comment in general.

95 SL320

Elau,

Tell us what you want in a tire. Comfort? Quiet? Handling? Longevity? How many miles/year do you plan to drive, and how hard? With that, I think the forum can provide you with a ton of appropriate info.

And scan the wheels & tires postings, and perhaps even use one of the links to The Tire Rack; they have some nice comparison tests posted on their site.

Good luck, and it's nice to see you registered!

------------------
Best regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

Thanks Michael. You can't imagine how much I have learned from this site ever since I discovered it two months ago. I lean more toward comfort and quiet than performance, and I drive about 10K a year on my car. Its my daily driving car.......I know, what a waste for a SL :-( Wish I can afford another car for daily use and keep the SL for weekend.