Luke - Anyone - Is anybody familiar with Nokian Brand tires? My second Dunlop AS sport came apart internally (80 mph, under 6000 miles), I'm done with dunlop and want something else. I KNOW - there are all kinds of 'great tires that people actually have heard of ' out there, but the little I've read, the Nokian (WR to be specific) looks to be pretty interesting. Can't find too much info on them. ANY THOUGHTS? They are going on a 82 300D, 195/70/14. Thanks for the info. Matt C.

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82 300D Turbo 124,000 mi.

My ML has traveled about 32,000 miles on a set of WR's. Best tires i've owned. Extraordianary wet/ice handling, great and quiet on dry. Minimal wear. Based on current consumption, i expect another 25-30K miles.

Will replace the tires on my 400 with a set of WR's in fall.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

I put WR's on my 95 wagon last fall. This is my wife's daily driver; she puts 30K miles/yr on a car. I wanted something that was snow rated yet could handle a good deal of dry highway miles without wearing down quickly, as you would expect from a dedicated snow tire. I'm in Connecticut, so a true dedicated snow wasn't necessary. On snowy days, I just swap cars with the wife (I have 4WD truck) and slide the wagon around. Matt, if you dont expect to see snow/ice with these tires, then I would take them right off the list. That's why people buy them.
These tires have a 50K (or was it 60K?) mile rating. They are reasonably quiet and are very well balanced (100+mph no vibration) My wagon handles like an old Buick, so I couldn't tell you about dry performance other than they hold the road well and are relatively quiet. They are very good on a wet road. These tires are basically a compromise. They are the Jack of all trades, master of none of the tire world. they are by no means performance tires, they are all seasons which happen to do pretty well in snow. And they really do fairly well in snow. The car feels like a typical rear wheel drive car with very good all seasons on it in the snow. And as all of us know, this is pretty good for a W124. It slides around, but not excessively. I don't mind sliding around a bit. If you do, then get dedicated snows on another set of rims.

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Brian
1995 E320 wagon

Put a set of WR's on my '92 300E Sportline last fall. They are great in the snow. In my opinion, they are too noisy for day to day driving in the dry months. Particularly obnoxious around town. The Sportline suspension no doubt contributed to the transmission of tire noise.

I put summer tires on in April. I will put the Nokians on for winter trips to the Midwest. I have them on a second set of MB wheels, so it's no big deal to swap them out.

Steve

Thanks for all the input on the NOKIANS. I have since found more information on these tires and am digging up more info daily since my first post. If you noticed, I live in Crystal Beach, FL. 25 miles West of Tampa. Have not seen snow (except flurries) in 33 years, since living in N.Y. state.
I now realize NOKIAN makes a few summer tires, these are probably what I would be interested in. I had only heard about the WR's and the snow tires when I first posted. Now that I'm learning more about these tires I will decide which would be the best for me. I am not into rock-hard ride, nor am I into 'squishy' sidewalls. I am sure there is a tire to fit my needs.
A BIG THANK-YOU to all who have responded, and to those who sponsor mercedesshop.com. Great site, Great member participation.
Thanks; Matt C.

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82 300D Turbo 124,000 mi.

Nokian winter tyres are made in europe. I have heard that Nokian summers are/ will be?? made in the far east. One of the problems with branded items now is that they may have the same name but are made in a different country. So are they the same quality?? I can recommend Nokian WRs but Nokian summers??
You cant go wrong with michelin normally but choose the type of michelin tyre that suits you- hard wearing v quiet v grip v etc etc. I have always found Continental to be good too. Remember these are the tyres which mercedes used when developing their suspension systems. Oh and check the manufacturing date code on the sidewall before you buy!!

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Grober
Last of the ol 124s"

I've had two sets of Nokian summer tires on our C230 and wholeheartedly recommend them. They are very high quality equipment.. First set was NRH2, second was NRVi.

The problem you're going to have is getting Nokian summers in your OE size. They only have a few 14 inch choices and none is going to be your OE tire size.

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Michael

1988 300 SL (5 Speed)
1994 E320 Wagon
1997 C230