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  #1  
Old 08-25-2000, 12:15 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: New York, New York
Posts: 179
I've got nine stock wheels (195/65-15) with my wagon and plan to change tires to match the seasons -- summer/winter. I would like get some recomendations for this car for both seasons.

My driving is long highway drives from NYC to WV, VA and VT, but then plenty of curvy stuff to enjoy when I get there. The snow tires for VT and the Cumberland Gap in winter -- ALWAYS inclement weather on the gap.

Safety is the primary objective with performance, ride comfort, and cost to own (wear&price) following closely behind.

The summer tires are needed very soon. From the tirerack I was convienced that I wanted the P6K, but reading all the comments on the PK6 here make it clear that the P6K isn't loved by all.

Thanks,

------------------
-Mike
'87 300TD Turbo

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  #2  
Old 08-25-2000, 08:26 AM
Moderator and Tire God
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 2,091
Mike,
Although I do not hold the opinion that any 1 brand of tire is better than all of the others my suggest to you for what you are lookiong for is going to be 2 different Michelins.
For the summer I like the Pilot SX GT in a 205/60-15 size. It will offer alot of performance and very good ride quality for an Ultra High Performance tire.
For the winter you will be very happy with the Pilot Alpin tire. The "H" speed rating does very well in the snow and still handles pretty good in the dry, for a winter tire.

Thanks, Luke

------------------
Luke Pavlick
Performance Specialist (ASE Certified Master Tech)
Please, call me to place orders (800-428-8355 ext. 362)
or mention my name for on-line orders
(click banner at top of the page
to visit Tire Rack web site)
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  #3  
Old 08-25-2000, 09:29 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: New York, New York
Posts: 179
Luke, Thanks for your reply. I checked out those tires and will consider them carefully. I do have a question about going to 205/60-15. What is the short story behind the affect of this on my wagon? I see one advantage is there are tires available in that size that don't come in 195/65-15. The Pilot Apline for instance.

Thanks,

------------------
-Mike
'87 300TD Turbo
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  #4  
Old 08-25-2000, 10:01 AM
Moderator and Tire God
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Posts: 2,091
I forgot to put in my post that you should go with a 195 winter tire. The 205 for the summer would put alittle more tire on the ground and perfoem better due to the larger contact patch but, it is not so large as to cause tracking differences or follow the road irregularities.

Thanks, Luke

------------------
Luke Pavlick
Performance Specialist (ASE Certified Master Tech)
Please, call me to place orders (800-428-8355 ext. 362)
or mention my name for on-line orders
(click banner at top of the page
to visit Tire Rack web site)
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  #5  
Old 08-25-2000, 11:11 AM
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Location: New York, New York
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What is the % change on the diameter for the 205/60-15 vs. the 195/65-15? Thanks,

------------------
-Mike
'87 300TD Turbo
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  #6  
Old 08-25-2000, 11:29 AM
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Location: New York, New York
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Using the VERY helpful tirerack website calculations I think this should be:

195/65-15: 24.98in diameter,
205/60-15: 24.68in diameter

Giving me about a 1.2% decrease in diameter. Does this translate to a noticibly quicker car with poorer fuel economy? Any issue with fit? Thanks,



------------------
-Mike
'87 300TD Turbo
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  #7  
Old 08-26-2000, 12:41 PM
jrd jrd is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2000
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My Turanza Revo H tires are 205/60/15. I know that Mercedes recommends 29 PSI front/rear on the 87 300D for 195/65/15, but how does this translate to the chubbier 205/60/15 tires?

I hear places say "inflate to the max" or "inflate to 35" but experience shows that this does NOT work--the ride and traction both suck.

Does the Mercedes recommendation translate to 28 PSI on the larger tires?

Thanks in advance,
Justin Dobbs
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  #8  
Old 08-26-2000, 01:20 PM
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JCE JCE is offline
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Join Date: May 1999
Location: So Kalifornia
Posts: 2,189
MSYODER:
The 205/60 15 is the MB Sportline size - I have them on my 87 300E on the stock rims and they fit/run just fine. Using the great tool at http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi reveals that the 205/60 tire is 1.2% smaller in diameter than the 195/65, and turns 817 revolutions/mile compared to the 807 r/m of the 195s. I have not noticed any real change in acceleration or economy - I suspect that the error in filling the tank to "full" each time is greater than that introduced by the differences in the tire sizes. I have not seen a difference in the speed displayed on the police radar speed displays either. 40mph still shows as 40mph.

I kept the same pressures as before. The greater tire volume just means putting in more air to get the same pressure. 30 psi is 30 psi for any tire, but the volume of air it takes to get there will vary with the volume of the tire size. (try hand pumping a mountain bike tire to 30 psi, then try doing that to your spare in your car.)

The main thing that changed was improved handling. (and a compulsive anxiety over the knowledge that my wheels, differential, and engine are turning an extra 10 revolutions per mile ) Hope this helps.

------------------
JCE
87 300E, 65k miles
Smoke Silver
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  #9  
Old 08-26-2000, 08:56 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Near Williamsburg, Virginia
Posts: 367
Yugos came with great tires that actually out-lived the engine. Our contact at the Tire Rack can tell you what their OEM tire was.

On the off chance that eastern European tires are no longer imported let me suggest the Michelin MXV4 Green. I use them on three of my sedans and feel they are well suited for your application. They did get me to your beautiful home place, Owl Creek Farm through the snow in January.

I use Pirellis on the SL and feel its Italian boots suit the handling of that car. The 2.3-16 has V-rated Dunlop SP8000s. My point in this rambling is that the boots need to fit the car and I feel the MXV4 Green is a good fit for my 300 D.

I've got two new 15" blizzarks that you can have if you need some snow tires.

------------------
Robby Ackerman
Candidate Mid-Atlantic Regional Director
Past President
Virginia Section MBCA
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  #10  
Old 08-27-2000, 11:52 PM
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Location: New York, New York
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Robby, JCE:

Thanks for the information. I think I'll give the MXV4 a try. After all I'm trying to stick with OE.

Robby, I may well have use for those snow tires. I'll check them out next weekend.



------------------
-Mike
'87 300TD Turbo

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