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  #16  
Old 05-21-2004, 04:01 AM
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also, generally speaking, the higher the speed rating the better the performance of the tire; braking, handling, evasive manouvers etc besides the usual heat dissipation and top speed.

when mercedes (any manufactuere here!) is developing the car and calibrating the ABS, traction control, stability sytems and so on they know what tires will be recommended for the car. so you are in fact doing yourself a disservice by ignoring your tire salespersons advice.

of course, in 90% of your driving you will not need the extra "edge" of the higher speed rating of your tires. its the other 10% you need to worry about.

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  #17  
Old 05-27-2004, 04:50 PM
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I don't think Luke's comments are not a "sales pitch" or "malerky" in any way. They're accurate. The speed rating of the tire is given as the maximum upper speed limit a tire can safely sustain over a given time period. However, the physical design and performance of the tire is directly related to this rating.

There's a reason Mercedes recommends only H-rated and above. My 300E shipped with a Continental "V" rated tire in the trunk and on the wheels. This doesn't mean I will be cruising around routinely at 240 Km/h (149 MPH).

A higher rated tire will have features like a much, much stiffer sidewall - which directly relates to the suspension of the car and conversely, the car's suspension is optimized for a certain type of tire. Too low a rating and you get a tire with a soft sidewall and it will provide too spongy a ride and you'll create more heat due to increased friction when cornering. You don't see a BMW M3 with a touring tire on it do you? The physical characteristics of the tire you put on the car will either compliment the car's design, or hinder it.

My mechanic is also a Toyo dealer and he let me demo a few tires before deciding which one I liked. I tried the Toyo 800 Ultra, a T-rated touring tire. While it was smooth and quiet the handling was horrible. It felt like I had winter tires on. I eventually settled with the Mercedes-recommended H-rated Toyo Proxes H4. No problems since.

My $0.02.

I'd like to add that Luke's help on this board is impressively impartial and helpful for a member of a firm like Tire Rack.
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  #18  
Old 05-29-2004, 01:05 AM
Diablo-Diesel
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howdy,
well I agree with the buy the right tire for your driving style. I mostly cruz freeway 70-80 mph, and run talon's 2000 which is only a "S" rated tire, and they seem to do fine. They came with the car. I'll probley drop to a good touring tire after I wear these out. I see it like Larrybible, I usaully never see over 80 unless I'm passing another rig on a secondary highway.



chip
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  #19  
Old 12-30-2004, 08:05 PM
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While I understand/appreciate the minimum "H" rating, how come my owners manual (1986 560 SEL) recommends that I use "T" rated winter tires?

Is this because it is colder during the winter months?
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  #20  
Old 12-31-2004, 02:47 AM
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Based on my driving style, I went with some kuhmo grand touring tires. KH-11 I believe.

They are W rated, and I like them.

I previously had the supra 712's, which I like too. For the money I couldn't go wrong on these tires. The are everything I was looking for, and they have exceeded my expectations.

Frankly, I don;t care whatt he manufacturer says, I go with what my tire guy likes. When I was talking to luke about tires, and I told him what I was looking for, low cost, good mileage, good traction, these fit the bill.

Luke has never steered me wrong, thats why I buy my tires from him only.

Even bought my Girlfriends tires for her honda from luke, so far so good with those too.

Alon
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  #21  
Old 01-03-2005, 01:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Luke@tirerack
there is not an official "tire approval" list ... but, there are tires which are frowned upon
Curious to know which tires are frowned upon?
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  #22  
Old 01-09-2005, 12:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Luke@tirerack
there is not an official "tire approval" list ... but, there are tires which are frowned upon
Quite available in the official service manual.

Dealer has updates.
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  #23  
Old 01-09-2005, 12:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Luke@tirerack
higher speed rated tires will flex less and have less of a problem with the heat created by that flexing.
A lot of times the "flex" is reduced by producing the same tire but with smaller tread depth.

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