factory tire size for a 1990 300SL - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

adiaw83 · #1 05-06-2002, 11:07 PM

Will these tires fit on a 1990 300SL?
Pirelli
P6000 Sport Veloce
Size:225/55-16

The car sits on the factory wheels. Thanks

Chiragp · #2 05-07-2002, 01:46 AM

225/55/16 is the factory size, so it should work, don't see why it shouldn't, although I personally never liked the P6000 SV from personal experience....but if its for a great price, then I guess that makes up for it huh :p

Michael · #3 05-07-2002, 08:52 AM

That'll work fine-I hope you're getting a great deal, 'cuz there are better tires out there

adiaw83 · #4 05-07-2002, 02:30 PM

oh really what's wrong with those tires because they're for my moms car and I want them to be good. What do you guys suggest.

Chiragp · #5 05-07-2002, 03:34 PM

I just had a bad experience in general. Thought they would last longer then my normal set of tires, and didn't get more then 25k and the grand touring trade offs weren't there. They suck in snow, suck in rain, and weren't even all that great in the dry...all though they were smooth and somewhat quiet, if thats what grand touring is about, I rather have my perfomance tires.

If this car is for your mom, I would suggest a nice set of Dunlop SP Sport A2s. Great tires, but for a lil more, I think I would step up to the BFGoodrich g-force TA KDWS. They are incredible tires, UTOG treadwear around 400, GREAT traction for an All-season tire, and actually very civil. You wouldn't get much snow in the DC area (i go to school here at GW and get away with non-allseason tires the past 2 years) and would say these are the best all-season tires (if you count performance numbers in wet and dry)

Yokohama AVS dB are also made in that size and are great tires, but have to say my vote goes to the BFG KDWS over the yokos, ask Neil (ke6jc) who has them on his E500 and race them instead of slicks!

goto tirerack's web page and see for yourself. Also, might wanna try using 245/50/16 as its just wider. and seeing that all 3 tires mentioned above are available in that size for maybe $10 more a tire, its a nice cheap upgrade. Then again its just for your mother, but extra traction never hurt anyone now did it?

adiaw83 · #6 05-07-2002, 11:30 PM

what about the

Bridgestone
Potenza RE730

they got excellent ratings at tirerack. Also I looked at those BF goodriches and they seem nice. Verygood price on em. what do you think.

Chiragp · #7 05-07-2002, 11:41 PM

Bridgestones are nice, just not all season, and won't last as long as the others mentioned. Since i'm assuming value is your first priority since its your mother;s car, i'm sure you want some mileage, which is why I say the Dunlop, then the BFG KDWS. After that the AVS

If you want performance, then KDWS, AVS dB, then SP Sport A2

If you want smooth and quiet, then AVS dB, and don't know bout the other 2.

#8 05-08-2002, 12:25 PM

yes they fit easily on your car no problem man dont worry

Holson Adi · #9 05-09-2002, 10:30 AM

You could always try Dunlop SP9000's. The tires might look aggressive, but they improved the ride quality of my 230E by a lot! The tires were 215/55/ZR16.

Previously, I put Yokohama AVS Sport (old tires). They were loud, very hard, but just didn't seem to wear out at alll...

#10 05-09-2002, 01:09 PM

Or, if you want ROUND tires, use Michelin or Continental. They are the only ones I've seen that are assembled in radial joined molds. This keeps the belts more uniform. Not only is the tire round, but the road force is much more uniform making for a non vibrating tire if balanced properly. If you see any other brand tire with radial mold marks, please share the information with us here.

Don't let the tire store put weights only on the inside of the wheel. If you don't want weights on the outside rim, have them tape weight toward the outside while using regular weights on the inside to give a correct DYNAMIC balance.

This is often a huge fight to get the tire store to take a little more time and do it right. If your tire store does this with no fuss, write down their name and number and share this valuable information with the rest of us.

Good luck,

suginami · #11 05-09-2002, 07:15 PM

Listen to what Larry Bible says.

I put Michelin's on my MB, and they're the best tire I've ever owned. They are as smooth as glass.

It is also nearly impossible to get a proper balance with the stick-on weights on the inside of the wheel only. Weights need to be put on the outside and inside lip of the wheel to properly balance your tires.

If you allow them to use the stick-on weights only and your tires seem balanced, take your car on the highway up to 80-85 mph, and tell me they don't begin to wobble. They will. Trust me.

#12 05-10-2002, 07:21 AM

I have frustrated myself trying to describe in words the CORRECT way to use tape on weights to properly DYNAMICALLY balance your wheels.

There is nothing wrong with tape on weights themselves. They are just weight. If they are applied against a surface which will keep them in place via centrifugal force they will stay put. In fact the adhesive on them is so strong, they MIGHT stay put anywhere, although I don't want to try.

The key is putting weight as dictated by the DYNAMIC balancer on the inboard AND outboard area of the rim. If you use the balancer in static mode, which is what most tire stores do to keep from applying weight where it shows on the outside rim, they will WOBBLE just as suginami guarantees. I will back up his guarantee.

What you do is run the wheel up on the balancer in DYNAMIC mode and get a resolution. In DYNAMIC mode the balancer will give you a weight and location for the inside rim AND the outside rim. You can either use a regular weight on the inside rim, or you can tape on the inside (inboard) edge of the inside diameter. You then place the weight indicated for the outboard on the inside diameter but as far toward the outboard edge of the wheel as possible.

The next IMPORTANT step in this procedure is to ENSURE that your tire store kid runs the wheel AGAIN to ENSURE that it comes up indicating zero weight needed. If he assumes that the weight he put on has balanced the wheel is NOT being thorough.

There are some .pdf files that will show you more about this at www.gsp9700.com.

This is NOT rocket science, anyone can do this given the use of a computer balancer. You just need to care about whether you're doing a proper job or not. This is where so many of the tire store kids come up short. In all fairness, many of them may indeed care, but were taught by someone who didn't care, so they never learned the right way.

If I were a tire manufacturer, I would launch an educational campaign to get MY tire stores up to speed on this so that MY tires came out balanced for my end customers.

End of lecture. If you have any tire balancing questions, feel free to email me or post them here. I may even try to build or cut some diagrams to use in these posts to show the correct way to use tape weights or otherwise see that tires are DYNAMICALLY balanced.

Have a great day,

adiaw83 · #13 06-11-2002, 01:11 PM

I just looked at some dunlop SP sport 5000s and they looked like some good all season tires. Anyone have any experience with them becuase I need to order a set of tires by the end of the week.

#14 06-19-2002, 04:10 PM

I bought P6000 SV and did not like them as well. They sucked in the rain even though they are pitched as a rain tire cause of the groove that runs down the middle of the tire. They also have a soft sidewall so I felt like I was running 70 series tires. There is just so many other options that this tire would be dead last for me on a list.

good luck