Best Tyres for SLK 280?

[prolix]

Original fitment of Michelin Primacy has been OK but they are worn out, and the new Primacy HP is a different tyre. Spec is 225/45/17 91 W front, 245/40/17 91 W rear, standard not sport suspension; want sharp handling but a decent ride, and good wet grip; don't care too much about wear rate (within reason!). Does anyone have any comparative experience of any of Bridgestone RE050, ContiSport 3 or the latest Michelins (Primacy HP or PS2)? I would be tempted by the Goodyear F1 Asymmetric which work brilliantly on my Jaguar S-Type R, but in the SLK sizes they are only available in Reinforced with 95 load factors which I fear may make them too stiff - has anybody tried them on this car?

[V8Maverick]

I'm running the same side exactly as you on the W208. Had a few brands on it, including Conti.

Can't say as I have much experience with Bridgestone personally but I'm told the sidewalls are a bit stiff giving harsher ride quality.
As for the the rest, ContiSport - good enough in the dry, utterly appalling in the wet.
Goodyear gets decent reviews in terms of grip and suchlike, but wears out in nothing flat.
Primacy HP - Class leading mileage return (TUV SUD 2008 test), not a sports tyre though, more for touring and comfort.
PS2 - Excellent grip as it's dual-compound, won't get quite as many miles as you do the Primacy though and the ride will be harder due to sports engineering.

You pays your money and takes your choice sir. I'll always buy Michelin as they are the most expensive for a lot of bloody good reasons, but I won't bore you with them. I have PS2's on her now...

[V8Maverick]

... oh, and by the way, the load index doesn't neccessarily have anything to do with sidewall stiffness. The load index is used by tyre manufacturers as not only a way of showing it's max carrying capacity, but also the ability of the tyre to transmit torque to the road*, which is why you see some of the new Renault Clios and other small hatches coming on XL tyres now as the size hasn't changed but a bit more power has been crammed in to the engine.

• Why do they do this? Because there isn't an index marking in the tyre service description for ability to transmit torque to the road, so they just factor it in to the load index.

[r129sl]

On my SL (245/45 R 17) I have had Continental Sport Contact 2, Michelin Primacy HP, and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tyres over the last year. The Primacy HPs were very disappointing. The Pilot Sport PS2s are in a different league and I will not be fitting anything else in future. They are no noisier or less comfortable than the Primacy HPs (or the Contis for that matter), but they offer tremendous feel, grip and precision, wet or dry. They have transformed the car. They also seem to be wearing well: after 10k miles there is still tread of 5mm.

[prolix]

Thanks for the useful responses. The lack of enthusiasm for Contis matches my experience with the Jaguar S-Type R (on which they were the original fitment), but I have found that a tyre which is poor on one type of car can be good on another, so I didn't rule them out a priori.

It would be good to hear from anyone who has used Bridgestones.

V8Maverick, my concerns about the Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics are as much about the fact that they are "Reinforced" as about the 95 load index; do you have any comments on what "reinforced" means?

[jon-]

prolix said:

V8Maverick, my concerns about the Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics are as much about the fact that they are "Reinforced" as about the 95 load index; do you have any comments on what "reinforced" means?

Usually extra [steel] belting around the sidewalls / shoulder.

[Dunno]

I've got Conti Sport Contact 3 MO on my SLK55 and they are really good in the wet, they also won the ADAC 2009 tyre test, for me it has transformed the car and handling in the wet.

[V8Maverick]

jon- said:

prolix said:

V8Maverick, my concerns about the Goodyear F1 Asymmetrics are as much about the fact that they are "Reinforced" as about the 95 load index; do you have any comments on what "reinforced" means?

Usually extra [steel] belting around the sidewalls / shoulder.

Not always true. Reinforced, Reinf or XL are all one and the same, different manufacturers use different words, or some even use 2 or 3 depending on the tyre / tread pattern / who was on shift when the mould was cast.

The only tyres I know of with steel belt in the sidewalls nowadays are heavy van and truck tyres, though most van tyre manufacturers have simply upped the plies from 1 fabric to 2 or 3 where greater load capacity is needed.

BTW, steel belting down into the shoulders is good as this stabilises the entire tread block. Budget tyres tend to go only to the edges of the tread (if even that far) and this leads to poorly supported shoulders, instability during cornering and poor wear life.

Edited for spelling

Edited by V8Maverick on Thursday 3rd December 09:34

[Nubbin]

Possibly not much help, but I'm using Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my SL55, and they are excellent. They have a high load index, but the effect is to slightly sharpen and stiffen the steering which is a good thing, and the ride hasn't deteriorated at all. The handling feels better too. Brilliant in the wet as well.

[V8Maverick]

Nubbin said:

Possibly not much help, but I'm using Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my SL55, and they are excellent. They have a high load index, but the effect is to slightly sharpen and stiffen the steering which is a good thing, and the ride hasn't deteriorated at all. The handling feels better too. Brilliant in the wet as well.

Not to cause offence at all here Nubbin, but why would you want to put mid-line tyres on a £50k+ car?
It doesn't make sense to me at all...

[kilarney]

Midline price highline performance.

[V8Maverick]

kilarney said:

Midline price highline performance.

No comment.

It's not down to me to tell people what to put on their cars, I only can only offer an opinion based on industry experience and the general view within the industry. If it works for you / the car then that's ultimately all that matters.

Edited by V8Maverick on Friday 4th December 17:41

[Nubbin]

V8Maverick said:

Nubbin said:

Possibly not much help, but I'm using Vredestein Ultrac Sessantas on my SL55, and they are excellent. They have a high load index, but the effect is to slightly sharpen and stiffen the steering which is a good thing, and the ride hasn't deteriorated at all. The handling feels better too. Brilliant in the wet as well.

Not to cause offence at all here Nubbin, but why would you want to put mid-line tyres on a £50k+ car?
It doesn't make sense to me at all...

Sorry to resurrect this, but I have been very happy with the Vredesteins. They served the car extremely well on Eurohoon in Spain, where they were subjected to high loads and cornering forces, prolonged high speed running and mountain hairpin driving at high ambient temperatures, and performed faultlessly. EVO magazine gave them second spot in their tyre test in 2008 (IIRC). I am not an extreme driver in the main, and I cannot say whether they would be safe on a track day, but my personal experience with my driving style is that they feel and perform significantly better than the Pirellis that I previously had on the car.

PS No offence taken

[cen]

I am running Dunlop SP Sport on the SLK320 which I find excellent and really good in the wet including a track day back last November when the track at Keevil was full of puddles and a Carrera 4 done a complete spin on the straight through aquaplaining

[kilarney]

I run Assymetric F1 on my slk55 and they perform superbly with a good ride so you will be fine. I had conti 2 previously and as others have said they dont deliver, in the wet they are utterly useless. I have them on my Audi A4 also but the contact 3, they are better but still not that great imo. PS2 are really good but expensive and sessanta best value both these have good feedback on SLK,s