New Tires, went the cheap route

[hrothgar02]

Considering that my last set (Continental ContiSports 2's) only lasted around 11,000 miles, I went cheap and went for the General UHP's (now made my Continental). I am running stock rims 225/45/17 front and 245/40/17 rears. I will keep you updated after the install (going to do some smoky burnouts on the old tires before replacing!). All told, my cost was $390 + $50 shipping - $50 rebate = $390 net! Holy moly these were cheap. Does anyone have experience with these tires (good, bad, ugly)? For this price, I have nothing to loose! Also any other W209 owners out there with issues with the front tires wearing out on the outer edge? BTW, I was a restaurant (small hole in the wall Japanese) and the UPS guy came in and delivered some aggressive tires while I was having lunch. I asked the owner what he drove and he said C63 AMG; he only get's 4,000 miles per rear set!

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[JamE55]

Don't have any experience with those UHP's but can tell you my experience with Kumho Ecstas Platinum which runs aroud $70ish per tires and these are great!

Thread wear IIRC is around 220's. Super quiet and very grippy. I would buy the same ones for my second set once i'm done.

Vid of the burnout pls.

[HCUBED]

Here's a short primer on suspension adjustments:

If you are wearing out the outside edges of your front tires, you have too much "posative" camber.
Conversly, when the inside edge wears out you have too much "negative" camber.

When you view the tires from the front or rear of the vehicle, the tilt inward or outward relative to the road surface is called "CAMBER".
It is expressed in degrees "posative" or "negative".
Leaning OUT at the top is "posative" camber, leaning IN at the top is "negative" camber.

Incorrect wheel camber will result in premature tire wear and excessive wear on the suspension parts.


Over inflation wears out the centers, under inflation wears out both outer edges simultaniously.
TOE, is a measure of how much the wheels are aimed in or out from a straight forward position. This is done to make sure the tires roll parallel.
When the wheels are turned in, toe is "posative". When the wheels are turned out, the toe is "negative". Some people misspell it "TOW", but it is "TOE".Toe adjustment also serves to counter small deflections in the suspension system that occur when in motion.
Incorrect toe adjustment will result in premature tire wear and improper steering stability.

I suggest that you take the car to an alignment shop and get a four wheel alignment accomplished.

If you don't, why would you think that your new tires would not wear out on the inside edges just like the last set did? They will, so dont blame the tires. It is caused by incorrect alignment, and you will be replacing these new hides shortly.

This is very basic stuff, and can be accomplished by a competent shop in less about an hour.

Tire inflation pressures shoud be set at the manufacturers specifications as well.
Obviously, the tires should wear out evenly across the tread surface.
They cannot, unless the suspension and pressures are adjusted to factory specs.

[Riot Nrrrd]

Originally Posted by hrothgar02

Considering that my last set (Continental ContiSports 2's) only lasted around 11,000 miles, I went cheap and went for the General UHP's (now made my Continental). I am running stock rims 225/45/17 front and 245/40/17 rears. I will keep you updated after the install (going to do some smoky burnouts on the old tires before replacing!). All told, my cost was $390 + $50 shipping - $50 rebate = $390 net! Holy moly these were cheap. Does anyone have experience with these tires (good, bad, ugly)? For this price, I have nothing to loose!

I think you're going to regret this. The phrase "You get what you pay for" comes to mind.

I have an old 1989 300E for a daily beater, along with my Beast. When my Michelin MXV4+'s went to tire heaven I went your route and bought the Generals.

Big mistake.

Immediately afterwards I noticed a strong front end vibration at speed that was never present with the Michelins. At 80-85+ I could actually see the entire hood vibrate!

I went to the tire installer and told him, we went out on the freeway and he saw (and heard) it for himself. Took it back, jacked it up, said "Your front-end suspension is shot, all the arms have loose joints" (or somesuch). So I replaced all those bits (control arms, etc.). That made it better but it was still there - anything above 73-75 or so, back came the vibration.

Because the car was realigned after the suspension bits were changed, I thought I should have the Generals rebalanced. So I did.

That helped the front hood shake a little - only to be replaced by bad vibration in the steering wheel at anything above 60. Whereas before I could avoid the whole problem by driving at 73 or below, now I have to deal with the vibrating steering wheel at any freeway speed! I just traded one problem for another

I don't know how to fix this, but all I know is that I made a big mistake not getting another set of MXV4's for that car.

I sure as heck wouldn't get Generals for my Beast.

Originally Posted by hrothgar02

Also any other W209 owners out there with issues with the front tires wearing out on the outer edge?

Mine's a W208, but still ...

That issue is exactly what brought me here and to your post - I just took my Beast in today (2002, 11,000+ miles) for a regular lube, oil & filter and the dealer service guy pointed out that my tires all had fine cracks on the sidewall at the curvature point. At 11,000 miles! The car is garaged all the time, covered all the time, never driven in rain ... yet the tires are cracking?

So now I'm wondering whether to replace them with more Continentals or if there is something better. I am perusing Tire Rack as we speak ...

[JamE55]

Originally Posted by Riot Nrrrd

I just took my Beast in today (2002, 11,000+ miles) for a regular lube, oil & filter and the dealer service guy pointed out that my tires all had fine cracks on the sidewall at the curvature point.

Damn bro! And i thought my beast 2002, 15k miles was pristine. lol Do you just drive that on weekends only or what?

As far as tires you can't go wrong with these Michelins, Pirellis, Bridgestone, Toyos and Kumhos.

[amdeutsch]

Originally Posted by HCUBED

... "posative" ..... "posative" .... "posative" .... "posative". ..... Some people misspell it "TOW", but it is "TOE"......

And the other word in quotes is spelled "positive".

[Riot Nrrrd]

Originally Posted by JamE55

Damn bro! And i thought my beast 2002, 15k miles was pristine. lol Do you just drive that on weekends only or what?

Yes it's a weekend-only car. My daily driver is my beater 300E (201,000+ miles).

I am considering the Michelin P2's for the CLK 55 when I have money to change the tires - but I'm still in shock that tires with only 11,000+ miles on them are ready to go to tire heaven ... especially since the car is garaged and covered all the time when it is not being used ... I guess that's what 7 years of exposure to smoggy LA air will do, no matter what!

[JamE55]

Originally Posted by Riot Nrrrd

Yes it's a weekend-only car. My daily driver is my beater 300E (201,000+ miles).

I am considering the Michelin P2's for the CLK 55 when I have money to change the tires - but I'm still in shock that tires with only 11,000+ miles on them are ready to go to tire heaven ... especially since the car is garaged and covered all the time when it is not being used ... I guess that's what 7 years of exposure to smoggy LA air will do, no matter what!

Interesting. I still have my very first and original (OEM) Pilot Sports when i first bought the car and it's stored in the garage and i do check them from time to time to see if they're still ok (air, cracking, etc..) and they look ok. I bought one of those tire tote bags and those helped a lot.

[AMGOODNESS]

i run kumho exclusively and i never have a problem with road nice, grip, or vibration. best tires made today for the money in my opinion.