[R129 SL] Need a tire recommendation for a 2000 SL500 Sport

[Rob Vonderhaar]

Mark,
I have that same AMG wheel setup on my '95 SL500.  I've tried a lot of different tires on it over the last 14 years, and am currently running Toyo Proxes T1R's.  My indie tire guy (whom I really trust) recommended them based on my unhappiness at paying $1100+ for a set of Dunlop SP9000's or Pilot Sports.  I have been extremely happy with the Toyos.  The T1R's are Ultra-High Performance summer tires that compete directly with the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A, Continental ContiSportContact 3, Dunlop SP Sport Maxx, Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3, Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, Pirelli PZero Rosso, and Yokohama AVS Sport.

They have an aggressive tread pattern that's very similar to the SP9000, and have been equally great in wet weather (something I really liked about the three sets of Dunlops I had previously).  They handle very well, and IMHO offer a solid balance between performance, wear, and noise levels.  Best of all, they're relatively inexpensive for a high-end tire:  TiresDirect.net sells them for $172 (front) and $206 (rear).  Compare that to Pilot Sport PS2's, which TireRack.com has at $266 front and $351 rear - that's $1,234 for a set of the Pilots vs. only $756 for the Toyos.  If you're interested, here's the link:
     http://www.tiresdirect.net/Toyo_Proxes_T1R_W63.cfm

I also have a 2005 SL500 with the AMG package that I purchased essentially new, and it came with the same staggered wheel sizes and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2's.  I've got 16k miles on the original tires now, but the rears are getting close to worn out and I need to replace them soon.  The Pilots were an ok tire, but suffer from the exact same problem I've had with other Michelins (e.g., the MX4's):  They are deathtraps on wet roads once they wear much beyond halfway.  I still have tread showing on my rear tires (I don't think they're even down to the wear bars yet), and the fronts have a lot more useful tread remaining.  But driving at highway speeds in the rain has become so scary that I now leave that car at home when it even looks like rain.  Once I hit about 45 mph, the entire rear end of the car literally hydroplanes up and starts sliding left and right with no control - almost like driving on glare ice.  I've never had this happen with other high-performance tires, even those that were worn much further down than these.

Earlier I mentioned the similar behavior of the Michelin MX4's (now called the MXV4's), which were the OEM tire on an Acura Legend Coupe I had some years ago and are very popular for MB sedans.  I was driving a winding 2-lane road in CT at about 35 mph.  The roads were wet, but only a very light rain falling at the time.  All of a sudden and without any warning, the entire back end let loose completely.  The car spun at least two 360-degree circles before the driver's door impacted directly on a massive rock at the roadside.  I was extremely lucky to walk away from that one, which destroyed the entire side of the car and bent the frame to the tune of $16,000 in repairs (no, they didn't total it because the car was so new!)  Since then, I've also heard similar "terror in the wet" stories about Michelins from others on various MB lists and forums.  So needless to say, I'm not a big fan of Michelins and will never buy another set for any car I own.  I'll probably end up putting a set of the Toyos on the 2005 SL to replace the Michelins, if only because I've had such good luck with them on the '95 and they're reasonable in cost.

I do have one question for you:  How did you possibly get 44k miles out of a set of any tires on an SL500 Sport?  Both my R129 and now the R230 chew through a set of tires every 15-18k miles, regardless of what brand of tires I put on.  Every tire pro I've spoken with says that even 15k is doing well, and that they have customers that barely get more than 10-12k on a set of tires.  Inquiring minds want to know the secret!  :)

Hope that helps -
        Rob Vonderhaar
        Leesburg, VA

From: r129list-bounces at mbcoupes.com [mailto:r129list-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of Mark DeLuca
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2010 10:01 PM
To: r129list at mbcoupes.com
Subject: [R129 SL] Need a tire recommendation for a 2000 SL500 Sport

To Jan & Team -

Blowout earlier this evening so I need to order new tires tomorrow. With 44,000 miles on these tires I'll replace all 4. I have the spare on the car, but it pains me to look at it. Like a beautiful woman with a black eye.

The car is only driven in the Summer and it has the 18" AMG wheels. 245/40 ZR18's in the front and 275/35 ZR18's in the rear. Can you recommend a brand and type of tire?  The prices on TireRack are all over the map, from $105 for Sumitomo HTR ZII's to $350 US per tire for the Michelin Pilot Sports.

Thanks,

Mark D.
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