I have a 2000SL 500 that came stock with 245/45/17 tires on it.
I only drive the car during the summer (it does get driven in the rain). My driving habits are not the best (I'm not afraid to squeal the tires from time to time or get a good launch from a light.)
I've been tire shopping lately and I'm torn between 3 tires
1) Nitto Extreme 555's No warranty $731
2) General Exclaim UHP 40,000 mile warranty $601
3) Hankook Ventus V4 ES 40,000 mile warranty $439
All of the above prices are in U.S. dollars and include all rebates,sales ,lifetime rotation/balancing and road hazard replacement .
Now I don't realistically expect to get 40,000 miles out of a set of tires , But it is kind of a good piece of mind that they do at least rate the tread life on the General and Hankook tires.
From what I have read on here a lot of you SL drivers really like the Nittos . My question is has anybody ever had Generals or Hankook tires on their SL ?
Also a lot of the tire places around me are pushing "siping" see www.sipers.com . It cost about $50 for a set of 4 tires. Has anyone ever heard of this service or had it done ?
So that do you guys/galls thing I should buy ?
Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.
Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks , Polpower
Why not give http://www.benzworld.org/forums/discount-tire-direct/ a try. They are one of our forum Supporting Vendors. They are also known as Americas Tire who does this thing called Siping at a lot of there locations.
I understand that if you catch them on the last day of the month you can pull off some pretty good deals. Don't forget that they offer a Zero % interest credit card at Financing Promotions - Discount Tire Direct . Check into it! They also offer four tire purchase discounts. And don't forget to ask them to throw in the Road Hazard Warranty. I understand that it is not prorated.
Oh I forgot to suggest that you have the tires delivered to your local Discount Tire Store. That way you don't have to transport them from your house.
Why not give http://www.benzworld.org/forums/discount-tire-direct/ a try. They are one of our forum Supporting Vendors. They are also known as Americas Tire who does this thing called Siping at a lot of there locations.
I understand that if you catch them on the last day of the month you can pull off some pretty good deals. Don't forget that they offer a Zero % interest credit card at Financing Promotions - Discount Tire Direct . Check into it! They also offer four tire purchase discounts. And don't forget to ask them to throw in the Road Hazard Warranty. I understand that it is not prorated.
Oh I forgot to suggest that you have the tires delivered to your local Discount Tire Store. That way you don't have to transport them from your house.
Lynn.
Your memory is something ells.
Don't you ever forget anything?
You are an amazing guy.
Regards.
aam.
Vehicle: 2000 Obsidian Black Metallic Mercedes SL 320 V6
Location: Northern Italy near Milan
Posts: 1,644
Quote:
Originally Posted by Polpower
BUMP ,,
Hello all ,
I have a 2000SL 500 that came stock with 245/45/17 tires on it.
I only drive the car during the summer (it does get driven in the rain). My driving habits are not the best (I'm not afraid to squeal the tires from time to time or get a good launch from a light.)
I've been tire shopping lately and I'm torn between 3 tires
1) Nitto Extreme 555's No warranty $731
2) General Exclaim UHP 40,000 mile warranty $601
3) Hankook Ventus V4 ES 40,000 mile warranty $439
All of the above prices are in U.S. dollars and include all rebates,sales ,lifetime rotation/balancing and road hazard replacement .
Now I don't realistically expect to get 40,000 miles out of a set of tires , But it is kind of a good piece of mind that they do at least rate the tread life on the General and Hankook tires.
From what I have read on here a lot of you SL drivers really like the Nittos . My question is has anybody ever had Generals or Hankook tires on their SL ?
Also a lot of the tire places around me are pushing "siping" see www.sipers.com . It cost about $50 for a set of 4 tires. Has anyone ever heard of this service or had it done ?
So that do you guys/galls thing I should buy ?
Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks , Polpower
Hi Polpower, after driving for 2 years on a set of Pirelli PZero Rosso on my 2000 SL 320 V6 (245/45 ZR 17 just like yours with the same rims too) I changed them for a set of Hankook Ventus Sport (pretty similar to the ones you are considering now) and I have to say that compared to the Pirellis the grip I could get out of them decreased noticeably and the compound of the Hankooks was harder and for someone with a spirited driving style like mine it was a big turn down.
I can also add that before hte Pirellis I had a set of Michelins on and I did notice the HUGE difference the Pirellis made.
I have a 2000SL 500 that came stock with 245/45/17 tires on it.
I only drive the car during the summer (it does get driven in the rain). My driving habits are not the best (I'm not afraid to squeal the tires from time to time or get a good launch from a light.)
I've been tire shopping lately and I'm torn between 3 tires
1) Nitto Extreme 555's No warranty $731
2) General Exclaim UHP 40,000 mile warranty $601
3) Hankook Ventus V4 ES 40,000 mile warranty $439
All of the above prices are in U.S. dollars and include all rebates,sales ,lifetime rotation/balancing and road hazard replacement .
Now I don't realistically expect to get 40,000 miles out of a set of tires , But it is kind of a good piece of mind that they do at least rate the tread life on the General and Hankook tires.
From what I have read on here a lot of you SL drivers really like the Nittos . My question is has anybody ever had Generals or Hankook tires on their SL ?
Also a lot of the tire places around me are pushing "siping" see www.sipers.com . It cost about $50 for a set of 4 tires. Has anyone ever heard of this service or had it done ?
So that do you guys/galls thing I should buy ?
Any suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks , Polpower
Whatever you do, do NOT get the Hankook Ventus tires.
I bought a new set of rims for my BMW 740i, and it was a "package deal" with those Hankook Ventus Sport tires already mounted. Here are a few things I noticed:
1: They are cheaply made and very difficult to balance. I had two different dealers tell me they have nothing but problems trying to balance those. I went in 2 or 3 times before they got it right, and even then as soon as the tires had 4k miles or so of wear on them, I had to have them balanced all over again.
2: They are verrrrry hard compound rubber. They will rattle your fillings out when you go over bumps. You can plan on feeling every expansion joint in concrete, and the entire car will shake over potholes, etc. Honestly, if you drove over a penny on the ground, you would probably feel it with the Hankooks.
3: They perform o.k. initially, but lose their grip very quickly. After the first 2k miles or so, they don't grip well at all. My BMW only had 282hp and it was able to spin the rears if I floored it off the line with those tires. The michelins that were on there before never did that, and the bridgestones I put on there afterwards never did that either. Cornering also wasn't so great. The rear end would always want to "skip" and "jump" on a curve. It always felt like I was right on the edge of losing control, unlike the predictability of the michelins. FWIW, those Bridgestone potenza sports I went to after the Hankooks were amazing grip-wise. They were pretty much unflappable.
All in all, the chinese have a lot to learn about tires. The one benefit of the Hankooks is that they are priced VERY competitively, which is probably the only reason anyone buys them. But they are NOT a good tire.
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Vehicle: 2000 Obsidian Black Metallic Mercedes SL 320 V6
Location: Northern Italy near Milan
Posts: 1,644
Quote:
Originally Posted by chriswufgator
Whatever you do, do NOT get the Hankook Ventus tires.
I bought a new set of rims for my BMW 740i, and it was a "package deal" with those Hankook Ventus Sport tires already mounted. Here are a few things I noticed:
1: They are cheaply made and very difficult to balance. I had two different dealers tell me they have nothing but problems trying to balance those. I went in 2 or 3 times before they got it right, and even then as soon as the tires had 4k miles or so of wear on them, I had to have them balanced all over again.
2: They are verrrrry hard compound rubber. They will rattle your fillings out when you go over bumps. You can plan on feeling every expansion joint in concrete, and the entire car will shake over potholes, etc. Honestly, if you drove over a penny on the ground, you would probably feel it with the Hankooks.
3: They perform o.k. initially, but lose their grip very quickly. After the first 2k miles or so, they don't grip well at all. My BMW only had 282hp and it was able to spin the rears if I floored it off the line with those tires. The michelins that were on there before never did that, and the bridgestones I put on there afterwards never did that either. Cornering also wasn't so great. The rear end would always want to "skip" and "jump" on a curve. It always felt like I was right on the edge of losing control, unlike the predictability of the michelins. FWIW, those Bridgestone potenza sports I went to after the Hankooks were amazing grip-wise. They were pretty much unflappable.
All in all, the chinese have a lot to learn about tires. The one benefit of the Hankooks is that they are priced VERY competitively, which is probably the only reason anyone buys them. But they are NOT a good tire.
When I mounted the Hankooks I didn't see any particular problem while the tyre shop was balancing them (he is a frend of mine so I was there seeing the work live and close to him) but I can definitely comfirm about the hardness of the tyres.
Since I only used them for say 600 miles and then I sold the car I don't know about them in the long term but I surely saw a huge difference over the Pirellis in the grip and driving experience.
In the end if you want pure driving fun get the PZero Rossos no matter what.
I just re-shoed with a set of General Altimax HPs all around. I wanted to step up to a 17" rim from the 16" 12 hole. It took forever but I finally found a set of 17x8 replica rims that I liked to give the AMG look without the ride effects of the 18" rims. I've read a lot about ride comfort on these threads and I think most of the comments were from AMG package owners with 18" rims. My SL with the 16" rims is one of the best riding cars I have ever been in.
The Altimax tires are H rated so you thrashers will have to find something else but, it is unlikely that I will ever go 128 MPH in my car and treadwear on these is 440. There was a very noticible difference in cornering - probably due to the lower profile of the 245/45 tire. The ride is still fine - but different - better in a more sporty way. These are probably the most quiet tire I've ever owned. The tires have a great tread pattern and are rated top in their class at tire rack. So far, I have to agree with these ratings. They were $91 a piece mounted and balanced.
The rims were purchased from adsit at Adsit Company, Inc. | New, used and rebuilt parts for Mercedes Benz automobiles after several calls and much consideration. The spokes are somewhere between an AMG I and AMG III pattern. They were on my doorstep 2 days after ordering. Two of the rims were missing center caps but after a call to the company they sent 3 more right away. I guess they don't count too well in that department. The rims are a 17x8 with a 25 ET and fit the car perfectly with 245/45 tires. This et moves the tire out about 1 CM from the stock rim and it really makes a difference in the stance of the car. Section width is also increased. They are DOT T certified as well.
I have a trip to the Smoky Mountains coming up in a week and can't wait to get out on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Bottom line: If you're a cruiser and not looking for a track day tire you might want to check out the Altimax HP tires.
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