[malibuite]

What brands of tires came on the SLK 350 in the United States?

Mine came with Michilin Pilot Primacy and they do not get a very good rating on Tire Rack.com. My last new sports car came with Pirelli high performance tires and I was surprised that the tires on my SLK are Summer Touring Tires???

 

[Duo-Art]

My SLK also came with the Pilot Primacys. Living in the north, I would have prefered all season tires from the factory. That's what my next set of tires will be.

 

[Motzkoman]

Mine was Euro delivery and came with Conti's...[][8D][]

 

[roadsta]

Conti on downunder cars - all the ones I have seen anyway.

cheers
roadsta

 

[rickboy]

Mine were Pirelli PZero Rosso and I like them so far. They do not seem be too noisy.

 

[malibuite]

rickboy - 3/8/2005 6:19 AM

Mine were Pirelli PZero Rosso and I like them so far. They do not seem be too noisy.

Other than taking factory delivery, I wonder what determines what tires you get in the States? I would have preferred the Pirelli over the Michelin[]

 

[Duo-Art]

I think tire brand is a matter of chance. I've seen SLK's at my dealer with Continentals, Pirellis, and Michelins. When I asked the sales manager about it he said that M/B buys from all three manufacturers and that the dealer has no say about which brand a car comes with.

 

[novabenz]

Very interesting reading that MB has a program where they place 3 different manufactures tires on the SLK.

I have the SLK 350 with the Sport Pkg which comes with the staggered AMG wheels.

On this car, the tires are made by Continental.

I wish MB would stick with either Michelin or Pirelli.
Of the three, Continental is my least favorite due to the way they wear.
Michelin would be my first choice, Pirelli second.

 

[rickboy]

I was actually expecting Conti tires on mine since every SLK350 I saw at the dealer before I ordered mine had them. I was pleased when I saw the Perilli tires when my car arrived. I guess it is a crap shoot.

 

[toothache]

My SLK came with the Pirelli too and it's been great!!

 

[trhoads98]

I have the 350 with the AMG package and the run flat tire option and mine came with, to my delight, Bridgestone Potenza RE050. So far in Chicago, as long as there is no snow or ice, the handling is great! The cold weather seems to have little impact on the performance. I only have 300 miles so far. I am holding out until fall for snow tires so it looks like I might have to take the CTA a couple more times this year.

 

[socalapproach]

Is everyone under the impression that the lifetime of our tires is pretty short? Not being able to rotate doesnt help and I hear that Z rated tires wear pretty fast. Is it not recommended to downgrade the tire rating for better sound/treadlife? I am a slightly aggressive driver but dont need to go 90pmh.
thanks

 

[malibuite]

socalapproach - 3/8/2005 1:29 PM

Is everyone under the impression that the lifetime of our tires is pretty short? Not being able to rotate doesnt help and I hear that Z rated tires wear pretty fast. Is it not recommended to downgrade the tire rating for better sound/treadlife? I am a slightly aggressive driver but dont need to go 90pmh.
thanks

The high performance tires (Pirelli) on my other car had to be replaced at 30,000. The tires on my SLK are not Z rated and are supposed to last longer and give a smoother ride. We shall see.

Does the dealer know you can't rotate the tires as they told me when I picked up the car that they would rotate them for me at 7500[?][?][?]

 

[Motzkoman]

maybe your dealer thought switching the back (right to left) and the front similarly is rotating, but what purpose...[?]

 

[Duo-Art]

What do they know? They're only the dealer. WE are the people that really know about the SLK's.

 

[malibuite]

Duo-Art - 3/8/2005 3:30 PM

What do they know? They're only the dealer. WE are the people that really know about the SLK's.

Yes, but what about the SLK owners who don't read this forum and go in and get their tires rotated[:0]

 

[Duo-Art]

Those poor lost souls.

 

[Snowball]

trhoads98 - 3/8/2005 1:10 PM

I have the 350 with the AMG package and the run flat tire option and mine came with, to my delight, Bridgestone Potenza RE050. So far in Chicago, as long as there is no snow or ice, the handling is great! The cold weather seems to have little impact on the performance. I only have 300 miles so far. I am holding out until fall for snow tires so it looks like I might have to take the CTA a couple more times this year.

Same car, same tires, same town, same view.

 

[dvanlinge]

I have the Mich Pilot Primacy as well be get this, a couple of weeks ago I got a flat in the passenger rear tire from running over something on the freeway which ruined the tire so I took it to my local dealer for a replacement and they couldn't get one so I checked around at other tire dealers and noone could get this tire. It turns out a shipment of these tires was on a ship somewhere in the atlantic headed for the US but MB couldn't give me a definite date they said they would have them within a month. so I ended up having to replace both back tires with the Mich Pilot PS2.. [xx(]

 

[malibuite]

dvanlinge - 3/9/2005 7:20 AM

I have the Mich Pilot Primacy as well be get this, a couple of weeks ago I got a flat in the passenger rear tire from running over something on the freeway which ruined the tire so I took it to my local dealer for a replacement and they couldn't get one so I checked around at other tire dealers and noone could get this tire. It turns out a shipment of these tires was on a ship somewhere in the atlantic headed for the US but MB couldn't give me a definite date they said they would have them within a month. so I ended up having to replace both back tires with the Mich Pilot PS2.. [xx(]

I am curious as to why you took it to your MB dealer. The tire warranty would not cover a flat from running over something on the freeway would it? If not, wouldn't you have been better off going to the Tire Rack? They show they have these tires available on line.