215/70/14 tyres on ebay

[motec 6.9]

Hi guys found these if anyone is interested http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/215-70x1...=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3caf0a714a

 

[motec 6.9]

And these http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MERCEDES...=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c5dd8318a

 

[Styria]

Nice - however, how can they be "new" chromies ? I didn't think they were ever chromed from original. Mind you, I stand to be corrected. Don't they look good, and wouldn't it be even better if they were 15"ers ? Regards Styria

 

[Oversize]

Oooooh those bundts look so goooood!!! I don't believe MB ever produced chrome ones, but who knows what the OEM were doing on the side... However I'm not sure who made these ones and perhaps that'd be a question for the seller? I doubt I'd spend that kind of money on wheels where I'd only be able to select 14" tyres (with the adverse effect on handling and performance).

Slightly off topic, it's such a shame that MB decided to make the 6.9 so understated. Completely the opposite to what other manufacturers were doing in the USA on their high end performance products. I have no idea why they had the option to delete the 6.9 badge, or why there was no electric front seats, mirrors or different wheels, trim and paint schemes. Considering the significant premium above the standard 450, I'd have thought owners would've liked to advertise they'd purchased something special? While I understand that the target demographic demanded cosmetic differences must be subtle, they're almost indestinguishable from the garden variety 450. And despite the media spin about an oil crisis, there's always been a market for high performance sedans. We still have oil reserves and high performance cars to prove it!

An adjustable steering column would've been nice too, but all this would've added to the 6.9s already substantial mass. Perhaps they spent too much time on the driveline and suspension to allow further work to be done on cosmetics and other non-essential items? They did have 5 years (?) since introduction to end of model, but maybe they were concentrating on W126 development?

AMG had the right idea with their tuner options; it's just a shame that the company was in it's infancy and they never produced many modified W116s. On that subject, does anyone know how many they officially modified?? I just wonder what they could've done with the M100 if they'd had the profile and resources that they have today.......

 

[Oversize]

The new Bridgestone Adrenalin RE002s have just been released. If they're anything like the RE001s, they'll be a great tyre with terrific grip, long service life and smooooth as silk comfort (no affiliations, I bought a set a while ago). Obviously the downside is the price and for $409 each (245/40R18), they'd wanna be good!

http://www.bridgestone.com.au/media/articles/re002.aspx

BTW white walls can be added to any tyre, as long as they're not structurally modified and the markings are retained on at least one sidewall. However I'm not sure what effect it'd have on the warranty, so I'd wait until the warranty period had expired before pimping them up!

It's amazing the diffence that a new set of well balanced tyres makes to the whole driving experience...

 

[260ebenz]

$409 each for Bridgestone's they would want to be good!

Previous experience with Bridgestone tyres they were shockers just my experience.

Thoughts on Toyo tyres made in Japan.

What are Conti's and Michelin's tyres like these days worth the $ or over rated?

 

[Oversize]

At least they're not as $$ as the S001s (top of the range) which are up to $1000ea!! What we have to accept is that a MB is not like other vehicles and if you put on cheapies from China you can't expect the same (or better) level of performance. The 6.9 (like many others here), is a high(er) performance car and should be shod accordingly. As the saying goes "you get what you pay for" and "tyres are the only contact you have with the road". I'd rather spend more on tyres than paint or trim refinishing.

 

[260ebenz]

Toyo's cost me $150 each which are fitted on the 260E.

I have had trouble free experience with the Toyo's and I have been buying Toyo's for over 5 years.

260E was sold to me by the previous owners with Firestone tyres on the front which correct me are wrong made in NZ?

Rear tyres were Bridgestone's replaced all tyres with 15" Toyo Proxes Teo Plus.

My folks use to use Michelin's back in the 1970's and 1980's that is when they were made in France Dad always fitted Michelin's to his Mercedes.

After the 1990's Dad no longer used them they quality of the tyres was not what it use to be.

My old 230E had Toyo's even the spare from memory was a Toyo?

Our 300TD wagon, 280SEL W116 had Bridgestone's fitted sorry to say not impressed.

You can probably tell I prefer to use Toyo tyres that is my choice of tyres.

I have considered using Michelin or Conti tyres and have been advised not as they are over rated.

Tyre safety is so important!

http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll226/tim_leece/th_toyoteoplus.jpg

 

[BenzBoy]

$409 each for Bridgestone's they would want to be good!

Previous experience with Bridgestone tyres they were shockers just my experience.

Thoughts on Toyo tyres made in Japan.

What are Conti's and Michelin's tyres like these days worth the $ or over rated?

Tim - the cars I own run Continental, Michelin, Avon and Lester cross-plies on the PII. Each of these is worth the money and does the job I expect it to.
It is very much the case of individually choosing the tyre that is appropriate to the particular need. That is perhaps more important than the brand.
It has become fashionablefor some to knock Continental and Michelin without real reason - usually it is done by people who can't afford them.
Regards,
Brian

 

[260ebenz]

Brian well I can not afford to buy Michelin or Conti's quite simple for me they are to expensive and I am a person who lives on a Pension.

I am not knocking either brand of tyre I have been advised by tyre fitting professional with more than 30 years experience fitting tyres and he told me not to purchase Michelin's or Conti's because Customers keep bringing there cars back with newly fitted Michelin or Conti tyres fitted and the tyres are not even two weeks old!

Why pay top dollar for tyres when they don't last?

Cheers.

 

[Styria]

Hi BenzBoy, as you'd probably realize, I don't totally agree with your sentiments concerning the criticism by some of either Continental, Michelin or, for that matter, any other brand because of their inability to afford them. I do know of someone, with plenty of money, and he fitted Pirellis to his W126 - 420SEL. He hated them, yet they did cost a lot of money. I can't comment on Continentals, but Michelins ? You'd know, there are Michelins, and then there are Michelins. Some are made in Thailand (or at least they used to be) and they were in fact a cheap tyre in the 205.65.14" size - about $110.00 each, hardly expensive, yet I was not prepared to buy them. Most manufacturers will produce economy priced tyres.

I know of one 6.9 that is shod with fairly old Michelin XWXs. I could make those tyres chirp in the twinkling of an eye lid, and in the wet on an uphill section, skating in the one spot could be made to be the order of the day..and XWXs are not cheap tyres. Perhaps age was an issue, but really if we know what our tyres are "NOT" capable of, we don't have a problem. I have been using "lowly" Nankangs for a while, and they've given no trouble. Maybe if I booted the old girl, I might get a reaction, but even carefully calculated , yet deliberate attempts to spin the Nankangs in the wet and going uphill, have failed to get the slipping I expected. The Nankangs, incidentally now made in PRC, in size 235.45.18" cost me $A135.00 each, fitted and balanced. Regards Styria

 

[BenzBoy]

Brian well I can not afford to buy Michelin or Conti's quite simple for me they are to expensive and I am a person who lives on a Pension.

I am not knocking either brand of tyre I have been advised by tyre fitting professional with more than 30 years experience fitting tyres and he told me not to purchase Michelin's or Conti's because Customers keep bringing there cars back with newly fitted Michelin or Conti tyres fitted and the tyres are not even two weeks old!

Why pay top dollar for tyres when they don't last?

Cheers.

My ML is on its second set of tyres and I get about 60,000 kms from the Continentals. The CLK is doing likewise on Continentals. In both cases, that's a tad longer than 2 weeks. The 450SE is on Michelins and they grip like glue and show no signs of wearring out at the current rate of use. I will replace them due to age before they wear.
The Avons are made specifically for the Spirit and, althought there are cheaper versions available, a Concours win demands I stay with the original and I have had no problems.
I rely on my tyre man for advice and he has never let me down.
Regards,
Brian

 

[BenzBoy]

Hi BenzBoy, as you'd probably realize, I don't totally agree with your sentiments concerning the criticism by some of either Continental, Michelin or, for that matter, any other brand because of their inability to afford them. I do know of someone, with plenty of money, and he fitted Pirellis to his W126 - 420SEL. He hated them, yet they did cost a lot of money. I can't comment on Continentals, but Michelins ? You'd know, there are Michelins, and then there are Michelins. Some are made in Thailand (or at least they used to be) and they were in fact a cheap tyre in the 205.65.14" size - about $110.00 each, hardly expensive, yet I was not prepared to buy them. Most manufacturers will produce economy priced tyres.

I know of one 6.9 that is shod with fairly old Michelin XWXs. I could make those tyres chirp in the twinkling of an eye lid, and in the wet on an uphill section, skating in the one spot could be made to be the order of the day..and XWXs are not cheap tyres. Perhaps age was an issue, but really if we know what our tyres are "NOT" capable of, we don't have a problem. I have been using "lowly" Nankangs for a while, and they've given no trouble. Maybe if I booted the old girl, I might get a reaction, but even carefully calculated , yet deliberate attempts to spin the Nankangs in the wet and going uphill, have failed to get the slipping I expected. The Nankangs, incidentally now made in PRC, in size 235.45.18" cost me $A135.00 each, fitted and balanced. Regards Styria

You may have noticed I did not list Pirelli as a tyre I use. My experience with Pirelli has been fabulous grip but an extraordinary short life. Any Michelin XWX that is old is very old and will be hard, equalling low grip. I make no comments about Nankang - a most reputable Taiwanese company but I do note their main factory is now in Jiansu province on the mainland. They do not make tyres in my required size so I shall leave it to you Mr P to assess their worth.
It is always interesting to observe what brands are recommended by Benz; a factor to be taken into any decision.
It is difficult to find an Australian-based tyre test which is competent and conducted intelligently, but the following may make interesting reading: http://www.conti-online.com/generat...neral/news/releases/autocar_tyre_test_en.html
Regards,
Brian

 

[WGB]

Here are the Continentals on my E500 - 18 inch wheels with 245 section on the front and 265 on the rear.



They are now up to 28,000 km and still look to have plenty of life left in them - which is good as I will have to make a financial arrangement to replace them when the time comes.

They have also handled our recent wet weather with total disdain and full throttle starts are possible in the wet without seeing a blinking triangle which totally suprised me.

My previous ML 500 came fitted from new with Bridgestones and were replaced with RFT versions of the same brand at the recommendation of the local agents when they wore out at about 45,000 km.

My wife's ML 320 came fitted with continentals from new and have been replaced with Michelins at about 50,000 km.

I would have purchased Continentals or Bridgestones but neither were availble the day she had a puncture so it was fitted with Michelin RFT's.

The RFT's (Run Flat Tyres) will allow my wife or I to drive to somewhere nearby instead of having to stop in the event of a puncture. They give a mildly harder ride but otherwise work very well.

My 6.9 came fitted with 16 inch Nankangs - I think Styria had some say in what AMG69 purchased - nothing positive or negative really except they seem to need balancing a bit more often than I would expect and they also seem to have hardened with age to the point where sudden take offs will spin rear wheels more easily than I can remember happening before. Also they seem to have nearly worn out over a very low mileage.

Bill

 

[motec 6.9]

Hi over the years i have had a reasonable amount of exposure to different tyres with consideration given to cost v wear as i owned a taxi in Canberra for 5 years and had another 4 plates on lease on my Maxi cabs i went from a worst case Dunlop doing 25000km to 80000km on Nangkang tyres this was in the beginning a Toyota Commuter bus that was changed to a Mercedes sprinter Bus the original Michelins lasted 80000km as well but cost was stacked against them. The Falcon sedans went through many different tyres best for millage were Pirelli P44 85000km they would aquaplane on a foggy night settled on the then current goodyears made in Australia for the sedans.Now for the biggest surprise my current Territory Ghia AWD is fitted with a tyre size that no other vehicle made has the goodyears fitted were made just for the territory and a different tyre for rear or awd vehicle the first set of Goodyear Fortera's were replaced by at first 2x on the front at 90000km by bridgestone who finally offered an alternative tyre the second set of original Fortera's were replaced last week with 120000km on the car millage i had not ever come across before there is now 2x other brands available for my car but after looking at the bridgstones and there wear it was decided to put the goodyears back on at $289 a tyre the cheapest option for this car is $219 Khumo's

 

[Oversize]

Most high performance tyres have a reputation for high cost and short service life; in my experience the Pirellis, Yokohamas, Dunlops and Michelins have been the worst. Theoretically they should last the longest in order to justify their high price and it seems to me that these manufacturers must class grip as more important than absolutely anything else. To this end they should out grip everything else and be streets ahead of the rest. Unfortunately they are not chalk n cheese like you'd expect and this whole discussion is testament to that. Otherwise we'd all be saying xxxx brand is the best, so don't even bother looking at anything else! We'd also be saying spend all your money on tyres, because nothing else will make such a difference to performance....

The trick is to find the best compromise between cost, service life and grip. To make it even harder, the same tyre won't suit all vehicle models, so it can take a little trial and error.... Something I try to avoid, as the 18" Bridgestones could cost me almost half the price of the whole car (good thing I only have 16s)!!!!

 

[motec 6.9]

Anyway back to the topic the reason for posting was they are new tyres in the correct size for a 6.9 but i would be surprised if they are the correct speed rating

 

[Oversize]

Speed rating isn't an issue here in Victoria (the nanny state), however load ratings certainly are..... Here the speed rating must be 'S' rated (180kmh) or the top speed of the vehicle (whichever is the lesser)! However retreads are permitted as long as they comply with the Australian Standands. These standards permit speed ratings as low as 100kmh in certain circumstances!!!

 

[Styria]

Would anyone still consider fitting retreads to ANY car nowadays ? I remember attending another Car Club meeting about ten years ago, and they spent an hour discussing the merits or otherwise of retreading tyres. I walked away thinking "what am I doing here" - I haven't been back since. Regards Styria

 

[Michel]

Would anyone still consider fitting retreads to ANY car nowadays ? I remember attending another Car Club meeting about ten years ago, and they spent an hour discussing the merits or otherwise of retreading tyres. I walked away thinking "what am I doing here" - I haven't been back since. Regards Styria

Retreads were always a dodgy proposition.
I recall a certain trip from Melbourne to Sydney in the early 80s.
I had driven down to collect a 1956 Corvette that I purchased in California and that was wrongly shipped to Melbourne.
Also in that container were a couple of Chevs V8s and lost of bits and pieces.
I drove down in my 1962 Chevy Wagon with a large car trailer attached.
On the way back, under the strain of the rather large load, we 'burned' a trailer tyre between Wodonga and Albury.
I had no qualms about replacing it with a retread.
The drive went on and a few hundred kilometres later another tyre smoked away to be replaced by another retread.
By the time we got past Goulburn and on a bit of a reasonable highway where I could sit on 110km/h, the retreads started popping.
I recall stopping in Mittagong and fitting four NEW light truck tyres on the trailer.
She was sweet all the way after that.
I later found out from my mate that he always used retreads

On the other hands, remoulds were another proposition.
The process involved not just attaching a piece of rubber on the part that touches the road, but recovering the whole tyre, from bead to bead, in a moulding process.
Not only they looked better but they lasted much longer.