Comfortable tyres

[Mistermackay]

Hi I have purchased an E350 Coupe 2009. It is a bit of a hard ride fitted with staggered 18 inch wheels. When I replace the tyres in due course, what are the
best tyres that can fit on these wheels to give a softer ride?

 

[G.P]

Mich., Conti and Toyo produce the softest sidewalls with Mich priding themselves on producing the best tyres for comfort..

 

[rf065]

I think you're wasting your time with the tyres, the only way you'll get a noticibly softer ride, is with smaller wheels allowing tyres with a larger sidewall. Even then, with the state of the roads in the UK, you'll still feel the potholes.

Russ

 

[Tedswagon]

Yeah, smaller wheels. Rubber is important too but down a size will make most difference.

Least it's not run flats!!!

 

[Trickythemerc]

My CLK is on 18 inch Hankooks and the ride is quite hard around town,but OK on the motorway and good road surfaces. I have a full set of Conti Sport 5s waiting to be fitted. It will be interesting to see if the ride quality improves when they are on.

 

[StuartK]

I would say that honestly if your trying to add more comfort by changing guess you truly are p****** in the wind.

The difference is so marginal you won't notice

 

[C240Sport97]

how old are your current tyres? Look out for a 4 digit number on the side wall; 1st 2 is week of production, 2nd 2 is year of production

they may have hardened due to being very old

 

[190]

Tire pressure makes a difference to ride comfort so make sure they are not high. MB usually specify the minimum pressure to accommodate 3 passengers and some luggage which could be viewed as too high if you are empty and running solo. That statement is arguably a contentious area on safety grounds but there is no question that slightly lower pressures will improve the ride.

Bottom line is I personally run 5% or 1.5 PSI below the book pressures when lightly laden and for me the barely detectable loss of sharpness is worth trading for a perceptibly improved ride. 1.5 PSI might sound like clutching at straws but every little helps.

 

[RichardF]

but every little helps.

Quite right, it's not just the tyres though. I replaced shocks & bushes as well as going down from 17" to 16" wheels with new tyres instead of 8 y/o jobbies.

I run on minimum pressures and now regard it as acceptable. When choosing tyres I looked @ Tyrereviews.co.uk. Each change only made a bit of difference but it all adds up.

 

[G.P]

The difference is so marginal you won't notice

The difference is actually very noticeable between manufactures, some of which I know many that wouldn't drive on for long due to actually been to soft and unstable because of.

how old are your current tyres? Look out for a 4 digit number on the side wall; 1st 2 is week of production, 2nd 2 is year of production

they may have hardened due to being very old

The compound becoming hardened has little effect to the strength of the walls..

 

[Charles Morgan]

Check the load factor too - the chap who sold me my Alpina had put on 97XL tyres (for a car with a 91 specification). That and the fact they were Bridgestones (a hard tyre) meant the ride was a travesty of what an Alpina should be and horribly hard. Changing to Michelin Pilot Sport 2s was revolutionary, and these are a bit harder than the Michelin PS3s I had on my previous Alpina. When I had my C55 I swapped from Bridgestone Potenzas to PS3s and the ride improved noticeably.

Probably the most comfortable tyre in my experience is the Dunlop Sport Bluresponse.

Plenty of choices there to improve ride without changing wheel diameter (all the above cars have or had 18 inches wheels).

 

[Flyinspanner]

If your current tyres are "low profile" say a 35, then maybe upping to a 45 profile may improve it.

If you dropped down to 17s you could maybe go for a 50 profile.

Maybe search out one of the alloy wheel fitment sites and play with sizes and profiles to see which combo will suit you, and stay near the original rolling diameter, so that your speedo isn't too far out.
You can get 'converters' which will correct it if it's far out, ..or just use your gps.

 

[rifiki]

I changed 17 to 16 inch to get better ride. Tyres are about 30% cheeper and may last longer.

 

[G.P]

Bridgestones (a hard tyre) meant the ride was a travesty of what an Alpina should be and horribly hard. Changing to Michelin Pilot Sport 2s was revolutionary,

For me, I once had an E30 on Mich. and removed them as the ride was way to soft to get the car to handle correctly as it was designed for a firmer sidewall, and Bridge. offers a firm wall for a sporty feel whereas Mich. pride themselves on comfort tyres..

 

[Mistermackay]

I can pick up some 17 inch staggered wheels and I think I will go for them. Thanks

 

[MBZE55]

My 350cdi sport coupe is firm , but no worse than most modern cars , its currently on 18" wheels with 40 profile tyres , the problem is the lack of maintenance of our roads , the local councils just do not have the funds , not sure what my £200 car tax goes towards , its certainly not road maintenance .Have had to repair 5 wheels/tyres in the last couple of years from my cars , i used to have 20" wheels with 30 profile tyres , and they were scrap within 6 months , i will never go lower than 40 profile now.

 

[Reamer]

I have just changed my Continental Contact Sport 3 tyres 18" staggered after driving 30k in the last year.
There was no noticeable change in handling in this period other than slight wet hydroplaning at 70 mph when hitting standing water on M62 [emoji15].

They were firm tyres with good driver feedback.

This time I have switched to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2. Comfort and noise reduced significantly. I've not been on the motorway yet so will report back when I have.

Tyre pressures I run at are 32 front 34 rear. I run slightly higher to reduce front outer edge wear.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[G.P]

the problem is the lack of maintenance of our roads

Bad isn't it, but, at least todays roads keep you alert and save you from going in a straight line as they have become obstacle courses, quite eventful driving on todays roads..

 

[A250 Bennyboy]

I have contanentals run flats on 18" and they are terrible, road noise and ride quality leaves a lot to be desired, when the time comes to change I'll probably go to Goodyear eagle F1s, had these tyres on an ST and they was brilliant