Confused on Tyres

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So I see no reason to trust their opinion of MO tyres, and I do find their insurance invalidation claim bizarre and scaremongering, but at the same time serving to highlight what is really behind this brochure - getting more business.
Hey that's a nice set of tyres you've got on your car there Mark. What's that? *gasp* No MO markings on the sidewall? It'd be a shame if you went to use it one day and the tyres were like pincushions filled with nails from an unknown source. Use MO tyres - you know it makes sense. :rolleyes:
 
That reminds of a story I heard once from a business owner in a remote part of the planet. Apparently shortly after he set up shop in town, round closing time a young lad came up to the shop and said 'hey, nice shop you got there, would be a shame if someone set fire to it, some nasty types around these areas y'know, why don't you let me watch over your shop for you'. The proprietor said 'sure' and politely invited him to the back room, where he jumped him with his brother and together they tied the poor man to a column telling him 'guard the shop well, we will be back first thing tomorrow morning'. They came back next morning and released the guy, he was never heard of again.

I was never able to verify this story of course, but knowing the shop owner it is not at all impossible.. :eek:
 
Agreed I too found the last paragraph patronising but it is relevant. The first thing an insurance assessor does when checking cars involved in an accident is check the tyres.

For condition, appropriate size and speed/load rating, which are entirely relevant. Trying to claim an accident occurred due to the lack of an M0 marking would be nigh-on impossible to defend.

The handbook for my R129 does state that only certain types of tyre are approved for use on it.

As does mine. None of them are available anymore though :doh:
 
OK... how about this:

We at Michelin recommend that you only buy Michelin-branded tyres, which will be suitable for your vehicle.

In case of an accident, you may go to prison if you cause someone's death and your tyres are proven to be unsuitable for your vehicle'


Taking the two sentences in isolation, not a word is untrue... but put together, as a whole this is pure rubbish, as it would seem to suggest that you could go to prison for not using Michelin tyres...
 
Is it just michelin that supply MO marked tyres? I don't think so, and if not why bother paying the premium for michelin tyres? If MO means they have been fine tuned to the car manufacturers spec regarding wear rates and noise etc whatever tyre manufacturer you are getting the same spec. reMOulds here I come!!
 
That reminds of a story I heard once from a business owner in a remote part of the planet. Apparently shortly after he set up shop in town, round closing time a young lad came up to the shop and said 'hey, nice shop you got there, would be a shame if someone set fire to it, some nasty types around these areas y'know, why don't you let me watch over your shop for you'. The proprietor said 'sure' and politely invited him to the back room, where he jumped him with his brother and together they tied the poor man to a column telling him 'guard the shop well, we will be back first thing tomorrow morning'. They came back next morning and released the guy, he was never heard of again.

I was never able to verify this story of course, but knowing the shop owner it is not at all impossible.. :eek:


How remote was this? Scilly isles ?
 
deffo marketing bollix. The same MO tyre could in theory be fitted to a smart car and a E63 AMG. Tuned for both applications my posterior !

EXACTLY!

The other thing is that the cars could span 20years or more - are we supposed to believe that current MO tyres would have been somehow "tuned" to the characteristics of a range of MB models made many years ago?

My car came new with Bridgestone Turanza's and they weren't the MO versions. Michelin don't even do an MO version of one the sizes on my car.

It makes some sense for Porsche as they have different numbers (N1, N2 etc) but for Mercedes it makes no sense at all.
 
Guys - you're perfectly at liberty to believe your own prejudices but I can assure you that manufacturer-specific variants of tyres are different to the generic non-specific version. You personally may not encounter anything in use that you identify as different, but different they are. I'll quote an example from personal experience that may or may not convince you.

I have a Honda ST1300 motorcycle for which Honda recommend Bridgestone tyres, with a G suffix. With the recommended tyres fitted the rear will last me between 7k and 8k miles. At one tyre change a few years ago my dealer fitted a generic-fit BT020 rear as there were no stocks of the G-variant available. It felt just the same to ride on, but lasted less than 4k miles - i.e. about half the life. When I complained the dealer contacted Bridgestone who confirmed that both the tyre carcass and the tread formulation are significantly different between the versions, and that the generic version would show significantly accelerated wear when fitted to my Honda. As a result, The dealer admitted their error and replaced the tyre for free. I'll add that with the exception of the G-suffix, both tyres looked absolutely identical.

So, choose to believe what you like but an email to the tyre manufacturer's technical dept will confirm that MO tyres are indeed different to the generic version.
 
So, choose to believe what you like but an email to the tyre manufacturer's technical dept will confirm that MO tyres are indeed different to the generic version.

And how different can they be when the British Tyre Manufacturers Association confirm that MO tyres can be used on any other make of vehicle and do not need to be used on a Mercedes. Whereas a Porsche fitted with N tyres must have the same tyres replaced and those tyres cannot be used on any other make of vehicle.

Your m/cycle story may relate to Porsche tyres, but not MO marked ones.

Russ
 
deffo marketing bollix. The same MO tyre could in theory be fitted to a smart car and a E63 AMG. Tuned for both applications my posterior !

I think you may find the same tyre wouldn't fit both the cars you mentioned even in theory.
 
I have a Honda ST1300 motorcycle for which Honda recommend Bridgestone tyres, with a G suffix. With the recommended tyres fitted the rear will last me between 7k and 8k miles. At one tyre change a few years ago my dealer fitted a generic-fit BT020 rear as there were no stocks of the G-variant available. It felt just the same to ride on, but lasted less than 4k miles - i.e. about half the life. When I complained the dealer contacted Bridgestone who confirmed that both the tyre carcass and the tread formulation are significantly different between the versions, and that the generic version would show significantly accelerated wear when fitted to my Honda. As a result, The dealer admitted their error and replaced the tyre for free. I'll add that with the exception of the G-suffix, both tyres looked absolutely identical.

Absolutely correct, but the reasons behind that are surprisingly simple. The ST1300 is a big old bus, like the ST1100 before it - around 30% heavier than your average sport/touring motorcycle that the 020 was designed around.

Hence without the G-suffix's heavier carcass construction and compound to support this, it's no surprise the standard one wore considerably faster.

I would question whether the same rationale be applied to M0 tyres over standard, given that there is not the same marked difference in expected load?
 
The questions is whether the 'G' suffix is a specific designation for Honda bikes only, like MO, or is it a generic load index used by Bridgestone? i.e. would other manufacturers of heavy bikes recommend the use of Bridgestone 'G' suffix tyres? (in MBs case, you will not find another manufacturer - e.g. BMW - recommending owners to use 'MO' designated tyres...)

Furthermore, as pointed out by DolphiN TECH, the 'G' suffix tyre is a specific recommendation by Honda for specific models of their bikes, not a generic across-the-board recommendation by Honda that all their bikes - from 50cc to 1300cc - should only be used with 'G' suffix tyres (which is what MB is doing with the 'MO' designation).
 
It would appear to be a generic designation for a particular spec of construction and compound, that manufacturers can then opt for beyond the normal offering.

Some designations may only apply to one bike, others may cover a range from several manufacturers.
 
probably true but the rationale behind it is sound.
C220 CDI vs C63 AMG perhaps? Both could have the same wheels and tyres from the factory but they have wildly different performance characteristics even if the weight etc is almost the same.
 

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