MO markings on tyres

[supaer]

Hi all,

Am looking to change the tyres on my c63 coupe soon. They currently have Conti Sport Contact 5's with a big MO on them. I personally don't really like Conti's and would much rather have Michelin Pilot Super Sport's all round.

However they do not have them with an MO fitment.

I was wondering, how important is it to have the MO fitment, is there any significant difference that can lead to bad handling or vibration etc?

Appreciate your help.

Thanks

 

[grober]

Consensus is that the MO branded tyre is almost identical to its unbranded sibling. Its possible the rubber mix/tread might be slightly different favouring wet grip and ride sophistication over mileage for example but its doubtfull if the basic carcass is any different. While there may be measurable differences between MO and non -MO tyres its unlikely that this would be obvious in day to day motoring. There are literally millions of Mercedes cars out there running on non MO tyres- if there was a significant fall off in the driving experience chances are you would have heard about it?

 

[st13phil]

A number of people on this forum with C63's run Michelin PSS's and really like them.

The MO marking sometimes signifies a slightly different profile to the tyre, but more often it signifies a different grip / wear balance to the generic tyre of the same brand and type.

 

[A-AvantGarde]

As you're looking at buying Michelins, these are a 'premium' tyre and not ditchfinders So, as long as the size, load rating & speed rating are correct then no it doesn't matter whether it's MO rated or not.

Having said that I ran MO tyres on our C Class and * tyres on our BMW. All the marking means is that it's designed to the manufacturers specifications.

I believe (although these could be internet rumours) that people have had issues have non Porsche spec / rated (N) tyres on Porsche's.

 

[kamalpatel12448]

Moving on quickly - Michelin PSS is better than the Conti's, many threads on MO, not worth further typing so go get the better tyre and enjoy the C63!

 

[markjay]

The only difference I managed to find was that every single Conti MO I ever bought had identical colour rings (run out), but obviously I can not say if this was a coincidence or not.

(See also: http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=165)

I would say that:

Chose the tyre you want.

If there is an MO variant for this tyre, then go for it in preference to non-MO.

But if the tyre you want is not available as MO, then stick to the tyre you chose and forget about MO...

 

[whitenemesis]

MO labeled tyres have to pass a stricter (tighter) QA criteria, as shown by the run-out bands. There may be a change to the compound but the Michelin tech I was speaking with couldn't (wouldn't?) confirm this.

Just to add there are also MO1 tyres specifically for AMG models.

 

[BTB 500]

It's also worth mentioning that MO tyres aren't normally any more expensive than the standard version.

 

[supaer]

Thank you all for your input, I do think that there is not much difference that I would notice on day to day driving, and the difference in the conti's and the Michelin PSS is in my opinion quite substantial.

At the same time, the stock tyres front and rear are quite skinny in comparison to say the e92 m3, not by much but a little. I wonder if you are able to increase the size by 10mm on the front and rear.

Thanks again for all your thoughts.

 

[automaniaman]

^ Yes, I run Mich. PSS 265 on the rear...