NOT a Winter tyre thread.....

[fabes]

But an All Season tyre thread !

So, for many valid / man math reasons, I have ditched the Conti Sport 5s that were supplied pretty much new with the E350 3 years ago
I did switch to winters for the last 3 winter seasons (I carried them over from the CLK; that's another thread) but the Continentals have done the majority of the miles I have done.

Not having to drive as much and no longer going up to our northern DC' several times a month during Jan and Feb, I sold the Hankook Winters on here early Oct
I was a faff storing them and paying £50 to swap them (well, somethings do get lost in 'expenses') though they were good when called upon on ice and even some snow

So I have a set of the new Bridgestone Weather Control A005 EVO All Seasons on.

The Contis never felt great, even in the damp conditions we have now.
I don't know how you RWD AMG chaps keep yours straight as even on a modest V6, if prodded with a modicum of vigour, the dashboard lights up, the rears spin and I am not always pointing in the exactly the right direction.

Then on the way back from Devon last week, in the dark and in the rain, I dug into the braking zone on a roundabout the the front end did not obey (leather seats, its okay....) and knowing that I am likely to have to go to Devon whatever the conditions over the winter (dads health), having appropriate tyres means I can make the trip with more confidence. The fronts were patchy and close on 3mm (the rears I didn't look at, as its all or nothing)
They are made in Europe, so spending before Brexit seemed sensible as well

They look good, You Tube and the Tyre Review sites like them, so I will report back, as they are one of the few All Seasons available in both sizes for a E class staggered set up.......

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Well ?

 

[fabes]

So far so good, although.....

4,000 miles on them and they are at 6.5mm on the front (even wear) and 6.1& 6.0mm on the rear (from service report @ MBS just yesterday)

It's Rwd and with a modicum of power (>300bhp) but given that my style is not to light the rears up much, that difference surprised me (discuss)

I have found I can break traction and spin the rears quite easily though, albeit the tyres may not have been warm. I haven't kept a mental note, but they are not 'sticky'

Noise levels I believe are good (they are new though) and due to WFH, they haven't been tested in testing conditions, (last winter was quite warm in the South) though in the few times they have dealt with rain and standing water they have gripped well.
So will diary to flag back up after this coming winter (if we get one this year) given I also will be commuting a little more and am driving too and from Devon more often now as well.

 

[WylieECoyote]

I'm thinking of getting Hankook winters - apart from the reasons you gave in your original post, how did you find them? Any initial thoughts whether the winters were better than your all-seasons?

 

[fabes]

The Hankooks, as my first ever winters, impressed me.
Drove them in light snow and it was no different to summers in the wet, getting up slopes that others couldn't.

In the cold I had notably more confidence than I had in the summer Contis.

However with the change in my driving needs over the winter months, and living on the South coast, swapping to winters makes no sense anymore, although the All Seasons will give me the confidence and head room with regards capability, on those really wet winter days or when it closes in on zero degrees.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

I put my winter wheels and all seasons back on yesterday, that's how I spotted this old thread , I bought the wheels supplied with bridgestone evo , my e350 is running stock bhp and torque , I find the tyres to be spot on tbh . They even got me up the street last winter in snow . I'm contemplating buying a staggered set of 18's and ditching the 19's that came on the car . The roads are becoming rough for a 30 profile .

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

We need some Europeans and Scots to comment on this thread. The South of England barely sees any “weather.”

They take a wee bit of snow and rain in their stride all the time.

Criticising Contis for grip when they have only 3mm of tread does seem a tad unfair. Ditto criticising big wheels: they look cute, for sure, but tyres need more rubber for wet weather grip.

On the other hand, Autumn hasn’t even started yet, let alone Winter.

 

[OneForTheRoad]

We need some Europeans and some Scots to comment on this thread.

They take a wee bit of snow and rain in their stride all the time.

Criticising Contis for grip when they have only 3mm of tread does seem a tad unfair. Ditto criticising big wheels: they look cute, for sure, but Winters need more rubber for better grip.

on the other hand, it’s only just Autumn

View attachment 118649

I swapped for comfort not the weather . I'm only 87 miles from Scotland, so I get pished on quite a bit too.

 

[fabes]

I accept that Contis on 3mm will never be at the their best, but I didn't like them for sometime and many Autumn's before the then.

I looked into winters when I got the CLK 6 years ago when I did travel Worksop way a fair bit in winter months, we still did get snow in the South and I was back in a RWD car after crashing my previous MB in snow 6 years earlier.

I got a BOGOF deal from Hankook direct and as said used them for 4 winters, happily.
But with the summer tyres needing replacing and me not going up north in the winter (as much / at all) now, I could scratch the All Seasons itch.

Just need mother nature to play along now and I can test the Bridgestones out more thoroughly

BTW, Christmas stock out before October is just plain wrong, whatever Supply Chain worries they have

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

BTW, Christmas stock out before October is just plain wrong, whatever Supply Chain worries they have

Amen.

It's not Supply Chain,

Coop's worried that its customers are too thin.

.

 

[Wolfie1]

I put uniroyal rainsport 3 on my old merc and in the snow last year i was getting places with them fwd cars were getting stuck

 

[Deleted member 166430]

I'm very soon having to change my tyres and looking at All Seasons because most of my driving is in Cambridgeshire and further south. I was a bit concerned about Bridgestone's Weather Controls when I read Tyre Review say "Longer braking distances in the wet at warmer temperatures, increased rolling resistance, poor aquaplaning resistance in both tests, poor snow traction." The only other alternative currently available for my C350, which has the same size rears as the E350, is Pirelli Cinturato All Season SF2.

I'm down to 3.5mm in one place so it's time to start some serious thinking about changing from my Goodyear summer tyres - I don't trust them for the winter.