Variety of tyres - baffling

[UrbanM]

Hi all,

Why isn’t anything simple anymore? (Rhetorical question).

I’m trying to buy 2 new front tyres for my 2015 C Class. Every brand of premium tyre seems to have about 10 variations. All with very similar names but all different.

Eg. Continental Contact Sport 5 has so many different variations.

I’m just after good grip in wet weather ie eating A. Which would also probably be good in dry weather too. Budget £155 per tyre.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

Hi all,

Why isn’t anything simple anymore? (Rhetorical question).

I’m trying to buy 2 new front tyres for my 2015 C Class. Every brand of premium tyre seems to have about 10 variations. All with very similar names but all different.

Eg. Continental Contact Sport 5 has so many different variations.

I’m just after good grip in wet weather ie eating A. Which would also probably be good in dry weather too. Budget £155 per tyre.

I just swap between Good Year Eagle F1 5/6 or Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2 both in the 99 load rating as mine is the estate. Whichever i can get the best deal on - they've both been excellent - good in the wet, dry, quiet and seem to last ok-ish. On 17's about £150 each. On the E i can't notice any difference between them in real terms but as they just work dependably i haven't looked at others. On a previous car i punctured and had to get Avon ZV7 and they were so bad i swapped them out for Eagles after about 200 miles. Which for me just confirmed to stick to what you know!

 

[rf065]

I’m just after good grip in wet weather ie eating A. Which would also probably be good in dry weather too. Budget £155 per tyre.

The wet weather rating is only for a braking test, I've had A rated tyres that were quite poor in wet weather handling and pulling out of junctions as they were too prone to wheel spin. Don't confuse an A rating to mean the tyre is better than others in wet weather handling, or surmise that it would be better in dry roads too.

 

[DSM10000]

I just swap between Good Year Eagle F1 5/6 or Dunlop Sportmaxx RT2 both in the 99 load rating as mine is the estate. Whichever i can get the best deal on - they've both been excellent - good in the wet, dry, quiet and seem to last ok-ish. On 17's about £150 each. On the E i can't notice any difference between them in real terms but as they just work dependably i haven't looked at others. On a previous car i punctured and had to get Avon ZV7 and they were so bad i swapped them out for Eagles after about 200 miles. Which for me just confirmed to stick to what you know!

Agreed.

I have had both fitted to currant and previous cars and can concur that grip of both brands in the dry and wet is very good.

I find that the Goodyear are quiter and wear a little better and would be my preference but I would be happy for either to be fitted

 

[BTB 500]

Hi all,

Why isn’t anything simple anymore? (Rhetorical question).

I’m trying to buy 2 new front tyres for my 2015 C Class. Every brand of premium tyre seems to have about 10 variations. All with very similar names but all different.

Eg. Continental Contact Sport 5 has so many different variations.

I’m just after good grip in wet weather ie eating A. Which would also probably be good in dry weather too. Budget £155 per tyre.

There's an 'MO' (Mercedes specific) version of the Continental Contact Sport 5 ... that's what I use on our C Class. These worked out at £129 each all-in when I had a set fitted just over a year ago:

 

[UrbanM]

There's an 'MO' (Mercedes specific) version of the Continental Contact Sport 5 ... that's what I use on our C Class. These worked out at £129 each all-in when I had a set fitted just over a year ago:

View attachment 138186

Thanks. Mine has 225/45/18s.

 

[Spider10]

There's also an MO tyre in dunlop sportsmaxx

 

[ChrisHGTV]

There's also an MO tyre in dunlop sportsmaxx

Funnily enough ive been looking at tyres as i need 2 for my E. When i compared the MO version of the Eagle with the non-MO version they seemed lower performance but i can't remember which category (and i can't find where i saw them now). From memory they were noisier - i wondered if they used a harder/different compound to get better fuel economy or something?

 

[BigJase88]

Yeah there are lots of different ones.

AO Audi
MO Mercedes

They do differ compound wise / tread pattern wise to non manufacturer approved ones. However in general driving conditions would you ever know the difference.... unlikely

 

[BTB 500]

Thanks. Mine has 225/45/18s.

Those currently come in under your budget (just ) ... at the same local vendor that I used for mine. You might be able to find cheaper.

225/45R18 Tyres from Market Drayton Tyres

225/45R18 tyres including budget, mid-range and tyres from premium manufacturers.

www.marketdraytontyres.co.uk

 

[UrbanM]

Good work. But is it the same tyre as a Continental Sport Contact 5 ?

 

[BTB 500]

Good work. But is it the same tyre as a Continental Sport Contact 5 ?

Yes that's SportContact 5. AFAIK they were the factory fit tyre - my 2019 certainly came with them.

 

[BigJase88]

Yes that's SportContact 5. AFAIK they were the factory fit tyre - my 2019 certainly came with them.

View attachment 138202

Decent enough tyres however in my experience wear isn't the best

 

[BTB 500]

Good work. But is it the same tyre as a Continental Sport Contact 5 ?

If you're asking about 5 versus 5P I'm not sure ... could be that 5 is runflat and 5P isn't. Maybe check the Continental website.

 

[UrbanM]

If you're asking about 5 versus 5P I'm not sure ... could be that 5 is runflat and 5P isn't. Maybe check the Continental website.

That’s part of the problem. There are such minor differences and who has the time to do all that? Mind you I’m spending too much time already.

 

[UrbanM]

Looks like I’m going to go with these tyres.

 

[BIGDOG]

Agreed.

I have had both fitted to currant and previous cars and can concur that grip of both brands in the dry and wet is very good.

I find that the Goodyear are quiter and wear a little better and would be my preference but I would be happy for either to be fitted

Glad to hear that you have no raisin to complain

 

[BTB 500]

Looks like I’m going to go with these tyres.

Continental are a premium brand factory-fitted by MB on many models. The price of them is OK and I've been very happy with the grip and handling so have generally stuck with them. TBH though any premium 'summer' tyre is going to be fine - you are only looking at small differences in wear/noise/grip between different makes/lines, and those generally trade off against each other (e.g. a tread pattern with very good wet grip may be noisy, a soft tyre may give excellent dry grip but will wear faster, etc.). I have Contis on the Vito and W205 (and used them on the W203 before that), but Dunlop SP Sport on my SL because of the more specialised sizes (R18 245/40 and 275/35).

 

[TeddyRuxpin]

I have the PC6 on the front of my W212 and they seem to get rave reviews on tyre reviews YouTube channel. I don’t really push my car hard (at the front anyway) but I don’t really have any complaints

 

[DSM10000]

Glad to hear that you have no raisin to complain

Damn auto fill