W124 Tyres

[brucemillar]

Friends

My 30 year old 300te 4-Matic suffers from some quite pronounced wheel judder at low speeds (sound familiar, does it not?)

I am now coming to the conclusion the the current Pirelli P6's are not my best friend here. They are at best very hash/had on the road and accentuate every pebble to be boulder sized.

As we have eliminated almost every other candidate for the 'wheel judder' we are left with the tyre choice.

Can anybody suggest what tyres would be best on a 4-matic that is running the original 15" 15 slot alloys?

This is not a daily driver so maybe not so crucial. But comfort is King here and I do not like judder. As in the recent posts it is worst at very low speed. Best example is attempting to to get onto a tight petrol station forecourt.

Oh. My preference is not to have it looking like monster truck, or Massey Ferguson tractor.

 

[optimusprime]

Bruce those tyres are a pain .Just check out the volvo site .They are a no no on there .They were fitted on my V70 when i purchased it so not brand new .And from the first day i drove it i thought it was steering problem .I changed most of the parts on the front end .Before i joined the VOF .It was on there i found out all about them. On a road with a tarmac joint it was a strugle to hold it .I wanted to follow the joint in the road .After this news on the forum i changed all 4 tyres, it was fine to drive after ..Good luck in your choice ..

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Do you have a local independent tyre place that you can trust?

I use one and have fitted tyres that I have never heard of in the past just based on his suggestions following a chat about my car use.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Dunlop Sport Blueresponse are the most comfortable tyres fitted to a W124 in my experience.

They are also exceptionally quiet.

 

[brucemillar]

Charles

Is there any way that we can find out from the build, what the car would have been built with, or what the MB recommendation was for this car? The 4-Matic is the concern here as it is that is 'chipping' when in a tight lock at low speed. I can stop that by dis-engaging the 4-Matic. Climbing out the car whilst in motion, could be a spectator sport. I want to try and cure it via the tyres if possible.

 

[WDB124066]

How long has this been going on Bruce - since you've had the car...?

 

[hotrodder]

Dunno the various tyres that MB fitted when these were new (Michelin mxv3a were one suspect) but it's a fair bet to say that none of them exist today or, if they do, the only thing they'll share with tyres from back in the day are model name and maybe tread pattern?

Dunno if he still does and they've probably been superceded by 3, 4, 5 or even 6th versions anyway but IIRC Bolide used to favour Conti premium contact 2 on 124s whether 195/65r15 or the 205/60r15 fitted to sportline/sportchassis versions

As Charles i'd look at Dunlop or Goodyear... don't think the F1 assymetrics i run on my s124 exist in 15" sizes but there'll be stuff like efficient grip which'll also be super quiet, comfy and grippy. Dunno what load and speed ratings either exist in but might find only one is easy to find in a 91V etc, probably more choice if a 91H is good enough? If the geometry is correct and it only does it when the 4 matic is engaged i doubt a change of tyres will transform things with regards to scrubbing at slow speed with lots of steering lock though?

 

[grober]

Perhaps it might be an idea to take a leaf out of the GLC "crabbing" thread and fit allweather/ winter tyres. Their open tread pattern and increased tread depth may allow the tyre tread to move more on the pavement contact patch. Penalty might be a less precise feel at high speed??

 

[optimusprime]

Bruce i have the original spare that came with my car ,.I can check for you .But it might not be the same size, as you have the 4 matic .