Author Topic: Mixing Tires (Read 3677 times)

mis3 · « **on:** June 02, 2007, 08:47:56 pm »

As I was cleaning my winter tires for storage, I noticed that the rear tires were almost finished.

I drive a 2004 Mercedes CLK320 and my winter tires are Pirelli Winter 210 with sizes: Front: 205-55-16 and Rear: 225-50-16. I checked a few tires sites and many of them do not carry 225-50-16 of this tire.

If I cannot find 2 of these tires in the coming winter, what are my options? Can I simply buy 2 tires from other manufacturers?

mmret · « **Reply #1 on:** June 02, 2007, 10:01:41 pm »

I think, given that these are winters you're talking about, you should try to get 4 of the same tire.

mis3 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 03, 2007, 12:22:45 am »

Let's say I cannot find Pirelli-210 for the rear, this means that I will have to replace the front tires as well. According to the treadwear of the 2 front tires, they still have 80-85% left.

initial_D · « **Reply #3 on:** June 03, 2007, 12:30:15 am »

How old are the tires? From personal experience, winter tire's traction decorated a lot after 3 or 4 years of usage, even with a good amount of tread left.

If cost is not an issue, I would just get 4 new tires. And burn out the winters.

mis3 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 03, 2007, 12:54:06 am »

I have used these winter tires for 2 winters.

Squishy · « **Reply #5 on:** June 03, 2007, 01:41:43 am »

2 year old winter tires are still pretty good. A RWD car with different sizes like your coupe is always going to be a pain, since the rears will always wear faster and you can't rotate them to the front. At least it's the rears that wear out faster - you want to keep the good tires in the rear. In your case, I would then suggest two new tires for the rear, and keep in mind that once the front age a bit more, you'll have to be gentle in corners as there will be understeer. See if you can time the rear replacements so that you replace the fronts for every two sets of rear tires you go through. I wouldn't put brand new rear tires on after the fronts reach less than 40-50%, unless you are perfectly clear on how your car will behave (test in empty parking lot, I like Home Depots) and drive accordingly.

mis3 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 03, 2007, 08:03:55 am »

Definitely I will have to get 2 new tires for the rear this winter.

My concern is what to do if Pirelli-210 is not available.

Squishy · « **Reply #7 on:** June 04, 2007, 01:55:27 am »

Most shops can special order the tire for you. Call up your favourite tire shop and see what they'll do for you. Make sure they understand you're not requesting they order the tire right now, or else they might not be able to help you out.

If you have no choice, a different tread pattern shouldn't be too much of a problem. Go through the list I gave you and compare winter performance ratings on TireRack. Try to get a tire that is similar to the 210.

initial_D · « **Reply #8 on:** June 04, 2007, 10:35:59 am »

Similar tread pattern, same speed rating.

safristi · « **Reply #9 on:** June 04, 2007, 04:37:51 pm »

..is that Snowballs...

??

wing · « **Reply #10 on:** June 04, 2007, 06:32:38 pm »

I would suggest 2 new rears of equal ability (Be it another brand even), then next time you will get 4 new tires in 2 years time.

morty · « **Reply #11 on:** June 05, 2007, 12:18:59 am »

This is the problem with running staggered sizes. You have more wear on one axle and no option to rotate. It is always recommended to run 4 of the same winter tires. Perhaps try calling Pirelli Canada and see if they can track a pair down for you. You could also try purchasing another pair of 205/55/16 winter 210 and running that on the rear. You wont be able to rotate the wheels, but you could rotate the tires by dismounting from rear and remounting on front. The 205/55/16 should still be available.

Squishy · « **Reply #12 on:** June 05, 2007, 03:28:45 am »

I don't think playing with tire sizes on a performance car is a good idea. The wider tires in the back are likely to combat oversteer issues induced by the stiff suspension setup, and that's the last thing you want when there's traffic around (lonely road out in the country is another matter

). It might be worth an email to Mercedes to see if you can reach one of the engineers, but I'm almost certain you'll get a meaningless customer service canned response about running non-OEM sizes.

Any shop that carries Pirelli should be able to get the 225 size for you, especially if you contact them before they order the bulk of their winter tires. But, I've just thought of another brick wall you might encounter - some tire shops have a policy to sell winter tires only in sets of four. They mean well, but you might have to get creative if your shop has this policy.

morty · « **Reply #13 on:** June 05, 2007, 11:15:47 am »

With winter tires performance in the dry isnt so much of an issue. This tire has been discontinued, so ordering them in with the winter booking is not an option. Only suggested running the 205 on the rear as an option for utilizing the remaining fronts. Ideally you would be purchasing the staggered setup in the same tire.

Squishy · « **Reply #14 on:** June 05, 2007, 12:19:23 pm »

Hey, what happened to the list of tires I posted?

Oversteer isn't just limited to dry roads; in fact, it's exacerbated by slick roads.

I didn't know the 210 was discontinued.

Other than that, I think the Dunlop Graspic DS-2 comes closest to Pirelli 210 customer ratings on TireRack. I assume you live in the city and/or won't be going into deep snow with the Merc, so I only compared light snow and ice traction ratings.

mis3 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 05, 2007, 01:38:05 pm »

Not sure if 205-55-16 would fit my rear wheels.

I do need good winter tires because I visit Montreal frequently.

I read it somewhere that Dunlop Graspic DS-2 is no bad to work with the traction control of Mercedes. True enough, my friend bought these tires and the ESP light (Traction control) came on all the time.

Maybe the Pirelli 240 ? At least, same brend !

morty · « **Reply #16 on:** June 05, 2007, 01:54:22 pm »

DS-2 is Q-rated and you can't mix with the 210, which is H-Rated. With the 240 it is V-Rate, so not recommended either as the 210 is H-rated. Again not ideal, but you could stretch the 20 on the rear wheel or purchase non-staggered wheels just for winter. Provided your car will accomodate them. Is it a SLK or CLK....can't remember?

mis3 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 05, 2007, 03:32:35 pm »

It's a 2004 CLK320.

I am really not too crazy about using 205-55-16 with these wider wheels. Are there other H-rated tires I can get which are H-rated?

Allen · « **Reply #18 on:** June 05, 2007, 05:45:10 pm »

who keeps deleting the link that Squishy posts

.. more censorship on this forum again

morty · « **Reply #19 on:** June 05, 2007, 07:39:47 pm »

I do. It is simple. Make obvious advertising posts for sites that do not sponsor this forum and I delete them. His post had pricing and links and I removed them. I follow the same guidelines and do not post any of my pricing.