205/ 70-14 H rated tire choices for my 85 300SD
 

Apparently, you don't get much of a choice if you want an H-rated tire in 205/70-14 size for a 85 300SD which is what MB requires for this car. The local Mavis tire guy said this sizing is not very popular especially in H-speed rating. They only offer Pirelli P4000 Super Touring. Luke, apparently the Bridgestone TURANZA LS-H are not available in 205/70-14 sizing.

My alternatives for a H rated 205 tire for my 85 300SD are the Firestone Affinity LH30 for $73 shipped and mounted from TireRack or a MIchelin MXV4 for $102 mounted at Costco ($15 sale per tire in June). Consumers' reviews of the MXV4's at TireRack are mixed and somewhat scathing, especially in rain and snow. Anyone who had tried these two have a recommendation? I live in CT so foul winter weather is a consideration. Many thanks.

ever thought about a little twist on the tire size???

vwbuge, what do you suggest in tweaking the tire size?

You are kind of limited....225/60-14 may work. They are roughly 17mm larger in overall height, but you do have alot of room in the wheel wells to fill. Your speedo will be off slightly also. I did have a website that quickly converted tire sizes and computed speedo error. I tried this with great success with my Subaru. I was tired of the sloppy handling so I went from a 185/70-14 (stock) to a 205/60-14. Speedo error was very small and the handling benefits were substantial.

This should help..........
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

205/70/14
 

Edge,

Hope your trip back to the land of the fancy people was smooth.;)

The tires that I have been running on my 300d are of the above size.

They are the michelin X one.:D

Nothing but smiles about them. Very QUIET ride....smooth with good traction. The winter was not a problem, however, a snow tire on ALL 4 wheels WILL be SUPERIOR.

Don't know if I'll make the concours coming up.........a DEFINATE MAYBE.

The wedding is July 12 in Aiken, South Carolina.:eek: :eek: :eek:


Keep those diesels humming!

Spo out.

Beware of Michlins: no warranty on road hazards. I learned the hard way.

P E H

other brands/sizes
 

I ran 195/70/14's on my 81 300SD, could have gone larger, in retrospect. On my current 82 300D, I am running 195/70/14 size yokohama Avid Tourings. MUCH better overall than the same size Michelin X one's on the 84 300TD, especially in rain. I will be abandoning Michelin for awhile I think. The Yokohama's are great, and much more reasonably priced. I intend to do 205's on my 108 chassis when the current Uniroyal whitewalls wear out (from the PO).

-JAS

I had a set of Michelin tires, I think they were called Rain Masters, on a Lincoln Towncar. They should have been called Rain Dangers, they were absolutely horrible. I finally put on a set cheap BJs Uniroyals that actually surpass the Michelins in wet or dry.

On my SD I put on a couple of Yokohama Aegis based on the reviews at Tirerack, also one of my engineers has them on his Camry. Wonderful tires, but they are 195/70-14. Once I'm sure the front end is all set I'll buy another pair. I highly recommend them.

Jerry

a side note
 

225/60/14 works just fine on the 123 with alloy rims.

I picked up 4 used (7K) Michelin X1's for $180. Very SMOOTH, very QUIET, handle well and stop good in the rain. Haven't tried snow yet, installed to late. I would buy a set new without hesitation. Try BJ's or Sams club? RT

I have P4000s on the rear of my 83 SD. Worn not quite to the wear bars. On a couple of quick(!) left turn starts on wet pavement, they've broken traction. Quite a surprise in an SD. Something I haven't been able to do in the SDL with MXV4+ tires.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

I have those Michelins on a 450SEL and love them.

I have the Firestone Affinity LH30's on my 123 and love them.

The Michelins are a tad quieter I think, but since they are on different chassis cars I find it hard to compare.

The Firestones only set me back $240.00 out the door with a good balance and an installer who uses his torque wrench. The Michellins were, of course, a goodly amount more.

The Michelins took less weight to balance, but again they are on a different set of alloy wheels.

Just my opinion , of course.

I've got Goodyear Aquatread 3's on my 1985 300SD in the original size. I've got about 3,500 miles on them so far. Bought them through the internet for about $80 each. I love them. They've got a 60,000 mile tread wear life. I just drove 574 mile over the past two days in driving rain and they car held superbly! Better in that rain than any other tire I've had in the rain. I like the tires so much I got them for the Minivan as well. Nice smooth ride and they handle well on the turns. I've only had them up to 90 mph so far, but that's about all I can and care to do with the diesel. Well anyway, that's my stong recommendation.

Tire choices
 

Edge,
I run Yokohama Avid Touring 195/70/R14 (MB spec) on my '82 300SD. They are about 18 months old now, with 26k miles on them, mostly on freeways in the Southwest, and I must say, they are outstanding tires! $48 @, 80,000 mile warranty, smooth and quiet, and handle as well in the winter rain, snow, and icy patches of Denver as they do in the summer heat of Phoenix and Yuma. My only (minor) gripe is they grip the road so well that the local freeway grooving wants to gently nudge the car sometimes. I used Michelins for the first 10 years, but the cost/value factor of the Yokohamas has persuaded me to switch for the last 11 years.

Steve Kaa
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1982 300SD 313k miles