Done with Dunlop A2 Sports - now what? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BillH · #1 07-07-2004, 10:10 AM

I have a 99 C230K - just now rolling 20k miles on Dunlop A2 Sports and they are in bad shape! I doubt I will ever put these tires on a car again. What are your recommendations as to a tire priced in same range as Dunlops but with better wear characteristics and good wet and dry traction?

yal · #2 07-07-2004, 04:48 PM

Continental ContiExtremes check them out.

jcantor · #3 07-08-2004, 07:32 AM

Bill,

I put the A2's on my 560SEL last summer so I'm now at about the same mileage that you have. My tires are still in great shape and handling very well. I'd make sure all of your alignment settings are correct before you put new rubber on the car, regardless of brand.

BTW, I'll second the Conti Extreme Contact recommendation. That was actually what I wanted to get but they were backordered and I couldn't wait so I went with the Dunlops which were right behind them on the Tirerack site.

jlc

Benz300 · #4 07-13-2004, 05:22 AM

give Kumho a shot. they're the cheapest and pretty good as well in terms of low noise and H rated handling.

Luke@tirerack · #5 07-13-2004, 08:28 AM

Bridgestone Turanaza LS would be my choice

BillH · #6 07-13-2004, 05:38 PM

Thanks for your repsonses. The Bridgestone's are a little rich for me and the Conti Extremes don't come in 205 60/15 size. I'm leaning toward Yokohama Avid H4S at this point, but will probably wait until the end of the month to make a decision. I'm incredibly disapointed with the Dunlops. I notice remarks on this Board praising them and others finding poor wear characterisitcs such as mine. I thought they were great the first 8 - 9 K miles, but they went downhill fast after that. I had the front-end aligned twice and found a general wear pattern not indicative of alignment problems. Thanks again.

apb · #7 07-22-2004, 03:40 PM

Kumho HP4 716
GREAT tire. I tried Michelin (MXV4, XGT), Toyo and Dunlop Sp A2.
THe Kumhos are the quietest, give me great traction, and the longest lasting. Unbelievable -- also the cheapest (but that is actually the last reason to buy them)

richard28 · #8 07-26-2004, 05:06 PM

What about the Falken 512? I have the older version 502 & they are great. Consumer Reports gave the Falken the best rating of all-season tires in its most recent test.

keithed · #9 07-29-2004, 10:03 PM

Bill

The Continental Conti Extreme Contact has very high rating, and also is V rated. It does come in 205-65VR15. Don't know if that size will work or not. After much research I have decided to go with these myself. Performance, wet, dry, snow, dollar for dollar they are going to be hard to beat. Now I have only read reviews on Audi, Volvo, Porsche, etc. and all give them 4 and a half and 5 star rating. Five being the highest. And on top of these reviews the Master Tech at the MB dealership, told me this is the way to go if I wanted quality, and save a few bucks. As you know MB come equiped with Michelin Entergy which are two and one half times more than the V rated Conti Extreme. Same tread wear, and same A and A rating respective, as the Michelin. Don't get me wrong if money was no issue it would be the Michelin for me, but at this specific time it is. Good luck.
Keith D

BillH · #10 07-30-2004, 09:36 AM

Thanks for the recommendation on the Conti's - but my tire size is 205/60/15. The only Continental tire Tirerack shows for my size is the Conti Touring Contact. If someone knows otherwise, please let me know.

keithed · #11 07-30-2004, 10:23 AM

Bill

If you go to www.conti-online.com and go to products highlights you should be able to view all Conti top of line tires. The Sport Contact tires come OE on Europe's finest sports cars including the Porsche 911. They have chart access to see if your size is made or not. They come in Y, W, and Z rating.

Then again you can not go wrong with Michilin. A bit pricey but you get what you pay for. As a added note, I would not go under the rating, for which your car came equiped with, ie an H rated tire in place of a V rated tire. I know alot of people do, but the engineers that designed the vehicle put what they put on as OE for a very good reason. The speed rating is not the only reason.

Keith D

BillH · #12 08-02-2004, 09:50 AM

Update - Well I went with the Kumho H4's based on recommendations above and price. My initial thoughts are that these tires are pretty quiet, handle well, and provide a comfortable ride. Of couse, it's hard to compare the ride after being used to the worn-down Dunlops. BTW, the people at my local tire store say they've had complaints about the Dunlop A2s and tell me the tire has been discontinued. I'm anxious to see how the Kumho's wear. If they're disappointing, I'll be back here to get more suggestions and comments from the members of this great Board. Thanks to all who took the time to offer advice - I appreciate it!

albert champion · #13 08-02-2004, 09:49 PM

i find this thread most intriguing.

last april, i acquired a 1997 c140[s500coupe] that was purchased new by a 75yr old non speedster. she put 22,000 miles on the car.

needless to say, the car was immaculate.

it was outfitted with oem 235/60-16 mxv4 michelins. virtually brand new.

but boy, did i hate those tires. noisy. imprecise handling. lousy braking in wet or dry conditions. no traction in the wet off of a stoplight.

over easter last year, i tuned into a radio show, ENTITLED THE CAR SHOW, that airs on pacifica[if you can believe it] in LA. what a great radio show. i hate that it doesn't air on houston's pacifica station....makes click and clack the jokes that they are.

the hosts of that show suggested that i try the dunlop sport A2's.

i have run them now for 8500 miles. quiet. precise handling. outstanding traction in the wet. predictable and excellent braking.

and i run my cars hard. especially on houston's rentabahn. i try to run as if i am on the autobahn again. always plus 85. if the road conditions allow it, +100.

suffice it to say, i have put the dunlops to the real world, high speed test. as of 4 days ago, i found them to be the best high speed tire that i had ever run on a benz[excepting the xwx michelin].

as to durability, they don't feature it. some miles ago i had thought that those shoes would make 20,000 miles. they will not. based on my micrometer, 12,000 miles will be the replacement time.

and now the noise level has increased. i attribute that to the fact that my garage, without my permission, rotated the shoes. i mean it was an astounding difference: before rotation-quiet, after rotation-quite noisy. is this common. i don't recall encountering this phenomenon before.

so, sometime soon, these dunlops will be coming off. what to replace them with? my garageman pushes michelins. for some benzes, yes, they are OK.

i run pilot xgt's on my 1986 560sel. the car has approx 260,000 miles, the tires approx 30,000. tires could be noisy, but who would know, so is the car.

i ran energy xxv4's on my 1987 560sec. very noisy. very unpredictable. changed up to the yoko db's. very quiet for the first 5k. then unbearable.

replaced them with the latest version. still not as quiet as the dunlops before rotation.

my 1995 e320cab still runs the oem shoes, contis.

OK. relatively quiet. not great handling shoes. will probably need replacing at 20k.

so, i am at a loss to figure out how to reshoe this big coupe.

any suggestions?

i am interested in trying the bridgestone re950's.

but to do that, i have to do a 225/60-16. generally, i don't like to downsize. principally because i think benz undersizes its oe tires for the weight of its cars.

but, if one doesn't do that, there are virtually no shoes for these 140's. 235/60-16 is a real dead-end spec.

michelin seems to dominate that size category. but i think their tires in that size are pos, from a handling/performance perspective.

i don't drive this car as if it is a grand tourer. i drive it like my lotus. and i want shoes for that application.

my ears are open to all suggestions.

what i would prefer not to do is to replace the wheels. there is where i think that the car's designers had a vision: this car must run on 16 inch wheels.

finally, revolutions per mile. when i look for shoes compatible with the oem's, i look for an "as close as possible rpm" spec.

just so my odometer and speedo remain mostly accurate.

am i misguided in that squint?

all ears.

speedy72t · #14 08-02-2004, 10:42 PM

I did a ton of research on tires for the wifes A4. It had the OEM Dunlop 8000's and they were decent but when I checked around I found that much of Dulops line is very dated. I ended up with Conti Sport Contact 2. It's a pretty serious tire with no snow capability but it is easily the best tire I have ever driven from a performance standpoint. A bit noisy for touring but I would not hesitate to buy any of the new conti contact line based on my experience with the SC2.

I've also been doing research for the 450SL and I think I'm going to try out the kuhmo KH11. It's only a three season tire but they are CHEAP and should handle very well while not being overly harsh. Besides, who takes a 30 year old SL out in the snow? Just kidding. In 235/60/16 they are $57 bucks. For my car $46 bucks. Cheap.

Based on treadwear rating I'm guessing 20K or so but for my needs that shoud be fine as I don't expect the car to go over 4K a year.

richard28 · #15 08-03-2004, 09:41 AM

Albert,
For your 320 cab you might check the firestone firehawk sz50ep, which I think is now being discontinued. I got mine last year for $109/tire installed. They are z rated, and fabulous. Until breakin the ride was a bit harsh, but they are confidence inspiring in all 3 seasons. Consumer Reports gave them very good scores but because of the $175/tire list price I think they were in the bottom half of the ratings.
This week I am getting a set of bridgestone re950s for my 88 300ce; I'll post my initial impressions after the weekend.