Why Hankook tires suck

[Casey]

http://www.youtube.com/v/aukIiu-VAXs

That's on a perfectly dry, high-traction road.  In the rain I wouldn't remain on the road, and on a slippery spot like at a traffic light in the city, you just better hope it never rains...

[Big_Richard]

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[Tony66_au]

Silicone tyre tech and painted lines do that....

[Tony66_au]

or have the tyres gone off?

[Casey]

Is that within the speed limit ?

I can't be bothered to pay attention to speed limits, unless I happen to see a police car. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/Q36FrnkV6So

[Casey]

or have the tyres gone off?

They're the ones that came on my first 300SD.  They have tons of tread left, no dry rot.  They also fold over when you corner hard, so there are rub marks all up the sides of them too. 

They are really just terrible tires.

[Casey]

Is that within the speed limit ?

I can't be bothered to pay attention to speed limits, unless I happen to see a police car. 

Besides, it's not about when you're going too fast so much as when you have some emergency situation to deal with, like somebody in front of you slamming the brakes or deciding to change lanes right into you when you're in their blind spot.  I made that video squealing the tires on purpose as a joke for a friend.

On the other hand Michelin Harmonys would simply cut right around the corner with no problem whatsoever, no squealing, and equal performance in pouring rain.

[JasonP]

Is that within the speed limit ?

I can't be bothered to pay attention to speed limits, unless I happen to see a police car. 

[Big_Richard]

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[Casey]

Nah, I don't have a 6.9!  And the car in the video is only running at about half horsepower.  If there's anybody in front of me I actually usually leave plenty of room and just cruise along at their speed, but sometimes on the weekend like today I like to go find a quiet backroad somewhere and drive down it much too fast.  There's also a few mile section of rural road between towns on my way to work that's usually pretty deserted.

That last comment was just sarcastic, but that picture is quite funny!

[oversize]

How old are the tyres Casey?  More than 5YO and the rubber will be hard and non-compliant.  It's usually evident by squealing and tiny stress fractures in the rubber.  Tread depth has no bearing on grip if the tyres are old.

BTW nice one Jason!!  LOL!   

[JasonP]

That last comment was just sarcastic, but that picture is quite funny!

I'm glad you took it well, I was just funnin'.

Those look like roads we used to run on for cross-country in Michigan. Beautiful scenery. Just watch out for the kids in those neighborhoods. Mercedes prides itself on safety, we should honor that as well.

[ZCarFan]

Hmmm...

I believe that's near Mt. Airy in the 2nd video isn't it?  You can see a gravel driveway right in front of the car at 0:27 at the railroad crossing.  Looks a lot like where one of the houses the wife and I looked at buying back in 2000.  Basically a 100 ft. wide acre of railroad frontage.  Oh goody.

Must be your tires as I don't think I ever got the 300SDs to squeal.  I ran out of bravado first.   I live right off a road that is 7 miles of twisty pavement, most marked at 45 mph and it looks like the road in the second video.  Georgia has an odd way of posting some high speed limits on backroads.  At 45, a few of the turns will pitch any unsecured objects against the far side of the car.  Still, no squeals.  What pressure are you running in them?

[Casey]

I believe that's near Mt. Airy in the 2nd video isn't it?  You can see a gravel driveway right in front of the car at 0:27 at the railroad crossing.  Looks a lot like where one of the houses the wife and I looked at buying back in 2000.  Basically a 100 ft. wide acre of railroad frontage.  Oh goody.

Yep, just slightly east of town.

Must be your tires as I don't think I ever got the 300SDs to squeal.  I ran out of bravado first.   I live right off a road that is 7 miles of twisty pavement, most marked at 45 mph and it looks like the road in the second video.  Georgia has an odd way of posting some high speed limits on backroads.  At 45, a few of the turns will pitch any unsecured objects against the far side of the car.  Still, no squeals.  What pressure are you running in them?

I am very certain it's the tires. I've got nine different sets of tires that have come on my cars and a new set of Michelin Harmony's. The Hankooks are worst of all, and I have plenty of lousy ones, even one set that's full of dry rot cracks. I always follow the Mercedes recommendations for tire pressure.

[ZCarFan]

I believe that's near Mt. Airy in the 2nd video isn't it?  You can see a gravel driveway right in front of the car at 0:27 at the railroad crossing.  Looks a lot like where one of the houses the wife and I looked at buying back in 2000.  Basically a 100 ft. wide acre of railroad frontage.  Oh goody.

Yep, just slightly east of town.

ah yes, now I remember that was the day we drove for about 30 minutes before I realize my wife had the map upside-down.   12 years ago.... wish I could remember what I was doing 2 minutes ago.

Some tires work better at higher pressures than the OEM items.    I used to stick exactly to the tire placard until the Exlporer/Firestone debacle.  there was a lot of discussion in the industry after that and I ended up following the boss' opinion and went by the max figure on the sidewall.  If they indicate a max of 44 on the sidewall,  you could try that and see what they feel like.  You just never know.   I expect that you also have had the alignment checked, correct?  We set my 300SD up with about 1/2 degree negative camber, nearly zero toe then put on as much caster as I had left.  Turned in pretty nice.