[Master Captain]

Would be interested in links to the sites you used.

Hi Geo K -
In addition to Tire Rack (who may be biased as they sell the tires - but they really liked these tires) I checked Consumer Reports, Auto Gild (Germany), Tire Reviews and More.com, of course Vredestein's website (shockingly they really like them!! ), and several youtube reviews which were mixed...

You can find sites that love them, as well as sites that don't really like them.... Consumer Reports being as unbiased as possible liked them enough to seal the deal for me.
The overall combination of quieter ride, more comfortable ride, plus handling characteristics from the various sites, plus price, is what did it for me.

Remember, my driving may be very different than yours, so my tire expectations may be different... for example, my main objective was to find a tire that had a very quiet ride, but I liked that the Vredesteins were well rated in snow handling. I don't drive much in the snow these days (I live in New Jersey, we had 18" of snow Sun - Tues of this week) because I choose not to, and don't have to... I spent my formative driving years in Buffalo, NY so I learned early about driving in snow. I don't trust other drivers not to drive like it is a sunny dry day when it is snowing - I see crazy driving all the time - so if I don't have to go out until the roads are decently cleared, I don't.

Wet weather (ie rain) was also important because I had a set of Bridgestones (original stock tires) on my RX7 - they would slide all over the place in any rain conditions - frighteningly so. I eventually replaced them with a set of Yokahamas on which I could double the off-ramp clover speeds in any rain condition and it was like driving on dry pavement.

So - research, a site like our MB Forum that provides experienced feedback on similar vehicles, and sometimes just gut instinct need to be factored in with your personal requirements.

Sorry for the long response, but it wouldn't have been fair to just say "I looked at CR and that was what made my decision for me"

Stay Safe!

 

[Geo K]

OK CR ....Link to the article you saw?

 

[Master Captain]

OK CR ....Link to the article you saw?

Sorry - no link - my sister has a CR subscription and made a copy of the tire reviews....

I have attached the PDF. The Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires show up in the 'Ultra High Performance - All Season' section and have a CR Recommendation.

 

[Geo K]

✅ Thank you very much Master Captain and a thank you from all of us here, to your thoughtful Sister. Her article also rates sellers/installers at a time that many of us on the Forum are thinking about replacements.

 

[mav238]

Glad to see that the Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+ made the cut. Wondering if the Pilot Sport All season 4 will also make the cut, if it was evaluated.

To each his own, I find the Vredestein tires to be too "gawdy" in appearance with those patterns on the sidewall. Only the Vorti UHP summer tire appears to be less so, only because the sidewall of those are typically very low profile, "hiding" those patterns.
I don't doubt that these tires are great tires , given that historical heritage. But besides the tire performing well, I want it to look good too. =)

 

[mav238]

Okay, a freak snowfall happened overnight , and this morning, roads were covered with 1" of snow, a bit of icy slush ... glad to say the Michelin Piot Sport All Season 4 performed admirably. Traction through the icy slush was on point, even around corners at 50 km/h (30mph), no braking, just drove through the corner. didn't feel the tires slipping at any point at all. Climbing a hilly road was no issue as well. Braking was also very confidence inducing (downhill too). Granted this is not -20C or iced up road, but at 2C, any std all seasons will probably not perform that well under these conditions experienced this morning.

I think the AS 4 perform equal to or maybe even better than my previous set of AS 3+.

 

[jmc]

... miss the good o’ days in the snow ... slow turn to the left but the car says nope going straight

 

[Master Captain]

Glad to see that the Michelin Pilot Sport AS 3+ made the cut. Wondering if the Pilot Sport All season 4 will also make the cut, if it was evaluated.

To each his own, I find the Vredestein tires to be too "gawdy" in appearance with those patterns on the sidewall. Only the Vorti UHP summer tire appears to be less so, only because the sidewall of those are typically very low profile, "hiding" those patterns.
I don't doubt that these tires are great tires , given that historical heritage. But besides the tire performing well, I want it to look good too. =)

I too was concerned about the look of the tire edge - maybe a bit too beefy, like a small truck tire - but went ahead anyway as the stronger shoulder in this tire would hopefully prevent another cracked rim - two have cracked from the potholes around here. I replaced the first one when MB showed me that is why my front left tire wasn't holding air very well. When MB recently mentioned that the rim that replaced the first cracked rim was now showing a crack, but not yet leaking air, I figured another problem with the Pirellis (in addition to noise and ok performance) is that their shoulders weren't strong enough. I ordered the new Vredesteins shortly after that MB visit, and had the installer confirm the crack in the left front (they said it was exactly what MB had said) and had them move that left front rim to the left rear, just in case the rim had a catastrophic failure it might be easier to keep the car under control with the rim on the rear and not trying to steer with a failed rim... So far, the rim in question is still holding air.

And - the tire edges do not look like a small truck tire. Maybe a little chunkier than the Pirellis, but for me they look fine.

 

[2katman2]

Sorry - no link - my sister has a CR subscription and made a copy of the tire reviews....

I have attached the PDF. The Vredestein Quatrac Pro tires show up in the 'Ultra High Performance - All Season' section and have a CR Recommendation.

Judging from this chart, it's a pity Michelin's CrossClimate tire won't fit, since it gets stellar ratings across the board.

 

[mav238]

I too was concerned about the look of the tire edge - maybe a bit too beefy, like a small truck tire - but went ahead anyway as the stronger shoulder in this tire would hopefully prevent another cracked rim - two have cracked from the potholes around here. I replaced the first one when MB showed me that is why my front left tire wasn't holding air very well. When MB recently mentioned that the rim that replaced the first cracked rim was now showing a crack, but not yet leaking air, I figured another problem with the Pirellis (in addition to noise and ok performance) is that their shoulders weren't strong enough. I ordered the new Vredesteins shortly after that MB visit, and had the installer confirm the crack in the left front (they said it was exactly what MB had said) and had them move that left front rim to the left rear, just in case the rim had a catastrophic failure it might be easier to keep the car under control with the rim on the rear and not trying to steer with a failed rim... So far, the rim in question is still holding air.

And - the tire edges do not look like a small truck tire. Maybe a little chunkier than the Pirellis, but for me they look fine.

I get it why you went for the "beefier" Vredesteins", but I was actually referring to the gawdy design patterns they drew on the sidewall. Like I said, the Veredesteins are great tires, no criticisms on that... I like my sidewalls on the tires "plain" , no need for any patterns drawn on it...

When you said the sidewalls were stronger, I think you meant it was able to better absorb the impact from going over a pothole. A sidewall too soft (allowing the pothole to actually contact the rim) or a sidewall too stiff (no compliance at all, transmits all the impact force from the pothole to the rim), are both equally bad.

A good tire for pothole protection, should be both compliant enough to absorb most of the impact force and also firm enough not to collapse drastically to allow contact of pothole with rim.

 

[jmc]

The extra load version of the conti ecs so far seems to be that very compromise
Adds a couple pounds but may be worth it

 

[mav238]

The extra load version of the conti ecs so far seems to be that very compromise
Adds a couple pounds but may be worth it

I like the continental ECS tires a lot, but my other car GLA was fitted with 19" procontact GS RFTs, and they really suck on tire wear. With 2 years of ownership, the front tires were worn > 70%, even with regular dealer maintenance tire rotations. Not sure if the poor tire wear translates across the entire Continental line. But Michelin's thus far, has been pretty reliable on tire tread wear.

Temperatures went down to -2C, and a bit of snow came down , I have to say the Michelin Pilot Sport AS 4 performed admirably. tracked sure and confidently, brakes confidently. Even in some icy slushy parts of the road, the tires did not give any indication of "skittishness" , just ploughed through straight and true.

 

[jmc]

The conti ecs is a summer compound and yeah i can feel it when less than 5C. Your mich a/s tires sure seem to be a good choice for cold/snow conditions
One of these snowy days in an empty lot tell us the speed limit for controllable hard turns

 

[Master Captain]

I get it why you went for the "beefier" Vredesteins", but I was actually referring to the gawdy design patterns they drew on the sidewall. Like I said, the Veredesteins are great tires, no criticisms on that... I like my sidewalls on the tires "plain" , no need for any patterns drawn on it...

When you said the sidewalls were stronger, I think you meant it was able to better absorb the impact from going over a pothole. A sidewall too soft (allowing the pothole to actually contact the rim) or a sidewall too stiff (no compliance at all, transmits all the impact force from the pothole to the rim), are both equally bad.

A good tire for pothole protection, should be both compliant enough to absorb most of the impact force and also firm enough not to collapse drastically to allow contact of pothole with rim.

Hi mav238,

Actually, I didn't even notice the sidewall patterns... guess I will now... ha!

Yes, according to Vredestein the shoulders are well reinforced, which helps protect the sidewalls, and the rims, or so I would surmise.

I went out to test the tires yesterday - we were having snow, again, and about 3 inches had fallen. The main roads had a single plow pass when I went out but there was a good deal of snow and slush on the roads. I also went into the nearby state park which had little road traffic a decent amount of snow on the roads, some of which are cobblestone.
The tires performed very well. I was impressed particularly with the braking... from speeds of 35mph, no matter which surface - slush, snow, regular road or cobblestone, the braking was straight, sure, and stopped in a much shorter distance than I expected they would. No sliding whatsoever. Obviously the ABS kicked in, but it stopped remarkably straight.
They handled the roads well too. Straight, curves, no real issues, though if I gave it a bit too much gas when making a turn, the rear would break out a bit before easily coming back... I have had plenty of snow driving experience so I understand how to compensate when a car starts to slide to keep it on track.
Not sure if the rear sliding indicates my 4Matic is/is not working as it should (I don't expect it to handle like it is dry when there are a few inches of snow are on the surface), and will have it checked when going in for my B service in a few weeks, just to make sure.

The potholes here are worse than I've ever experienced... some of the roads around here look like they were 'saturation bombed'... some holes are so big they look like they may swallow an entire car!! Hopefully I will be able to continue to avoid them... but I have a 3 year Road Hazzard guarantee with the tires... just don't want to have to replace a 3rd rim!!

Stay Safe, Stay warm!

 

[mav238]

Not sure if the rear sliding indicates my 4Matic is/is not working as it should (I don't expect it to handle like it is dry when there are a few inches of snow are on the surface), and will have it checked when going in for my B service in a few weeks, just to make sure.

First of all, the 4matic AWD in the CLA is of the reactive type, not the full-time AWD systems you see in say the Subaru. Which means it will only come in if it detects slippage in the tires, and from my experience, it really at it's best when going straight along in snow and slushy conditions. In cornering situations, the 4 matic does not seem to come in fast enough , like say the Acura SH-AWD which is quite an amazing system that works great in keeping the vehicle planted in corners.

"Reactive" type AWD systems are great for fuel economy, as it's in 2WD mode most of the time until the road conditions call for it to come into play.

That's why the CLA tends to have the "understeer" feeling going hard around corners.

When the real-time reactive 4matic does come into play, for a car going around a corner, it does so only after say 0.5-1 secs has gone by, hence you feel like the car is not gripping well during fast tight corners.

 

[Northern Al]

First of all, the 4matic AWD in the CLA is of the reactive type, not the full-time AWD systems you see in say the Subaru. Which means it will only come in if it detects slippage in the tires, and from my experience, it really at it's best when going straight along in snow and slushy conditions. In cornering situations, the 4 matic does not seem to come in fast enough , like say the Acura SH-AWD which is quite an amazing system that works great in keeping the vehicle planted in corners.

"Reactive" type AWD systems are great for fuel economy, as it's in 2WD mode most of the time until the road conditions call for it to come into play.

That's why the CLA tends to have the "understeer" feeling going hard around corners.

When the real-time reactive 4matic does come into play, for a car going around a corner, it does so only after say 0.5-1 secs has gone by, hence you feel like the car is not gripping well during fast tight corners.

Are the new tires RFT's or standard?

 

[mav238]

Are the new tires RFT's or standard?

My new tires are non-RFTs. I had RFTs before and the cost of maintenance from a flat tire was a bit too much. RFTs cannot (and should not) be repaired, hence went with a non-RFT.

 

[Master Captain]

First of all, the 4matic AWD in the CLA is of the reactive type, not the full-time AWD systems you see in say the Subaru. Which means it will only come in if it detects slippage in the tires, and from my experience, it really at it's best when going straight along in snow and slushy conditions. In cornering situations, the 4 matic does not seem to come in fast enough , like say the Acura SH-AWD which is quite an amazing system that works great in keeping the vehicle planted in corners.

"Reactive" type AWD systems are great for fuel economy, as it's in 2WD mode most of the time until the road conditions call for it to come into play.

That's why the CLA tends to have the "understeer" feeling going hard around corners.

When the real-time reactive 4matic does come into play, for a car going around a corner, it does so only after say 0.5-1 secs has gone by, hence you feel like the car is not gripping well during fast tight corners.

Great explanation Mav238! Thanks! That matches my experience with the 4Matic, so all is good!