Mondial Tires

Hey Mikey,

If you're running 7Jx16 fronts and 8Jx16 rears, they should be shod with 205/55/16 front and 225/55/16 rear. Rear diameter shrinks too much if you use the 225/50/16 on the Mondi. BTW, that was used on the rear of most 308s and all 328.

Cheers, Hank

 

Do most of you agree with 38 rear/37 front??? That's what my mechanic recommended. Just curious?

 

Remember, the speed ratings are for SUSTAINED speeds. So for most of us, an H rating (sustained 130 mph) is more than sufficient.

Pressures are a bit of trial and error depending on driving style, suspension setup and particular tire. 37/38 is a reasonable place to start for street driving. Just monitor wear. If the center seems to be wearing quicker, too much air. If the outside edge(s) wear quicker, then not enough air. Pressure will probably grow 4-5 psi in warm weather.

And check pressures every couple of weeks, or if there is a major change in weather (cold air reduces pressure).

Regards,
Jerry

 

Interesting topic about the tires and pressures.

I replaced my wheels with 348 wheels and Continental Contact Sport 3 tires. Should I be using the tire pressures for the Mondial as in the handbook or 348 tire pressures?

What do you guys think?

 

Thanks Mike,
I will look up what the difference in pressures are between the 3.2 Mondial and 348 and try both and see.

Many thanks.

 

FWIW. i have Michelin Pilot Sport II on mine as well as my Benz. Ive tried many different brands but seem to always come back to the M's. i really think that going middle to low quality is a bad idea. Go with the best and spend the extra money. I think they look better, ride and last longer too.

My .02

 

Mike,

I drove the stock Goodyear Eagle F1 tires on the original rims, then went with Bridgestone Potenzas on my 355 rims. If you like to drive your Mondi all winter long like I do, I recommend an all season, high performance tire like the Potenza. Goodyear F1 was ok in the summer on dry roads, but when the temp drops below 40F, most summer tires are unsafe. So far, I'm very happy with the Potenzas, and all of the independent tests I read, like Tire Rack's test, rate the Potenza ahead of all the other comparable tires.

Keep in mind that our cars are a little different, and the rim sizes are different, so your results may vary. If you do choose Potenza, be sure it is the latest, most advanced model listed above. Also, ask your shop to fill the tires with nitrogen; you will have less expansion and contraction with temperature swings.

Hope this was of help to you. Good luck!

Jonathan
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I don't know they last longer, but Mich is known for being very round and very smooth. Most complaints about Mich are pricing, not grip or ride harshness.

If you like the PS2, try the PSS next time. A 1/2 step above the PS2 in the dry, a full step above in the wet, about a 1/2 step below a DOT legal dedicated track tire (like Mich Sport Cups) in the dry. Are they have been priced pretty aggressively. You will be amazed!!

Regards,
Jerry

 

I'm running Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. I go 31 on front 33 rear. No reason it's just where I keep them.

Tires have been great, very secure in rain and snow. The tires are not a limiting factor in performance for me in dry weather either. The car with these tires exceeds my driving skill.

 

Take a peek at these General G-MAX AS-03 doughnuts - with a 480 UTQG. I have them on my Audi Allroad and am quite happy with them. They're Z rated, are very competitively priced, and have a very high rating. Additionally IMHO, they have a very sexy tread design.

General G-MAX AS-03

Cheers,

Hank

 

Mine still has the Michelin Pilots that came with the car when I bought it in Feb 2009; F 225/50-16 and R 245/50-16. They look new but I think they're pretty old and due for a replacement.

 

Yes, just a bit over spec. They look great though, as if they were intended.

Maybe he was trying to replicate the original TRXs: F 220/55-390 and R 240/55-390.

 

Check out kumho's as well. Z rated. Great traction. My wife's replacement run flat Michelin's were almost $900 more to replace on her minivan than the Kumho's were for a set of four for my Mondi. Zaff had them on his when he was in the Mondi. Solid tire.

 

This is the tire I use...

 

Hi Mike:

I put Sumitomo HTR Z III (from TireRack) on the front after running Pzero rossos way past their wear limits. At first, with stock inflation, they felt like jello, after a few hundred miles they started to show lots of grip, and I now run high inflation pressures and they feel great. The Sumitomos are considered a "max performance summer tire". (BTW, the Pzeros were amazing but work only when really hot, tolerate a limited number of heat cycles, tramline as they age, and let's face it, most of the time I'm going to get coffee in the thing! So I did something sensible and bought more of a touring tire.)

I have Hancook Ventus on the back, came with the car, haven't changed 'em since they're not worn. The combination seems to bring no ill effects. I'll probably put Sumi's on the back before Mondipalooza.

One thing I do with all of my cars, including the three daily drivers, is to run tire pressures that are well in excess of what the label on the car tells me to do (but well within the tire's specification -- most have 50 lbs max. inflation pressure these days.) I think this works because all of my cars are much lighter than the typical cars that run the tire sizes I'm running, and I've noticed no excess wear in the middle of the contact patch as might otherwise be expected. If I run stock inflation pressures, all of the cars feel mushy and wallow into turns.

Also, the Pilot Sports (in all of their variations) have always received rave reviews from the local guys here.

BTW, I have 348 wheels.

 

And I like them a lot. They have great grip and seem to hear up quickly.
I recently put Sumi's on my 535xi. They lasted two weeks until I removed them and went back to Michelins.
Ron

 

May have been asked before but tire alternative for the 240 55 ZR390?
or do we change the rims??

 

Yes, the alternative to TRX tires is putting new rims on. A couple options are to look for factory rims, aftermarket look a like rims or as many do the 348 rims that look fairly sharp on the Mondial.