dirtslinger

Has anyone worn out a set of factory tires?
I have about 15K on the Continentals and tread is close to the wear indicators. Am I wrong to expect these tires to last longer?

Stumblefoot

I don't know how long they're supposed to last on the GL, but the Conti's on our '06 A6 lasted all of 17,000 miles and I was probably pushing it. Very disappointing to say the least.

I've had really good luck with Michelin brands and currently have the Pilots on the A6 and BFGoodrich on Chevy Trailblazer. The first set of Goodrich's had 55K on them before needing replaced.

blittle

Unfortunately I think you are wrong I had a VW Touareg with the same Continentals on and they got 18K before I got rid of them! They are decent tires when new.......but quickly go the other way!

Stumblefoot

So Dirtslinger, it looks like you've got around another 3,000 miles before the treads are gone. Don't know how long 3,000 miles will last you, but from what I remember, it seems Michelin runs a rebate promotion mid-summer.

2thfixr

Interesting to hear. I have 12k miles on the 20" Michelin Diamaris on my Premier Edition and they have LOTS of tread left. If I had to guess, I have at least 12k miles before I hit the wear indicators. On the flipside, I have cupping on all 4 tires so the tires have gotten a bit noisy.

Abscam

The Conti tires are soft sticky tires - they wear quickly. I have a set on my Boxster and I've replaced the rears twice and the fronts once and have a bit over 30,000 miles on a '00.

You can get longer lasting tires - but the manufacturers didn't sell a special tire to MBZ to last forever - they want them to perform and be bought again, and again and again.

blittle

Actually, it's not that easy as far as the GL standard 18in tires are concerned. I've searched on Tirerack and there are very few available in that size that meet the requirements for the vehicle. Those that do are no better than the Conti. Some of the best SUV tires by Michelin, etc. do not come in that size. That said.....Yokohama IS comining out with a tire around July that will meet the performance and load specs. and have more durability plus more aggressive tread for winter and/or off road.

Jack450

Can anyone rotate the tires? Have 6k miles and live over 100 miles from the dealer.

oknish

I just got a postcard today reminding me to get tires rotated at 6500 miles. And, yes, the GL tires can be rotated by anyone. I believe it's only for cars with different tire sizes (not sure of the exact term) that rotation has be done at the dealership.

Nevada Jack

As part of your Welcome Service they will rotate your tires free up to 6500 miles. This does not apply if the vehicle has different size tires on the front and rear.

amdeutsch

In the case of staggered, non-directional tires, they just swap'em side-to-side.

Stumblefoot

I was wrong about the Michelin rebate happening mid-summer. I was at Costco today and they are already offering a $60 rebate for a set of any 4 Michelins. I've found Costco to be just as competitive as Discount Tire and Big O here in Colorado.

Good Luck!

blittle

Matters not ........ if you have the 18's, Michelin currently does not have a tire for the GL.

Stoneseller

Won't these work?

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....nSpeedRating=H

blittle

I thought so.......until I talked with Tirerack and they said the specs for the GL require a load rating of 110 and the Mich. tire has a rating of 109. They said many installers will not install a tire with a lower load rating than specified for the vehicle because there is too much potential liability. Therefore.....Tirerack said they could not recomend the tire or any tire with a lesser load or speed rating.

Stoneseller

Bummer. I did not read the weight carrying spec. I had planned on getting these tires installed in late fall, and saving the factory Conti's for when I end my lease. My wife's ML500 has the linked Michelins, and they are great all around tires.

Newbie_2_MB

My GL came with Dunlops so it'll be interesting to see if there is any wear difference from the Conti's. I had Conti's on my Expedition and had 25K on that vehicle when I traded it for the GL and the tires still had a lot of wear left in them.

nantucketsleigh

I have standard 18" wheels with Michelin Latitudes. Neighbors experience with same tire on MDX indicates 40,000+ miles. Same was true of my X5 with Michelin Energy with same tread wear index. I probably won't keep GL for 40000 miles but I would expect 40000 miles+.

harkgar

My 1999 E55 (sold) wore out the rear tires at around 15,000 miles but that was due to burning rubber at the lights. An SUV is not a sports car and the tires should last longer. My Suburban 1500 did not need new tires until well over 30,000 miles. The tread was still legal but I decided to call it a day.

There really should not be any need for MB to specify high dollar rubber in SUVs. If buyers want faster vehicles they can go AMG or Porsche.

Stumblefoot

Blittle... I'm pretty sure the Michelin Latitude Tour HP in 18's will work fine on the 450.

One other kicker from Michelin is the fact you can drive them for a 30 day free trial period. I don't know if other manufacturers offer this, but it's a nice peace of mind thing if you don't like them after riding on them for 4 weeks.

blittle

Stumble and Nantucket........

You guys are right! That's the value of a forum.......you can find out stuff you can't seem to find anyplace else! Interestingly, however, when you plug the GL into the Tirerack search function, the Latitude tire does not come up. The only Mich. tire that does is the Cross Terrain and it has the wrong load rating. If I wanted a direct replacement for the standard Contis, I think I would go with the Lattitudes, but because of where I occassionally drive, I want a more aggressieve tread like the Cross Terrains or something of that nature can handle some mud and deeper snow. That being the case.....TR said there will be some available in the near future.