scryfst

I was planning on swapping out to 18's as it's my wifes ride and she hates to slide but now I've decided to keep the stock. We drove back from Chicago just after Christmas in snow and slush and it handled fine. Sliding around after a big ice storm could change my mind.

S550 & GL550

Brian, thanks for all your updates. I'm driving up to my house in Tahoe tomorrow and accuweather says we should have about 6 inches of new accumulation. It will be later at night and it might be a little icey. How have the tires continued to drive in the ice / snow over the past month?

blittle

My 450 with the "enhanced 4wd package" will get itself moving in almost any snow/ice situation I have attempted so far.......HOWEVER, the big mistake is assuming it can stop any better than anything else on the road. Fortunately I like to think I think ahead in those situations and bring the vehicle to a safe stop.....so many people with 4wd get out there and drive like idiots ( particularly on the interstates ) and then try to turn or stop Sorry about the rant but we recently had a 65 car pile up on I81 here in Pa. and all because people refuse to believe the laws of physics!

S550 & GL550

blittle- thanks for the update and suggestions. I promise that i drive like a grandma in the rain and snow so no worries. When its dry; I fly. I hate the slow people driving 120mph in the passing lane!

JimBarnhart

Just a quick snow datapoint.

We went to central Wisconsin yesterday to look at a horse. Wisconsin has had around 7 feet of snow this winter. The counties are out of salt for the year. I drove about 30 miles on 2 inches of hard packed snow/ice. The GL450 did fine.

The more intesting part is we picked the owner up at the residence and then drove to the farm where the horse lives. The farm's driveway wasn't touched. It had about a 2 - 2.5 foot deep snow plow bank to push through and then about 12-15 inches of softer snow for about 150 yds to get to the barn. The owner said "I should have brought my truck" and I said lets give this baby a test. She did fine, never bogged down a bit. Of course I had to get a little steam up to get over the plow bank.

In the way out I decided it was too tight to turn around, so I decided to back out. This time I remembered to raise the suspension and backed right out. I didn't have as much steam on the exit through the bank since I couldn't see the road too well to insure it was free of traffic. No problems whatsoever.

You could ask me why I went to look to buy a horse driving an expensive vehicle, but that's another story.

oknish

So you could impress the horse

blittle

Was the horse 4wd?

ccrob

What good is 4wd with only 1 horse power?

I love you guys!

Rob

JimBarnhart

The horse was clearly impressed, but I'm pretty sure his current owner was conditioned that price negotiation wasn't necessary.

I have to make a decision by this weekend - maybe it will be an opportunity to try pulling the horse trailer with the GL.

If I look at his price per horsepower of the horse vs the GL450 my Mercedes was cheap!

oknish

Go back in a beater with a heater and tell the horse owner that GL got repo'ed See if he negotiates then

T-Rip

FWIW, I have an '08 GL550. I put 18" MB wheels from Discount Tires, $125 each with Dunlop M3 Sport Tires (Tire Rack $155) 265/60/18. Same tire rotation as the stock wheels. By the way, BE CAREFUL on picking wheels, the tolerance on the front brake is very close. You are better off with 18" if you drive in snow: better impact cushion when you hit a pothole and more flex for traction in difficult terrain.
I bought the TPMS valves from the dealer and was told they had to reprogram the vehicle every time I switched out the 21" AMG Rims. The good news is the dealer was wrong. Just hitting the R button reset the TPS and I haven't had an idiot light at all.

I live in Minnesota. We drive in deep snow, lots of ice, and cold temps. I took the GL out tonight to see how the new set-up handles 6" of snow. After driving 4wd vehicles for 20 years, this is by far the best set-up. The traction is just incredible.

By the way, be careful buying wheels on Ebay. Discount said they have had a lot of issues with wheels not being straight or balanced. They offer some nice options under their house brand and the price is right for a winter wheel. I hope this helps.

emayer

Thx for the update. I'm pending delivery of 18" Blizzak tire combo from Tire Rack with TPMS.... Didn't want to take any chances now that the car is the wife's kiddie transporter. Not to mention simply replacing a rim is $1200+. One can manage carefully with the stock 21" but grip is poor especially in slush/sleet conditions.

I'll repost with driving impressions and any sensor issues that come up following install...

emayer

Went ahead and changed to 18" winter tires from Tire Rack yesterday for both the GL and S. Install couldn't be easier and TPMS sensors working fine thus far, I figured these were worth the cost given the tires will be in use 4-5 months yearly...

Went with similar spoke pattern to OEM rims so the look isn't entirely bad...

One question though. What tire pressure settings are you using?

Let it snow!

T-Rip

Same as the factory recommendations, but check it often when it gets cold. Pressure drops by quite a bit when it gets very cold.

-10F in MN today.

emayer

Thx for the reply....

Like yourself, the issue I'm facing is that the stock tires were 21" while the winters are 18. I'd imagine that with this configuration, the pressure settings would need to be different though my placard does not have this info (for example stock 18" or 19" settings for the GL450). As a reference, for those with the GL450 running on 18" tires what are the recommended pressures?

Excellent point on the effects of temperature on tire pressures. With the fluctuations we're seeing presently make sure you check often!

Happy Holidays to all!

slim nicky

Thx for info. Considering doing the same thing with exact same tire. Which wheels did you get (looks like there is only one option) and what size tires? How was your experience with tire rack? Did you order on-line wheel/tire/tpm set and put the wheels on yourself?

slim nicky

Thx for sharing. Which wheels did you go with at Discount Tires? Also wondeirng why you went with DT over Tire Rack?

Dakota GL

Here's my post from Sept:

"Just FYI -

I have been holding out to buy a new set of wheels and snowtires for my GL, and I was about to pull the trigger with TireRack when I happened to see that Bridgestone has released some 265/45R21's. Same tires (different size) I run on my Cruiser, they're awesome, and I don't need to buy new wheels.

Got lucky for once. Well, other than the fact that they're nearly 2x the price of the 20" tires!"



I'm happy to report that the 550 is awesome in snow, I'm sure the Blizzaks make a difference. Only disadvantage to the 21" wheels is their width, and with the 265's it makes the rim rather prominent. Driving through a foot of snow a few weeks ago I nailed a curb, put a nice cosmetic dent in the lip.

John

emayer

I went with the 18" Elbrus rim which has a similar spoke design to OEM. The tires are P265/60QR18 Blizzak DMZ3. They came on rim, balanced with sensors. I installed myself which took no more than 1hr. Recommend having a decent floor jack and torque wrench. The sensors just needed to be reset after install which is done easily through the MFD. Couldn't be happier with the ordering/ install process. The real test comes Friday, expecting about 12" snow.....

BTW- Aside from safety, the package will pay for itself over time in reduced wear on the OEM tires which are $450 each. Don't even mention the OEM rims if damaged!

iluvmys65amg

Im know that alot of GL owners just north of L.A. are glad they have the 4matic now with all the snow thats fallen up there!

slim nicky

Hey Dakota - this is a very cool discovery and can save us a lot of $$ ! Thx! Can you please explain how the tire numbers work and how it is that we can fit the 265/45R21's on our wheels? I am not sure I get it . . . Also would you mind posting a pic of the wheel so I can see what you mean by the rim being prominent?

We got an unsual 5-8" in Seattle yesterday, with temps in teens. Snow plowing is non-existentm and more is coming. I wish I had gotten my act together earlier.

Thx in advance,

Waiting-4-550

Thanks for you info.. Might go ahead with putting these snow tires of my GL550 which is shaking in snow/ice.. How much did set of four tires with four rims run you?? Do they look good and make for a safer ride?? Also is the handling still good??

slim nicky

Ok, some good info in wikipedia re reading tire codes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tire_code

So the Blizzaks Datakota is running are narrower than our AMG rim, and thicker than our OEM tires.

Dakota - would still really appreciate a pic or two of your wheel/tire setup. Please.

I bought chains today for the stock 295/40 R21's only to then read in footnote in manual that we must not use chains on this AMG/tire setup. So I guess I'll be returning.

I did find something else helpful. The 19" tires/wheel recommended sizes are as follows:

Winter tires: 265/55 R19 109H M+S
All-season tires: 265/55R19 109 M+S
wheel oofset 2.20 in (56mm)
rims 8.5J x 19 H2 (no clue what this means).

Seattle currently being hit by snow blizzard. Predicting 5-12" and winds up to 50 mph!

GL has been handling like a champ in current conditions (about 5-6" hard packed)

emayer

No problem! The package including sensors ran about 1600. You can save quite a bit if you delete the sensors and can put up with the warning symbol. Looks are OK, actually not as bad as I would have imagined and especially hard to notice while the car is in motion...

Unquestionably a safer and dramatic improvement in snow performance. We've had alot of snow/ sleet mix and the car was unstoppable, actually difficult to spin. My driveway is quite steep, there is no way the OEM setup would have allowed me to make this. As a former G500 owner, I can say the performance is now on par. Dry pavement handling is not as good as the OEM tires, crosswinds are bit more noticeable but this time of year we tend not to drive at the limit.... No issues with high speed highway driving. I highly recommend this over any 21" setup if you do plenty snow driving as some of the traction benefits are not just from the tire itself, but also from the smaller diameter and cross section. Hope this helps!

Waiting-4-550

info very helpful.. now if you could only help me find 1600 extra around Christmas.. Can't stop buying loved one gifts just on the account of safety