Hi all!

I just got rid of my Continental Contacts and exchanged them for Michelin Cross Terrain 18 . They've made a huge difference in the traction and control of the vehicle. I do not experience the drifting sensation which I had with the factory installed tires. Snow traction was also excellent! They cost me $900 total including installation but it is good money well spent.

 

Any loss of ride comfort or increased road noise at speed with the Cross Terrains compared with the OEM tires?

 

Not an MO-spec tire.

 

I had looked at those tires and would have liked to go that route, however, they are a 109 load rating and MB specifies a 110 load rating for tires for the GL450. Tirerack told me that they could not recommend a tire of lesser load rating than the manufacturer requires

 

I just was told my Latitude Tour HPs are worn out (22,000 miles!) and that Michelin aren't producing them again for four weeks, availability is six weeks. I was going to go up one size to get them shipped from Michigan, but instead have ordered the cross terrians, which are a Toyota-engineered tire but the correct size. They also have a cool tread pattern.

STP

 

There isn't any increase in road noise and it seems to be more comfortable. What satisfies me is the comfort of having a more reliable tire with better traction for my family.

 

ivrier,

how many miles did the continentals last before you switched over? I have the 19in wheels and checking on tirerack the only all season options are the continentals or Pirelli scorpions whihc I have now. hopefully there will be more options by the time I need to replace mine. thanks

 

I am with Scorpion, but Ice&Snow! Great tires!!!

 

I only had 2600 miles before I decided to change. Even with the low mileage, I've already noticed a loss of rubber. The main reason I changed them was for the reasons mentioned.

 

I have pretty much settled on my next set of tires...

Both are made by Nitto....

It will either be the Dura Grappler (Which comes in the same size as factory)
http://www.nittotire.com/#index%2Etire%2Eduragrappler

Or the Tera Grappler (which I will get the 285 60 R 18 and have the speedo adjusted accordingly.)
http://www.nittotire.com/#index%2Etire%2Eterragrappler

 

Depending on how perfect your speedo has to be, the guy at DT just west of Scottsdale on Shea (by the Walgreens) calculated out the Michelin LT's I was going to get in the 285 size and he said at an indicated speed of 60, I'd be doing 61.

My bigger concern was for the traction and stability control. I don't know about MB but my buddy in the UK with his BMW said he was told changing tire (sorry, "tyre") size on his Type 1 would screw up the stab and trac control. That's why I was willing to go with the TOY 265/60-R18's in the Michelin.

Do they have the Nitto's at that DT? (It looked like Discount Tire was the only place who has the Nitto's in Arizona.)

STP

 

Sorry for the delayed reply Steve. Yes they do have the Nittos at DT. I was waiting for them to provide some additional information which I just got today. The internet had pics of the LT version of the Dura Grapplers but not the 5-rib p-metric version that has the 60K mile warrantee...

I just heard from DT today, they emailed me the attached pic... I think that these will be the next set of shoes on the GL... They come in the OEM tire size for 18 inch wheels.

 

CR put the Terra Grappler AT as the top-rated cross-terrain tire, above all the other cross-terrains, with an "overall" rating of 80 (I gues out of 100) versus the top-rated all-season at 75. There weren't any other Nittos listed, and it doesn't mention any other details. The only thing it was very poor on (like most of the all-terrains) was rolling resistance.

STP

 

Hmm thats interesting... I wish I had a subscription to CR. I went to check it out, but my scrip ran out about 3 months ago.

The Dura Grapplers are pretty new to the market and the P-Metric sizes are even newer. So new in fact that I had to go to the manufacturer to get pictures...

Interesting thing (you can't tell from the lower grade version of the pic that I posted) they have the waivy siping just like the Michelins that you got. Plus they have a 60K mile tread warrantee.

Apparently the LT version of the Duras are all the rage with the TurboDiesel truck guys. Good grip in the snow and mud and excellent treadwear life on the road.