labjr1

After reaching 31,800 miles on my GL450 I was down to the wear indicators on my 19" Continental tires that came with the vehicle. While I've had good luck with the Conti's they were getting a bit noisy and I wanted to explore my options for replacement tires. I looked only at the 19" OEM versions of tires listed for the GL (Continental, Michellin, Dunlop and Perrelli). None had a customer satisfaction rating higher than 5 out of 10. User reviews of each had complaints of noise, rapid wear, drifting, poor ride quality and traction,... none looked like a good choice. I was surprised by this since my Conti's made it past 31k and had only started to get noisy. Despite my goo experience every review I read had nothing good to say about them. I was tempted to try them again, but I have also had very good luck with the Michellin's that are on my S430. I elected to go with the Michellin Diamari's even though reviews said they were noisy and made the ride very harsh. I was shocked to find that they are very quiet and seem to ride even better than the Continentals. Obviously I will have to run them quite a while before I know if they beat the Continentals long term but thus far I am impressed. My experience once again verifies that the feedback you get on most review sites is from disgruntled buyers. The happy buyers are out enjoying their purchase and are therefore too busy to post reviews.

HoustonRider

Wow,

I JUST got my Michelin 4x4 Diamaris on today. I went from the 18's to a Lorenzo 20x8.5 and fitted them with the Michelins.

I expected to have more noise or a harsher ride.... but quite the opposite. It was quieter and smoother than the Contis I have now.

Even if I didn't go with new rims, I would definately go with the Michelins again. Kinda pricy at $280 per, but what the hell. it was worth it.

carpersn

I don't need to replace my Pirelli 19's yet, but when i do, there is no question i'm going with Michelins. Never had an experience with their SUV/Truck tires, but I have always chosen Michelin on every vehicle and ALWAYS been thrilled. Usually they cost more, and don't last any longer, but the noise and ride in between is worth it.

Jack450

I have 6K on the Michelins. Replaced the Cont 19's at 22K. Had them rotated last week. Noticing some noise. Still very pleased. Seems to perform better at higher speeds than the Cont. Much better rain performance. I don't think they will last as long as the Cont. I can live with the trade off. Local tire store got them for $450 with mounting and balancing! I couldn't pass that up. Said they were "takeoffs". Let me inspect before buying. Still had the little rubber stubs on tread. Claims he can get more. These tires came out on the Cayenne and I think the X5.

MKW

When you replace a set of any tire with mileage or showing wear bars , the new brand will almost always be quieter by comparison , but the real question is how would the new ones compare to your OEM ones if BOTH are new !

That's why it always amuses me that almost every comment on places like the Tire Rack state the a buyer's new Brand Y tire is so much quieter than the worn out Brand X tire that the car came from the factory with. Basically , every OEM tire is " crap " on these review sites , as if all manufacturers go out of their way to put the noisiest OEM tire they can fit to scare away buyers -it's usually the opposite .

Bottom line : a new "noisy" tire will usually be quieter than a worn " quiet " tire .

HoustonRider

i took my Contis off at 8,000 miles and reduced the sidewall by about 2 inches with the new Michelins. Quieter and smoother than when it was new. good enough for me. pics coming soon.

Jack450

Exactly what size did you go back with? Does that screw with the speedometer when you vary from the OEM size?

StevethePilot

It does, though you have to drastically change the size to make a major change in the speedo. If the wheels are smaller, the speedo will tell you you're going faster than you are, and vice-versa. When I was going to try and get the OEM Michelins, they only had them one size bigger. Calculating out, the guy at Discount Tire said I'd be doing 61 when my speedo said 60.

STP

JimBarnhart

Anyone have any snow experience with the Diamari's? It looks to me like they might be just a warm weather tire.

If anyone has a good suggestion for an all season 19" for my GL I'm all ears. My Conti's have 27,000 on them now and I'll need new shoes before the snow flies.

lwain56

I'am on my second set of Michelin Diametris tires, 1st set lasted 22,000 miles. These tires performed well in snow and rain, I have no experience on ice. Very pleased and I run 20's.

JimBarnhart

I was in for my service B yesterday and decided to go with the Conti's again. I talked to the service advisor, their are only 4 tires available in the 275/55R19 for my vehicle - General, Continental,Pirelli and Michelin. They don't recommend the General or Pirelli for Minnesota weather, their experience with the Conti's and the Michelin Diametris are about the same, you'll get 18-23,000 miles out of each, they both do ok in rain and snow, but they really aren't SUV M+S terrain tires. They had the Contis in stock and I talked them into a decent deal including the realignment so bought them and have them on.

As usual, a new set of tires vs the old set of tires makes a remarkable difference.

MomsBenz

Jim, I take it you have had your GL through a winter? This will be my first winter with ours and I am kinda worried about the Conti's in the snow. They just don't look like they have an aggressive enough tread. What's your experience? How well do they do? I live in the mountains, get 12-14 inches of snow at a time from Nov-May. We get a lot of ice and of course have winding roads and steep grades. I have always had bigger trucks and used the BF Goodrich Mudders or All Terrains. Any advice for driving with these tires would be greatly appreciated

Kaumajet

Tire Rack and Wheels and Tires International both recommend the Dunlop Super Maxx highly, though I rarely see them discussed

JimBarnhart

I read Tire Rack and when they said that light snow, deep snow and ice traction were N/A I believed they mean it when they say it's a summer tire and not meant for snow travel.

JimBarnhart

Yes, I ran the Conti's last winter here in Minnesota. I would say they were fair in winter driving conditions, not great but I felt reasonably comfortable driving with them.

I have the 19" upgrade wheels on my 450. Since they are 19" there are not a lot of options.

If they are 18" you have a lot more options. On my ML500 I had both Dunlops and Michelin Cross Terrains on. I liked the Dunlops for their quiet ride and very good handling in the snow/ice. Only drawback is they were good for about 25,000 miles like the Continentals. The Cross Terrains had the same quiet ride and very good handling, but I had 40,000+ miles on the Michelin's when I traded it in.

I looked at Tirerack on the 18" and noticed the Bridgestone Blizzak are available. The Blizzak's are superb in snow, but you really need to run them only in the winter, which wouldn't work in the snow and sun mix of California.

If you have 18" wheels I'd drive the Continental's until they were done - probably 20-25K miles and then consider the Michelin Cross Terrains.

MomsBenz

Thanks Jim! I have the 19" wheel package too. I noticed there are not many options. I just don't have much confidence in the Continentials. Just doesn't seem like enough tread.

alx

diamaris in the snow? have anybody of you guys ever driven with diamaris in even the slightest snow conditions? the tire is strictly a dry/rain tire.

do not even think about driving in freezing temps with those. you might as well be on full slicks...

my pirelli tires also are starting to get very noisy at 18k miles, so i am looking into decent all weather tires for replacement. one thing is for sure - it aint going to be a diamaris as my truck sees duty in the winter and i am not buying a dedicated winter wheels/tires.

alex
few cars

JimBarnhart

That's good to know about the Diamaris. Glad I went with the Conti's again.