oinick

My GL 320 has 35K miles on it and the tires are starting to look a little like they need replacing. Inasmuch as I have seen other threads on this issue, I am trying to distill the information to these basic questions:

1) For others who have replaced the 19 inch tires, have you done so with the same kind (Continentals)? If not, what have you chosen instead?

2) If you chose to replace the tires with the same as those that came from the factory, where did you get them? My dealer has quoted a price including installation, weights, balancing and taxes of $1351 which works out to $331 per tire plus tax. That seems pretty reasonable based on what I priced at the Tire Rack ($275/tire) without installation etc.

Thanks for your advice.

JimBarnhart

35K on the Continentals is pretty good. I got 28,000 and my dealer said that was on the high side, most are getting around 25,000.

I did some research on 19 inchers and there were 4 available at the time:

1) Dunlop SP Sport
2) Michelin Diamaris
3) Pirelli Scorpions
4) Continental Contacts (original tires)

1) and 2) were listed as summer tires, so that wouldn't work for me being significantly north of the Mason/Dixon line. I would have seriously considered the Michelins since I've never had a problem with them. I've heard people either love or hate Pirelli's, and my dealer had the Conti's in stock, so I went with them when I had my service B done.

I believe I paid the same price for the Conti's as you had listed. My dealer did a alignment for $99 additional, which seems like a good price for a MB alignment. The new Continental's are doing fine.

One thing I didn't check was trying a slightly different size to see if any other options opened up.

BlownV8

I went with the Dunlop SP Sports. So far, I like them. I thought the Continentals were OK but I was always fixing flat tires. No kidding. Every 5000 miles or less I had to get a flat fixed. All of the tires were getting nails, screws, ETC, ETC stuck in them.

So far, I haven't had the first flat on my Dunlops. I'm not sure if the Continentals are more prone to nails and screws or not but the Dunlops have been pretty resistant. Anyone else had this issue with the Continentals?

czcz

My first set of Continentals which were replaced after 13,000 miles had suffered one flat, and I'm now on my second set of C's with 9,000 on them and I have had two flats in the last two weeks. These tires do seem to have a soft rubber compound which allows easy penetration, however, I believe that it is this soft compound which gives the extremely smooth ride.

JimBarnhart

Very interesting, I had one flat (screw) on my old continentals... I'll have to watch out for that.

BlownV8

They seem to be very soft. I literally had more flats in my Continentals than all my other cars/tires I've ever owned............... combined. It seemed that I was airing up, every other week, or getting a tire patched monthly.

JimBarnhart

With the tire pressure monitors of the GL do you guys see the warning come on reguarly (i.e. a slow leak), or is it a quick flat? In my case we were gone for the weekend without the GL and came back to a flat tire in the garage.

BlownV8

They were usually slow leaks.

BeanCounter

Oinick, I am impressed that you got 35,000 miles out of your Continentals. I have under 20,000 on mine and I am about to replace them. They still have tread but they have gotten alot noiser then they used to be (although that can be said of any tire). I am going with Michelin's this round. The only exact replacement are the Diamaris' but if you are willing to go with a slightly different aspect ratio (45 versus the original 55) you can get Latitude Touring's. The reviews on the Latitude's are alot better than the Diamaris'. I am still debating which one to go with. I have only gotten one flat with my Continentals which resulted from a screw I ran over. No slow leaks or similar.

oinick

Where did you get them? I can't find a local retailer for them. If you bought them from Tire Rack or something like that how big a deal was it to get them installed?

BlownV8

I purchased them from Sams Club. It was a special order item. They arrived in about a week and had them installed while I was doing my weekly shopping.

Stoneseller

I'm planning on replacing my Conti's in the next week or two. I'm at around 19K miles, & they are pretty shot. Being a long time loyal Michelin customer, I'm pretty convinced that is the route I'll go.

On my wife's previous ML500, and on past SUV's & light trucks, I've always used the Michelin Cross Terrain. This tire is indeed available in the correct size, but the speed rating is slightly less, as is the weight rating by about 10 lbs.
Odds are pretty slim I'll be doing any 100+ mph cruising, nor weighing the vehicle down to max capacity in the remaining year of my lease. With winter coming, the slightly more aggresive tread pattern of the MCT looks to me to be a better choice than the Latitudes.
Has anyone else used the cross terrain on a GL? Any issues turning the vehicle in next year at lease end with under spec tires?

David in MD

bt1340

Do you have the 18" or 19" wheels?
That tire is not available in the 19" version. I need to replace the tires on my wife's GL with 27,000 miles and I believe that I will be using the Pirelli Scorpion tires. Was not thrilled with the Contis. I did notice that new GL's with 19" wheels are arriving with the Pirelli's. Any additional thoughts?

JimBarnhart

If loved my Cross Terrains on my ML500, but they aren't available for the 19" GL wheels.

Stoneseller

I have the 18" wheels.

N'AWLINS

35K on the factory originals is pretty good...highest I've seen on any forum. Mine could probaly go a couple thousand more than the 20K on them now, but since I'm taking a highway trip, I'm switching to Michelin Diamaris tomorrow at COSTCO. $298/tire complete, dealer wanted $350 +++.

4u4me

Doesn't matter I always keep michelins only, My Armada got Cross Terrain, they are great, soon I will change it my GL too

oknish

Hey Pranab - nice pic of the cute girl and the car. Post some more in the pics thread at the top of the forum. Also, how did you get chrome roof rails and belt line? They part of a package now or separate options or ?? TIA.

4u4me

its the appearance pkg

oknish

oinick

I found the Dunlops at Sam's as well. Before I bought them, I called the dealer to see if it would still honor the tire and wheel warranty package I bought if I didn't buy the Continentals they were pushing as OEM equipment. The dealer said it would, but why didn't I let them get me Dunlops and put them on there? I got them to match Sam's price and they threw in a free alignment.

I'll let you know how they work out in a few thousand miles. I have already noticed they are WAY more quiet than the Continentals they replaced.

BlownV8

The grip is much better too.