lauer87

Anyone know if their are any alternative tires for the 550 other than the Continental Cross Contact UHP 295/40 21?

lkchris

Nothing at Tirerack, meaning there likely isn't anything anywhere.

Just the Continentals, $401 each.

Continental is not necessarily a high-price tire, as if Michelin or Bridgestone made a tire this size it would undoubtedly cost more.

Probably the cheapo far east tires don't see this as much of a market, so perhaps Dunlop, the other cheapo brand, will enter the fray. But, they haven't yet.

cablvr

According to Tire Rack - no.

Nice of MB to select a tire size made by one producer. What happens to Conti when our domestic auto industry craters?

DTMBENZ

ONLY CONTI'S

stlduckhunter

I think that Contis are trash. I have 13,000 miles on my GL and the tread is gone. The tires on my Land Cruiser lasted until I had 42,000 miles on it.

lkchris

Suspect your 'cruiser tires weren't Z-rated nor could your cruiser hold a candle to GL550 handling.

Apples and oranges.

The real story here is if you need all the ego stroking that a GL550 provides, you have to pay to play.

Meanwhile, the merely H-rated tires for my milquetoast diesel are $192 ea for Contis and $242 ea for the Michelins I'm getting next.

lkchris

Actually, it's nice of Conti to make a tire specially for Mercedes. A very limited edition, low demand tire, in fact.

sraj

26K miles so far, at least 10K left in the tread. And I don't particularly drive gently!

iluvmys65amg

The Conti's on my GL550 aren't too bad...My wife drives it and she's not a aggressive driver, so hopefully they'll last a little bit longer than normal!

lauer87

Looks like it will be tire rack, its got about 18k miles right now but I need some tread to get through the winter so I'm going to order them this week. Thanks for all the responses, I appreciate it a lot.

crusader

My GL came with Sumitomo 295/40R22 tires. The wheels (CE) are a little larger than stock. So far they have performed well just real noisy.

lkchris

You don't have original wheels, of course.

Shellbmb

Bump.

Tirerack only shows two models for the stock size on a GL550. And the Pirelli's don't have the best reviews.

Looks like the Contis. At least they are not staggered so we can rotate them.

crusader

Several months ago I purchased a set of Yokohama Parada Spec X 305/40/22 114V. So far I have found them to be great. The ride, handling, wet and dry traction are very good with minimal noise.

Franman

I put Parada Spec X 20" on my previous vehicle (Infiniti FX) and absolutely loved them - they outperformed the stock Goodyear Eagle RSA's by leaps and bounds, were more quiet, and had a ton more traction. Good news to hear that the 22's fit the '550 as I may have to consider that option.

So far I have 10.5K on my 2009 GL550 and tread is holding up pretty good. Should get at least another 10k out of them.

justthebest

Monopolization (or effectively anyway) is why I bought the 20" - those wheels opened up options that the beautiful yet restricitve 21" AMGs did not come with.

AMG DUDE

I love the quote!!!

mbx164

hey Crusader:

Just wondering if you had any issue of rubbing with 305/40/22?! I am order a new set of tire and are considering the largest possible? but everywhere I check the largest they recommend is 295/40/22. Which Leave very little option on tires. So far the Only Available Options are Michelin which runs like $350 each!

spdracer53

305's will fit, but more than anything you need to factor in the wheel offset and the width of the rims.

i have 22" oz canyon st which are 10" wide, and am running 305/40/22 on a gl550. my offset is 40 et, and during a full wheel lock the tire rubs on the inside of the plastic fender liner.

main reason i went with 305 was the price difference, and the load rating difference. liked my Continental CrossContact UHP on the 21"amg's so i decided to use the same one for the 305/40/22... price was $153/tire.

also, tire rack recommends 285/35/22 to avoid the rubbing issue.

Devil Red

I know it's old but "ego-stroking"
Where I live the 450's are a dime a dozen and the 550 is so much the better-looking truck. The 450 is a good truck and I don't think the 550 is much better. If bought right the difference is worth the difference to us "superficial" types that put value on esthetics...

StevethePilot

Hate to "jump in" (seeing how I drive a "milquetoaste") but I don't know where you live. However, here in Scottsdale, I see more 550s than 450. The real oddity here is 320s/350s, actually! (Oh, and someone other than a "soccermom" driving a GL - when I first bought this, I only saw men driving GLs, now I never do.)

STP

2008fx4

per tire rack -

Pirelli Scorpion Zero 295/40-21 XL Tire Price: $30

lkchris

Your opinion of course.

IMHO the 550 grille and whole front end is butt-ugly. A snarling teeth setup would be fitting.

Since it is an MB it certainly sparkles more than a HummVee, but it's for sure the same genre.

I'm embarassed MB sells them.

Of course I'm the kind of guy that bought a VW TDI so he wouldn't have to drive his GL around town. Just had my 30K service with 21.9K miles and 3.9 K miles (but one year) since the last one.

But, no hard feelings--your opinion/my opinion.

Devil Red

You say, "no hard feelings" but continue to insult the purchasers as if there is no merit to their reasons to purchase. Your statement of how the 550 is analagous to a HummVee shows you are a bit envious of people who can be overt in their choice. The fact that you "bought a VW TDI" so you aren't seen around town shows you are not comfortable with success or its perception, and I could understand this if you were the one guy with a Mercedes in a town full of old Ford F-150's or beat-up Chevy's. Just don't tell me or other GL 550 owners that we should think like you. While I don't think a Hummer is as well-packaged in terms of carrying people or cargo as a GL, I don't think their owners made a "poor choice". If our available automotive-buying choices were driven purely by cost, usefulness or value, it would be pretty boring out there. Is the 550 a bit "showy" as compared to the 450? Sure, but it also has a better engine and many standard features you would pay extra for on the 450. To say you are "embarassed" that MB sells 550's shows you really belong in a Chevy Tahoe, but oops, maybe you'd also be embarassed GM makes Escalades? If you are looking for a supremely functional, non-showy and ergonomically well-designed vehicle may I suggest a minivan. "No hard feelings" of course...

AMG DUDE