stonecliff

My original Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires are reaching end of life at 27K miles. Replacements from Tire Rack are $239 apiece (no treadlife warranty). Great tires, but pretty pricey for short life.

Highly rated alternatives appear to be:

Anybody have experience with any of these on the GL?

cablvr

I enjoyed the Michelin SUV X Terrain on 2 different former vehicles (a GMC Envoy & Suburban). Probably did not get more than 45-50K miles, but superb rain & snow handling.

JimBarnhart

+1

I'd have the X Terrain's on my GL if they came in 19".

bselph

I have the Michelin X Terrains on my 08 Gl320. I have about 23K miles and am pleased with them. Looks like I will get about 40K out of them. I will buy them again.

lkchris

There are only three tires with "MO" rating (explained in your owners manual) in this size. MO means Mercedes original equipment specification.

Michelin Latitude Tour HP
Continental 4X4 Contact
Pirelli Scorpion STR

A lot of MO spec is around curb protection for wheel, but your replacement tires should be not less than 110H, meaning H speed rating and 110 load carrying.

Danno4x4

I will be replacing my tires within the next few weeks as well... I have decided on the P265/60R18 Nitto Dura Grapplers...

They come in LT sizes which are 4 Rib and are meant for Heavy Load carrying pickup trucks (Think Load Range 120) and have a 45K mile warranty

The P265/60R18 is actually a 5 rib design and it is 110H rated (just like the factory.) It has a 60K mile warranty... it has a wheel protection bead that exceeds the current factory tires, and it has two different sidewall designs (a fancy one on one side of the tire and a traditional one on the other side) so you can choose which ones to point to the outside.

Tire Rack unfortunately does not carry them, but Discount Tire Online has them for $180.00 each.

You can check em out here:

http://www.nittotire.com/#index.microsite.dura

Sorry Kent, I don't buy into the "MO" bit when it comes to tires... We all know that Michelin, Continental and Pirelli all either paid a little scratch to get on that list, or is giving Mercedes a price break for the tires they supply at the factory.

lkchris

Cynicism usually saves money. That's the point, right?

Given that, surprised not driving a Chevy.

stonecliff

That's something I've never understood well. Why do manufacturers give OEM branding to tires that consumers hate? Both the Continental and the Pirelli tires get relatively low ratings from TireRack customers. There are lots of choices out there for 110H tires in 265/60/18 fitment.

Thanks for all the comments so far. I, too, liked the Cross Terrain SUV on the Suburban we had before the GL.

Anyone else with replacement tire experience?

Danno4x4

Who says I am not driving a Chevy...

http://jalopnik.com/5127348/hennesse...b+ft-of-torque

JimBarnhart

My Mercedes dealer sold me Michelin cross terrains on my ML500, maybe they are OEM approved for the ML but not the GL, not sure.

My 19" tires are limited to 4, only 2 of which are actual all season tires.

bselph

My 08 GL320 came from the factory with Michelin Cross Terrains in 265/60R18. They are marked with the MB OE spec.

Stoneseller

I've got cross terrains on mine too.
Great tires. My business partner just put them on his GL as well, he loves them.
Excellent snow traction compared to the Continentals or Michelin Lattitude.

Newbie_2_MB

I was in the parking lot of the grocery store today, unloading stuff from my cart into the back of my GL. Parked next to me was a Sheriff's car. As I'm putting the groceries into the GL, I see the Sheriff get out of his car and walk towards me. He says, "The tread on your tires is very low miss. I suggest you replace the tires immediately." I was surprised that he said anything; I knew the tread was getting low, but I didn't realize how low. I did the penny depth test and I can see space between Abe's head and the edge of the penny, so it's tire time for me at 33K.

Thanks for the recommendations here. I'm going to go with the Michelin Cross Terrains. Been checking around for pricing and so far, Sears wins with $215 per tire. I'm going to call them tomorrow for their complete price (mounting, TPMS, etc.) and a couple of local tire shops then get new shoes for the GL next week.

RedG

Just because the tire lacks the "MO" doesn't mean it won't work on your GL, ML, or any vehicle for that matter. That being considered, I'd recommend the Cross Terrain simply from experience from all three.

blittle

I'd like the cross terrains BUT they don't have a 110H rating do they? Some tire shops will not put tires on a vehicle if they carry a rating LESS than factory specified.

Stoneseller

As I recall the weight rating on the CT's is about 10 lbs less than the Latitudes.
I think the speed rating is a little less, but how often does a GL get driven over 100 mph

StevethePilot

Move from Maryland to Arizona. Then take the 93 the Las Vegas. 100's easy on that one.

(So I've heard. )

Newbie_2_MB

I believe they are 109H. After reading the reviews on this forum & elsewhere, I decided to go with them. I had them installed at a local tire shop who matched Discount Tire's prices (actually beat them by a small amount).

Stoneseller

I'd be in my E550 on that road

oknish

Till you drive your GL once on that road. Promise you won't go back to the E after that

blittle

You are correct...109H....the load rating being the 109 and the requirement for the GL being 110. I checked with NTB, National Tire & Battery, and they will sell them to me but won't mount them because of the lower load rating. Doing so, they say, puts them at a liability risk. And, in fairness, I guess the load rating might be more important than the speed rating.

stonecliff

Talked to Tire Rack about this issue, and they said the load index is determined entirely by the maximum GAWR. In our case, according to the placard on the B pillar and the owners manaual, that is the rear axle with a limit of 1800kg. Here is where I get confused: that translates to a load index of just 104 (one-half of the GAWR). Nowhere on the placards or in the manual can I find that we have to have tires rated 110 or higher.

Does anyone have technical knowledge on this subject? Is Tire Rack correct in using the vehicle's own data for determining load index? I know the OE tires on the car were rated 110, but it appears that tires with a slightly lower load index (like the Cross Terrain tires) would be perfectly acceptable and well in excess of the load requirements of the vehicle.

Comments?

StevethePilot

I've been running the cross-terrains for a while now and I'm quite happy with them. My feeling is if I don't load the vehicle to its maximum possible load, I won't overload the tires.

Now, someone will tell me I'm wrong, I bet.

By the way, is it just me or does it seem like it should be H load rating and 110 speed rating, instead of the other way 'round? Goofy tire manufacturers and their confoozing ratings!

lkchris

Nope, speed ratings are the letters, i.e. S=112 mph, T=118 mph, H=130 mph, V=149 mph, Z= 149+

P-metric tires are a USA-only specification and speed capabilities are dubious with these and they are never fitted on European vehicles and really aren't appropriate for them.

The 110 is the load carrying capacity rating.

So any folks on these forums fail to understand that ALL (even ML, GL, and R) Mercedes are designed as Autobahn stormers, and high-mileage tires are incompatible with this concept.

Mercedes has compromised a bit for the USA market and electronically limits the top speed of most models to 130 mph, i.e. the limit for H-rated tires.

It's simply apples/oranges, i.e. silly, for folks to complain about the wear mileage of OE Mercedes tires--they weren't designed for that in the first place.

And, not only should tire sellers decline to fit lower-load-rated tires, they should also decline to fit lower-speed rated tires than specified by the vehicle manufacturer.

There really is no such thing as a high mileage + high speed tire. There's also mostly no such thing as a great handling + high mileage tire, either. These being "theoretical" concepts more than anything, as most of us don't test our tires anywhere close to capabilities Mercedes has designed for.

"Camry-ization" of Mercedes is regrettable, but it's been going on in the USA since before there were Camrys. So many of the 1970s 450SLs had their V-rated Michelins replaced with Sears Roadhandlers, for example. The whitewalls went well with the whites belts and shoes.

Brocktoon

+1 I hardly ever think you have anything good to say, Kent, but today you are on a frick'n roll...