smayshusband

How long should OEM tires last conti cross contact uhp 295 40 R21 ? Car only has 34000 miles and tires are worn to metal on inside WTF . Dealer says this is normal and I will have to replace the tires every 30000 miles.... I smell bull sh*t ...

sang55

Calm down , The GL is heavy truck and 4WD all time . I got 27K miles on my GL and the tires still has 35% lives left . I will have to replace them soon . Ur Dealer is right about tires .

StevethePilot

A quick scan of this forum will show you the mileage on your tires will be highly variable. Like most things in life, tires are always a compromise, between long life and grip, between ride comfort and performance, that kind of thing. And if you drive a 550 like you mean it, you're going to wear them down even faster.

Sorry about that! If you get some ride-comfort highway all season tires and drive very slowly and carefully, you'll have tires that last longer. But this big heavy beast you drive will still eat them faster than a lighter, smaller one.

smayshusband

Just does not sound right the tires are showing metal. I have correct tire pressure and have rotated the tires. I thinks its ridiculous to spend $2000 plus on tires every 30000 miles. I am having to many problems with this car, bad fuel pump, power steering leaking, worn tires, front and rear pads and rotors and many more. What is going to happen when the warranty is up?

Benzo 003

30k on the original tires would be nice......most tire issues in most classes i've seen were lucky to get 20k + miles.....I stretched mine to 25k with very diligent pressure checks and rotations.
For the most part....the higher the mileage tire you may go with...ride will be sacrificed.

Devil Red

You guys think I should have the dealer rotate at the annual inspection? We'll have the truck for 3 more years on a lease and my wife will drive it about 10K per year. If I'm going to have to buy new tires, I'm not going to do it at the end of the lease and turn it back in to them. I'd imagine those of you wearing out tires generally see more wear on the front than back? I guess my goal would be to get the original tires to at least 25K and then the set I buy will last through the end of the lease.

lkchris

Inexperience on your part.

Discovery Channel just did a feature on the 253 mph Bugatti Veryon on which tire life is 6000 miles and a set of new tires is $17,000.

Your GL is a performance car, too, (not at much obviously) and is factory fitted with tires capable of coping with the vehicle's performance--which is substantial. You're lucky you got more than 20K miles on your tires and have likely been driving on too-worn tires for some time.

Sorry, but a GL550 is not grandma's Camry with 40K mile low-performance tires. There is NO SUCH THING as a 40K mile treadlife high-performance tire.

MKW

I am astounded you even got past 30K miles !
Its a near 6000 lb truck with low profile tires - think about it.

asg

We have 30k on ours and still not at the wear marks. It has Continentals on it. One was replaced about a year ago because of damage. All the others have worn pretty evenly.

Devil Red

OK, let's not get carried away. Comparing tire wear on a GL550 to a Veyron is like me comparing my sneaker wear to that of Kobe Bryant's game shoes. The single biggest influence on how they wear is how you drive. That's why
we'll see ranges of more than double. ASG is probably going to end up proving your last sentence to be false, if we go under the asumption the GL550's tires are "high-performance". I don't really consider any all-season tire to be truly high performance. For me they are a (big) compromise of ride, use, looks, etc and the more you try and cover the less you do any of them well.

StevethePilot

That's what I'm sayin'! Everything in life is a compromise. You can be a Jack of All Trades, only if you're Master of None.

Devil Red

Interesting follow up since I took a look at the sidewall tread-life numbers on the 4 vehicles in my garage:
Aston: 140
SRT-8: 220
Saab: 260
GL550: 410 !!

I'm not sure what testing tire companies go through to achieve these ratings but I can't imagine they go up to a thousand. 400+, considering the other cars are MORE performance oriented than the GL would indicate to me they should have a pretty long life. It would be interesting of some of you would look at your other vehicles and post the numbers for them.

Popo

I think the treadlife numbers are only really useful within a single manufacturer. i.e a Pirelli rating of 300 may not be the same as a Michelin 300.

I do not think there is a standard that all manufacturers test to although i wish there was. I guess it can indicate an approximate comparison between tires.

As an example, The Michelins i had on my previous ML lasted 10K longer than the Dunlops initally fitted, although the Dunlops had a higher treadlife rating.

smayshusband

well since I have to buy new tires, does any one have any suggestions ?

Devil Red

If you go to www.tirerack.com they have a useful tool that will allow you to put in your vehicle, and then it will show you the tires that will fit. I've ordered tires from them and then took the car to either a dealer or local shop for the mount and balance. On my last rim swap there's now a place that has a fully equipped box truck that comes right to your house and does the M/B right there at only $40 per. Very convenient. You will often save a good few bucks buying online...

slim nicky

Ditto. Coming up on 30k and metal showing on two of the tires (edge of tires facing inward towards vehicle). Interesting thing though, tire tread still has some life (they are not bald), which leads me to believe alignment was off.

In any case, I've heard the same thing re 20-30k being about average life span. Will be replacing with same ones soon from Discount Tires and getting alignment done. Let us know what you end up getting.

katelynsdad

Same here on my wife's 2008 GL550 (38k)--both rear tires are showing metal (inner edges) and will be replaced this week.

mdy0123

Can any of you tell me if you have tried the Pirelli 295/40 R21 tires on your GL 550 and how you like the ride, road noise and performance of it compared to the Continental 295/40 R21 tires?

EWT

I've never used the Contis, but I'm happy with the Pirellis and plan to buy another set when my current set wears out (probably in the next 5-7K miles). They have worn reasonably well, do ok in the snow (which seems to be a weak point with the Contis) and are significantly cheaper. One complaint I've seen with the Pirellis is tread noise, but mine aren't significantly louder at ~75% wear than they were new.

mdy0123

Thanks EWT. How many miles have you gotten out of your Pirelli tires?

EWT

I'm probably going to get 25-27K out of them. However, I don't baby the tires, and most of my driving is in the city, so I'm not a good test case for how many miles you can get out of a set.

Windsurfer413

I picked up my 2012 GL 350 on Monday. Avantgarde edition with 21" AMG rims. To my surprise and liking, the tires were Pirelli Scorpion Zero's. I previously had an ML with continentals and got rid of them quickly and purchased Pirelli's. Just so happened to snow a few days ago and the Pirelli's worked fine.

r1_2fast4u

Id recommend discount tires, they qouted me 460 for the Pirellis in zip 78577. Alot cheaper than the dealer thats for sure.

LEOSOPHIE

My dealer charged me 450.00 installed with nitrogen for a Continental which is more expensive than the Pirelli. They last longer than Pirelli but are not as good in the snow. Included CA sales tax, might have been a mistake?

r1_2fast4u

Well ill be damned you sir got a hell of a deal thats for sure. Dealer qouted me 580 for the Contis. For some odd reason my used GL550 i purchased about a month ago has pirellis upfront and contis in the back.