I decided to head to the mountains

 

So I am not the only one who cracks the third row windows to get air moving through the car. Great place for some adventures, by the looks of it. Wondering how the tires worked in the snow. They look like all seasons. Kind and size, please?

 

Hell yeah , those opening 3rd windows are a lifesaver during miles of low speed trails . They are Yokohama geolander G015 all terrains
275/60 r20 . Really good in the snow but even better on the beaches of North Carolina . I absolutely love them .

 

They’re speed brakes!

 

Geolandars, of course! It's my next tire when I burn through the Pirellis. My confidence in these just went up. I like the sound of them handling well on sand. They'll work well on the dirt roads here.

Those third row windows are a life saver for me too when the dog is hanging out of the second row window and I don't need to roll mine down but a hair, roll out the third row glass and eliminate the wind thumping my eardrums off at higher speeds. It's pure magic!

 

I use them to deploy tailgate counter measures. Just kidding...maybe! 😉

 

What size tire are you going with ?

 

A recommendation to Michelin Latitude Cross as a do-it-all tire. All-season tires are always a compromise but it seems to do everything pretty well, even on light snow, and at surprisingly quiet road noise levels. IMO better than Geolandars I had on my G-class at one point. The downside from the most common X164 standpoint is that they're only available in 265/60R18 and 285/45R21. Not in any 19" or 20" sizes, at least for now.

Dedicated snow tires are a different ballgame, of course. I'm currently running GoodYear Ultragrip Ice Arctics (studded) and contemplating Nokian Hakkapeliitta 9 SUV:s or LT3:s to replace them. The tread pattern isn't quite as coarse so they're probably a bit less ideal for deep snow but they have more studs, which is an advantage on icy roads.

 

295/40R21. The choices for 21 inch wheels are limited, infortunately. I have a separate set of winter tires/rims with Nokian Hakka9 SUV. Those are fantastic in the winter.

I'm looking for a 3 season setup which I can trust for early/late season surptise snowfalls and for trips south of the border in the winter... if the border ever opens. I don't want to run the winter tires in 20C/70F+ in Florida in March and practically kill them in a short time.

 

I don't think I've come across the Latitude Cross tires before. Michelin has Cross Climate tires which I'd buy with no hesitation if they came in 21 inch sizes, but the biggest rim they fit on is 20 inch, IIRC.

 

I seriously considered Latitude Cross for a while, for a third set of wheels/tires too but for a dedicated hunting rig mud/all terrain tires and studded snow tires will do. They're one of the best compromises I've come across so far, even though they can't match the grip of even non-studded snow tires when the weather throws an unexpected curveball.

Much better than BFG All Terrains, GoodYear Wrangler Duratracs and similar, though, whenever there's ice on the roads.

 

I have Goodyear Wranglers and very happy with them in mud, snow and bare roads.

We’ve just had the mother of all snow storms here in the puget sound and they’ve acquitted themselves confidently.

 

The Latitude Cross are up there in the price range. Comparing it with the Geolandar, with the price tag of the Michelin and lower thread wear rating I'd opt for the Yokohama at roughly half the price. I might be wrong, but I don't think the Michelin is x2 better. The GL likes to eat tires. I'd opt towards a harder compound tire with longer thread life. I realize that there will be compromises with that, like road noise and maybe dry grip, but those are not concerns for me. The windows are down for the dog so road noise is muffled by wind and sound system. The GL is an SUV with the typical characteristics like hefty weight and body roll so I drive it accordingly. I want a tire that will handle the weight and will not need replacing in a year or two.

 

Polyurethane bushings and a good alignment job? My GMC Typhoon went through a set of tires every 20k miles no matter what I did, even with fresh rubber bushings. Installed a complete PU set and now the current tires have 30k on them, with more than three quarters of the tread depth left. A huge improvement.

Siberian seems to be the only manufacturer that offers PU bushings for X164 right now and they're non-adjustable, but eliminating the effects of torque on rubber bushings and, as a result, wheel alignment, is the ticket for substantially slower tire wear. Offset bushings like K-Mac or Powerflex adjustables would be ideal for fine-tuning the alignment, but they're N/A.

 

Bushings are on the menu. Not at the top of the list, yet. Maybe this summer, if I have the time to take the whole front apart. I've been waiting for the front struts to give me a reason to replace them and get the bushings done at the same time. I really don't want to get into front struts and bushings separately. Thanks for the lead on the PUs. I'd like to firm up the feel of the car some, at least. The PUs should help.

 

Do point out full front alignment on today's models is only adjusting the Toe. Which is directional adjustment !
It's all to do with cost cutting and the ever increasing speed of auto assembly lines (new car industry's best kept secret).

No Camber and Caster to adjust tire contact angles, spread load more evenly to prevent costly, premature edge tire wear.

X166 Front Camber and Caster kit “replaces also at the same time” - the ‘4’ lower arm, highest wearing bushings. The 2 rear bushings are subject to premature failure and OEM are very expensive to replace.

The KMAC kit comes with bush extraction tools so can be fitted without the need for arm removal. Patented design allows precise single wrench adjustment (accurately under load - direct on alignment rack).

W166/X, 167, 251, C292

Front #504016M $595 1.25°’s Pos/Neg

Front #504016-1P $695 2°’s Pos/Neg

REAR SUSPENSION
Have Camber KMAC rear kit “doubles the existing adjustment range”.

Replaces the 4 lower arm, highest wearing bushings. Bush extraction tool supplied allowing to be installed without need for arm removal. Like front, is precise single wrench adjustable direct on alignment rack.

W164, 166/X, 167, 251, C292
Rear #504026K $480

KMAC is the Longest established, most experienced, adjuster kit manufacturer. AUDI to Volvo - Resolving OEM shortcomings since 1964 !
Delivery $40 one kit ($60 Front & Rear) Paypal, Visa or M/Card

 

Great to hear this directly from the manufacturer. I wasn't aware of the existing rear kit, this is good news.
How about the front, then? Assuming that the X166 kit you mentioned is different and won't fit (does it?), can we expect an X164 front kit in the future?

It'll be at least a couple of months before I tear down the suspension and replace bushings so if a kit will be available by, say, June or July, count me in for an order. Any PU bushings are a major improvement but the offset adjustability you guys implement into them takes it one step further.