GL Class (X166) 2013-2015 after facelift became GLS (X166)

Winter tires - GL550

Old 10-24-2015, 03:19 PM
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2016 GL550
Timely discussion.We recently purchased a new GL550 and live in the San Francisco area. While we don't get wintery weather here we do go up to Tahoe on a frequent basis. Curious if the Continental tires do decent in the snow? Also any experience with chains on this vehicle?
Old 10-24-2015, 03:29 PM
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Originally Posted by pvilly
Timely discussion.We recently purchased a new GL550 and live in the San Francisco area. While we don't get wintery weather here we do go up to Tahoe on a frequent basis. Curious if the Continental tires do decent in the snow? Also any experience with chains on this vehicle?
I'm in the South Bay - been trying to figure this out for a while. These are the new version of the DSWs - so I don't think people have used them extensively in the snow yet. One of the links has a snow test.

What did your's come with?
Old 10-24-2015, 06:01 PM
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Continentals got very good grip on the road. More traction than the Pirellis, imo, even though Pirellis are more for sports cars.

Sadly, I wish there was some Bridgestones or Michelins that has the 295/40/R21 tires.

I heard from Michelin that they made the side walls stronger to reduce the wear.
Old 10-24-2015, 06:29 PM
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If the GL is a long term truck and you live in a snow climate, spend the extra $ now and just get a dedicated winter set with a true snow tire.

There is no comparison between any all season and a true snow in the snow or slush. And trashing a 21" $3k OEM wheel on a pot hole isn't fun either.
Old 11-21-2015, 11:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Dalema
I have a slightly different situation and looking for advice. GL550 with 21 Conti CrossContact UHP that say they are M+S.

I'm in CA and my snow needs are only when I'm up to the mountains (we have a place so up there periodically over winter).

So not sure I need dedicated snow tires, but don't really see any alternatives in M+S.

I guess I could buy a set of rims and snow tires, but would be spending a lot of time around home at 50-60oF temperatures. Not too concerned about tire wear.

Any new developments - would welcome thoughts? Would love to put Nokian WRG3s on but don't think available.
As an update to my search for any in a similar situation, I'm putting on the 295/40R21 Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 M+S today. Will report back later!

Tire pressure setting at 38/38 sound good?
Old 11-22-2015, 05:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Dalema
As an update to my search for any in a similar situation, I'm putting on the 295/40R21 Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 M+S today. Will report back later!

Tire pressure setting at 38/38 sound good?

The Nokians are absolutely the best winter tire out there ( previous experience with 18's ) .....but when it comes to the 20+ size rims, they just don't have much to offer. Nokian is a dedicated European tire manufacturer , and very few Euro folks have cars with 21 and 22 in rims....so the market their is slim ab best.
Old 12-14-2015, 07:04 PM
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Great Snow tires

Hi,
I looked around and found a set of GL 450 19" wheels w/tires. dumped the tires, and had Tirerack ship 4 Blizzaks 255/55R-19 Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 XL (Qty:4).
The GL550 AMG can go down to a 19, and this set up is great. smooth and quiet. only light snow so far, but it drove like a champ. Im having the 21's wheels polished and will put summers on it in April.
Hope this helps.
t
Old 12-22-2015, 12:52 AM
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Originally Posted by Dalema
As an update to my search for any in a similar situation, I'm putting on the 295/40R21 Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06 M+S today. Will report back later!

Tire pressure setting at 38/38 sound good?
Finally had a chance to try these out in the snow. Well, ploughed CA roads anyway.

They felt very secure, and accelerated uphill like a champ (as I gassed it to try and get them to break free). Braking was okay - they are not winter tires but did a decent job with the ABS kicking in to bring you to a halt with heavy breaking.

I liked them a lot better than the 19" Contis on my past GL450.

Very happy so far.
Old 12-25-2015, 11:53 PM
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Finally had a decent time to try out the Conti DWSs. In a nutshell - I'm impressed as they fit my CA Bay Area, with trips up to the mountains, needs.

Over the last few days I've driven them on plowed Hwy 4, then on Hwy 4 with snow covering. also on the local back roads with a mix of plowed and snow covered. Then finally on unplowed back country in about a foot of snow.

They are a good compromise and fully meet my needs for the type of driving I come across.

I was truly impressed when burning through a foot of fresh snow - they hung in there giving decent braking and climbing up hills (the MB AWD helps a lot with that). If you hit the gas around a slow bend, sure you will get them to push wide but with no issue of recovery and that's driving like you shouldn't.

It's not a winter tire, but perfect for weekend trips up to the Sierras.
Old 12-26-2015, 07:31 AM
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Originally Posted by Dalema
Finally had a decent time to try out the Conti DWSs. In a nutshell - I'm impressed as they fit my CA Bay Area, with trips up to the mountains, needs.

Over the last few days I've driven them on plowed Hwy 4, then on Hwy 4 with snow covering. also on the local back roads with a mix of plowed and snow covered. Then finally on unplowed back country in about a foot of snow.

They are a good compromise and fully meet my needs for the type of driving I come across.

I was truly impressed when burning through a foot of fresh snow - they hung in there giving decent braking and climbing up hills (the MB AWD helps a lot with that). If you hit the gas around a slow bend, sure you will get them to push wide but with no issue of recovery and that's driving like you shouldn't.

It's not a winter tire, but perfect for weekend trips up to the Sierras.
Great feedback and much appreciated. I have them on my e63 and they make it drivable during east coast winters.

Have a GLS coming in the spring so fingers crossed the OEM choice is your tire, but if not, that's gonna be my choice
Old 12-27-2015, 10:23 AM
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No problem. As I said good for my location's needs. If I could justify a true winter tire I would have gone that route for the winter season, but when not up in the mountains it's around 45-60oF so true winter wouldn't work.

They're not going to help you as much on just ice, but worked nicely as I noted above.

So, yes they are a compromise, but work for my needs.
Old 12-31-2015, 10:33 PM
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In Europe they use 20" wheels for winter setup for AMG package (US GL550) . Wheel part number is a1664012202. Just go on Ebay of Germany and you may find wheel and tire packages (Scorpion Winter). I attached a spec from GL manual which shows 20" winter option. Also attached a picture of AMG A1664012202 wheels I've bought just 2 weeks ago from Ebay.de.
Attached Thumbnails Winter tires - GL550-amg1.jpg  
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GL550 winter.docx (134.4 KB, 234 views)
Old 01-01-2016, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by aeggroup
In Europe they use 20" wheels for winter setup for AMG package (US GL550) . Wheel part number is a1664012202. Just go on Ebay of Germany and you may find wheel and tire packages (Scorpion Winter). I attached a spec from GL manual which shows 20" winter option. Also attached a picture of AMG A1664012202 wheels I've bought just 2 weeks ago from Ebay.de.
Do you have a pic of these on your GL? You have a 350 right?
Old 01-01-2016, 12:47 PM
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Originally Posted by jerome8283
Do you have a pic of these on your GL? You have a 350 right?
Not yet. The wheels are still on the way from Europe. Yes, I have 350 and I'm planning to buy 285/50/20 tires for them. it should look nice with 41 offset of the wheels. I'm planning to keep my original 19" wheels for winter tires.
Old 01-02-2016, 03:07 PM
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2015 gl450
275/45/20 with a 41 offset wheel

GL450
Winter tires - GL550-img_1941_zpsmmqnm9iq.jpg
Old 01-02-2016, 05:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike450
275/45/20 with a 41 offset wheel

GL450
Hi. Could you please post couple more pictures from different angles ? Thanks in advance.
Old 01-02-2016, 06:01 PM
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Sorry, ET 43 offset.
Old 01-03-2016, 12:18 PM
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Originally Posted by pvilly
Timely discussion.We recently purchased a new GL550 and live in the San Francisco area. While we don't get wintery weather here we do go up to Tahoe on a frequent basis. Curious if the Continental tires do decent in the snow? Also any experience with chains on this vehicle?
Just bought a set the Nokian 275/55/R19 in preparation for winter. very steep, long driveway her in PA. No way do I want a pair of all seasons to handle my winter. Reviews of the stock Continental 4x4 for winter are not good. For Tahoe you may have a problem...
Old 01-03-2016, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by amcmercedes1
Just bought a set the Nokian 275/55/R19 in preparation for winter.
Which model Nokian tires did you get? The Hakkapeliitta 8 SUV or the Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV?
Old 01-03-2016, 08:18 PM
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Originally Posted by GL-
Which model Nokian tires did you get? The Hakkapeliitta 8 SUV or the Hakkapeliitta R2 SUV?
R2 SUV. Interesting that my dealership couldn't find me a set of winter tires to buy and put on, except a Pirelli in a width 265! Found these on my own after much research. Curious to see how they do.
Old 01-03-2016, 09:20 PM
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Originally Posted by blittle
The Nokians are absolutely the best winter tire out there ( previous experience with 18's ) .....but when it comes to the 20+ size rims, they just don't have much to offer. Nokian is a dedicated European tire manufacturer , and very few Euro folks have cars with 21 and 22 in rims....so the market their is slim ab best.
Not quite correct..Nokian's (specifically Hakkapeliitta) come in sizes up to 21...although I have 21's (summers) I decided to run 20's for winter..here with the Hakkapalliita SUV8 studded






Last edited by Nanook; 01-03-2016 at 09:23 PM.
Old 01-04-2016, 09:42 AM
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'18 GLE63S AMG /'19 PORSCHE TURBO S / '09 CORVETTE ZR1 /'14 LEXUS RX350/'16 RAV4 Ltd
Originally Posted by amcmercedes1
R2 SUV. Interesting that my dealership couldn't find me a set of winter tires to buy and put on, except a Pirelli in a width 265! Found these on my own after much research. Curious to see how they do.
Yup they pushed the Pirelli snow & ice on me which after two seasons and 2 near major crashes (couldn't stop) they are in the bin at the tire shop (nearly like new) that put on the Nokians...and what a difference !

Last edited by Nanook; 01-05-2016 at 04:57 PM.
Old 01-05-2016, 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by amcmercedes1
R2 SUV. Interesting that my dealership couldn't find me a set of winter tires to buy and put on, except a Pirelli in a width 265! Found these on my own after much research.
I've been looking at tire options for our new GL450, and found out about the Nokians via the tire selector at discounttire.com. Visiting the Nokian website, I found there were a couple of options for the stock tire size.

From what I've been reading, the Continentals are really poor on snow, but I'm waiting to see for myself once we get our next snowfall. I'm at least hoping to defer buying some new rubber for a little while.
Old 01-07-2016, 08:17 AM
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I think that people should note what size wheel they are discussing.. the issues for a 450/350/ML driver (19-20inch wheel) are very different to those who drive a 550/ 63 (21 inch wheel).....

450/350/ML driver's have a ton of options for winter/ all season / but no high performance (low profile)

550/63 have few options for winter / all season/ and high performance. (I personally still believe that for a 550/63 driver who wants to preserve dry characteristics and the performance end of the envelope for his 550/63 that was clearly setup for that from the factory with low profile tires.. that the Pirelli Scorpion "winter" (NOT THE SNOW AND ICE) is the best choice in OEM sizes for a "dedicated" winter tire... I run 22 inch Scorpion summer high performance tires off season and I have to say putting the"winter" on each snow season is not really a major degrade in performance quality and is certainly does a great job in every wintery condition that I have found myself (16-24 inch snow storms)....

that being said..I am sure that a 21 inch Nokian or Hakkapeliitta would offer G wagon performance in our GLs but the dry handling would suffer significantly.
Old 01-07-2016, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by cyclrder
I think that people should note what size wheel they are discussing.. the issues for a 450/350/ML driver (19-20inch wheel) are very different to those who drive a 550/ 63 (21 inch wheel).....

450/350/ML driver's have a ton of options for winter/ all season / but no high performance (low profile)

550/63 have few options for winter / all season/ and high performance. (I personally still believe that for a 550/63 driver who wants to preserve dry characteristics and the performance end of the envelope for his 550/63 that was clearly setup for that from the factory with low profile tires.. that the Pirelli Scorpion "winter" (NOT THE SNOW AND ICE) is the best choice in OEM sizes for a "dedicated" winter tire... I run 22 inch Scorpion summer high performance tires off season and I have to say putting the"winter" on each snow season is not really a major degrade in performance quality and is certainly does a great job in every wintery condition that I have found myself (16-24 inch snow storms)....

that being said..I am sure that a 21 inch Nokian or Hakkapeliitta would offer G wagon performance in our GLs but the dry handling would suffer significantly.

What are the options for all season 20" for a 450? Who has first hand success with this setup?

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