Tire Recomendations
#1
Tire Recomendations
Hi, question for you all. I have a 2013 GL450 which has Continental 4x4 Contacts on them. I am not happy with these tires. Poor snow traction ( even when they were new ) and the car just does not seem to handle well with them. We had them put on new when we purchased the vehicle. They now have 20,000 miles and are worn and need to be replaced. Any suggestions for a better tire that will help with handling and last a little longer then 20,000 miles. Thanks in advance!
#2
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2015 S550
Hi, question for you all. I have a 2013 GL450 which has Continental 4x4 Contacts on them. I am not happy with these tires. Poor snow traction ( even when they were new ) and the car just does not seem to handle well with them. We had them put on new when we purchased the vehicle. They now have 20,000 miles and are worn and need to be replaced. Any suggestions for a better tire that will help with handling and last a little longer then 20,000 miles. Thanks in advance!
#3
Thanks for the info. I am going to look into them. The car rarely goes out in the snow as we take the trusty old E320 4matic with 4 studs out. It’s a tank in the snow. Hopefully whatever I choose will be better than the Contis which I was very disappointed in. Thanks again!
#4
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My GL550 wears 295/40R21 111W XL Pirelli Scorpion Winter year-round. They cost an arm and a leg, but they are very nice replacements to the Continental’s that were on there.
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Mark Step (11-16-2018)
#5
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2023 EQB 350 & 2014 GL350
After the OEM Conti's wore out after 20K miles, I installed Michelin LTXs. Still going strong 35K miles later and use them year round here in Minnesota. Just visually looking at them I'd predict they are good for at least another 10K miles.
Last edited by cadetdrivr; 11-15-2018 at 09:35 AM.
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2015 S550
You should be swapping the stock tires on every spring.
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Mark Step (11-16-2018)
#7
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So I'm hoping for the same with the Scorpions. So far they've been fine in the rain.
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#8
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2015 S550
Yeah, we'll see. I put winter tires (Michelin PA4) on my S63 Cab about 10,000 miles ago, and drove them through a very warm summer including a couple weeks of 100+ temps, and they now not only have lasted longer than my summer OEM tires (Conti 5P), but appear to only be about 20% worn. Plus their performance is so much better than the 5Ps.
So I'm hoping for the same with the Scorpions. So far they've been fine in the rain.
So I'm hoping for the same with the Scorpions. So far they've been fine in the rain.
If you live in a climate that gets annual snow and ice, snow tires are definitely a must. But putting them on 21" stock rims is not a good idea as potholes show up in the winter and it's much easier to bend a wheel or blow out a tire with that low profile. Also, the wide track of those wheels makes handling in the snow much more challenging than a narrower wheel.
For the cost of what you paid for just 1 set of those Scorpion tires, you could have had an entire tire and wheel package with TPMS sensors. And I'm talking about tires with a 60k mile warranty on them that are ranked very high for winter use and can also be used year round. When those Scorpions are worn out, you may want to consider a dedicated winter wheel set as it will save you money. You can also keep them on year round if you don't mind going down to 19" wheels.
I put together my own wheel/tire package as I didn't like any of the choices from TireRack or other vendors:
Wheels ($700 shipped including new wheel bolts -- they look almost identical to the stock 21" wheels and come with Benz logo caps): https://www.ebay.com/itm/19-wheels-f...jwwR:rk:7:pf:0
Tires: Toyo Celsius CUV P275/55R19 ($840 shipped to tire installer -- I ordered from these guys: http://www.usedtreads.com/
TPMS Sensors: https://www.ebay.com/itm/4-X-OEM-New-Schrader-for-Mercedes-Smart-Tire-Sensor-Monitor-TPMS/182904985326?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid =p2060353.m2749.l2648
Mount, balance, program sensors: $110 out the door.
So for under $1700, I have a dedicated wheel/tire package that looks great and can perform year round if I want. I can use these for probably 10 winters (I won't have this rig nearly that long), and which will have great resale value when it comes time to sell the truck in a few years. If you drive even an average number of miles, you'll only get about 1 year out of those Scorpions before they are useless.
Last edited by DaveW68; 11-16-2018 at 11:31 AM.
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2015 S550
I just got them mount, balanced, and installed. Installation was only $86. The sensors i bought do not need any kind of programming and work great. Looking forward to seeing how this thing handles in the snow.
BTW, 19" wheels are definitely the smallest you can go with on the 550 to get over the front brakes.
BTW, 19" wheels are definitely the smallest you can go with on the 550 to get over the front brakes.
#10
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2015 GL350, 2015 750i
I switched to Michelin Premier LTX 275/50R20 on 3/2017 after only getting 28K miles with the Latitude Sports my GL350 came with. After 20.5K miles, the LTXs already need replacing. I rotated my tires every 5K miles and all 4 tires have even wear. Fortunately, the tires have a 60K warranty so I should be getting some money back. Discount Tire is suggesting I try the Michelin Primacy which is rated for 55K miles but have more tread depth.
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I switched to Michelin Premier LTX 275/50R20 on 3/2017 after only getting 28K miles with the Latitude Sports my GL350 came with. After 20.5K miles, the LTXs already need replacing. I rotated my tires every 5K miles and all 4 tires have even wear. Fortunately, the tires have a 60K warranty so I should be getting some money back. Discount Tire is suggesting I try the Michelin Primacy which is rated for 55K miles but have more tread depth.
Michelin's are good tires....but they are very expensive for a wear item that only lasts 20-30k miles on these hefty beasts. I would go with a less expensive brand that has similar wear, weight, and speed ratings. If you were in the snow belt, I'd highly recommend the Toyo Celsius tires like I have since that are "all weather" tires with a 60k warranty. Mine have been great so far. But in a state like Texas that rarely sees snow, a decent "all-season" should be good enough.
#12
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2015 GL350, 2015 750i
Michelin's are good tires....but they are very expensive for a wear item that only lasts 20-30k miles on these hefty beasts. I would go with a less expensive brand that has similar wear, weight, and speed ratings.
#13
I second the Toyo Celsius CUV all conditions tire. Just put them on my 14 GL450. Love them. Dry road / wet road, very good handling. Did well in snow in VT a few weeks ago. Pretty quiet on the highway too. So far I am very happy...
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2015 GL350, 2015 750i
Just got back from Discount Tire. They said my tires had a mixture of 5/32" and 4/32" tread depth left. Even though they typically recommend replacing tires at 4/32", these tires were probably good for another 10-15K miles because they were Michelin Premiers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I told the guy that when I last had the tires rotated there 2 months ago, the person who helped me said I probably needed to replace them after another 3K miles. The guy today said they were mistaken and shouldn't have told me that for these tires.
I forgot to ask how much I would be getting back at 30K miles on a 60K mile warranty.
I forgot to ask how much I would be getting back at 30K miles on a 60K mile warranty.
#15
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Just got back from Discount Tire. They said my tires had a mixture of 5/32" and 4/32" tread depth left. Even though they typically recommend replacing tires at 4/32", these tires were probably good for another 10-15K miles because they were Michelin Premiers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I told the guy that when I last had the tires rotated there 2 months ago, the person who helped me said I probably needed to replace them after another 3K miles. The guy today said they were mistaken and shouldn't have told me that for these tires.
I forgot to ask how much I would be getting back at 30K miles on a 60K mile warranty.
I forgot to ask how much I would be getting back at 30K miles on a 60K mile warranty.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/...ext-to-useless
At 4/32, it's time to change your tires as they can become unsafe in any kind of inclement weather below that point. If you lived in sunny San Diego, you'd probably be fine taking them down to the wear bars at 2/32.