Takehold

I just got new Conti True Contact non run flats with 2400 miles on my car. Size 235/60/18 103H - The ride and handling are now Amazing!! Complete transformation - I can't believe the difference in the ride, especially over all the small bumps and potholes. Car just seems to glide along and is so smooth and quiet and best of all is that there is absolutely NO more steering vibration. The ride is now what I envisioned when getting my first MB. In my last update I mentioned that the dealer did a software update for the steering that did seem to help a bit, but I knew from what some others had said, that new non RFT would not only vastly improve the ride but also help eliminate the vibration issue. I highly recommend doing this for anyone looking for a night and day ride plus no vibration. This could be the best $800 I have spent. I am going to store my old tires with 2400 on them and have them reinstalled at lease return. My other reason for doing this is because of the poor milage people are reporting on the Pirellis. I did not want to have to replace them at 15K-20K and then maybe again before my lease is up. They are also much more expensive than non RFT. So 800 now instead of maybe 2500 down the road. This way I get a huge ride improvement and get to enjoy the car for another 30K instead of suffering on the poor ride and terrible tread ware of the Pirellis. Total win win for the money. Now, I know I have to deal with no jack or spare but I have that covered and don't need to discuss that further here as its been beaten to death. There are pros and cons to both types of tires and we all have to make a choice that works for us. For me, the hugely improved ride, better tread ware, lower projected cost and no more steering vibration is a total no-brainer. I hope this helps others who are contemplating this same decision.

PeteInGilroy

Our GLC300 came with the Conti Tires and we could not be happier with the ride...even though they are run-flats.

GSOTXL

My 2016 GLC 300 4Matic came with the Pirellis, and at 15K I am indeed replacing the tires tomorrow due to wear (along with the LED headlight inspection safety recall, state inspection, and a repeat complaint for a rattle in driver side front door that seems to be from the area of the seat adustment buttons)....ANYWAY...I opted not to get the Pirellis but instead the Contis (the run-flats).

ajmtbm

out of curiosity, will the dealer replace with non-RFT the 18" or 19"?

GSOTXL

I bought the tires from a link to Mercedes' tire program from my dealer's website; the original tires are 18" and the replacement tires are also 18" - I just opted for these tires instead of getting Pirellis again:
Continental CrossContact LX Sport
235/60R18 103H
SKU: 0354327
These are also run-flats. My lease ends in December and did not want to have issues with tires when I turn the car in.

Louis Y

the run flat tires on AMG 43 is rough even with ABC... very noisy... i don't mind it too much.. but when the day comes... definitely considering regular tire....

Jetfuture

We are replacing our Pirelli's next month with Continental Crosscontact LX20's. The Pirelli RFT's are the worst tires I've had in the past 30 years.

Takehold

PeteInGilroy - Glad to hear it! I have Conti Pure Contact on my daughters Impreza and had the Conti DWS06 on my Acura TL(two sets!) - I think they make good tires. My friend is a tire installer and he always recommends them.

GSOTXL - Wow 15K? thats even earlier than I thought. I am glad I made the move. I am sure the Conti run flats will be a huge improvement. BTW - I had Pirelli RFT on my 16 X3 that I traded for this car and those were gone by 18K - a different model but still horrible.

Jetfuture - I agree! And I had 2 different sets of Pirelli RFT's between the X3 and GLC and both equally bad.

GSOTXL

Yep, 15K miles. I took my GLC to the dealer a few weeks ago to have them check out a screw that got lodged into one of the tread 'canals' in the rear driver side tire. They were able to pull it and plug it, but I also asked them to inspect the tires for wear (based on what I've read on this site and my own observations). Indeed they recommended replacing the tires "soon." I am sure I could have gotten up to 5K more miles out of them, BUT given we're still in winter (and indeed it's snowing here today, on the day I take the car in to get the tires changed), and when it rains here it often totally pours, I've just opted to change out the tires now. I've noticed on my own that I don't get very great traction in heavy raiin with the Pirellis, so I'm hoping the Continental tires are better with that. Well, given today is a snow day I think I'll have the unique opportunity to compare both sets of tires in the same weather conditions! :-)

Ddmccormack

Wife and I both had dealer replace our Pirelli's with these tires as well (hers on a C300). Dealer picked up majority portion of cost, suggest you inquire with your dealer as well. The Pirelli's are a known issue...in fact our service adviser replaced hers on her C300 with the Cross Contacts as well. Wanted the True Contacts non-RFTs, but not in their program so cost would have been all on us.

Jetfuture

Thanks. I checked the Pirelli warranty and it specifically states that mileage warranty is not valid on original equipment (OEM) tires (wear-related warranty). In fact, Pirelli has a list of about 25 things that are not covered under warranty. And any "ride related" complaints would have to be claimed in the first year or 2/32" of ownership. In other words, the Pirelli warranty itself is nearly worthless (and especially worthless on OEM installs from factory, as they don't cover them!). If the warranty DID cover something, it would cover replacement with another Pirelli tire, set of tires, or pro-rated amount towards Pirelli tires. Pirelli would certainly not pay to put Continental tires on one's vehicle.

My dealer has been consistent with the Pirelli warranty language, which basically protects them from reimbursing a customer for nearly 99% of reasons.

Ddmccormack

Interesting that your dealer does not want to support you. Ours did as a 'customer concession', after they talked to HQ (warranty center i suppose). They paid for two tires, install/balance/alignment; we paid for the other two tires. Our position wasn't so much emphasis on Pirelli, but rather Mercedes - that Mercedes needed to support clients buying new cars with tires prematurely wearing. Not sure how many miles you have, we addressed at 8K miles for wife and 11K miles for my GLC.

GSOTXL

OK, the dealer called me this morning that my GLC's state inspection, recall work (LED headlights adjustment), and the new tires install are done.
I switched from the Pirellis to these:
Continental CrossContact LX Sport
235/60R18 103H
(these are run flats)

I only drove from the dealer home BUT in that drive encountered one road (the one you turn on to when leaving the dealer service area) that was a sheet of ice, and other roads that were anything from mushy-snowy, to wet, to dry and everything in between.
Immediate observations:
1) Superior handling. I did not feel any slippage on any of the surfaces I drove on.
2) Various interior rattles and squeeks that I have been used to (and originally included in my service request, but they dropped it because they could not do driving tests with the road conditions after our snow yesterday), were not happening. Now, it's not a long drive home, but there are plenty of bad patches in the road...didn't hear a single rattle or squeek. I'm looking forward to more driving to see if that was just a fluke or if there is less vibration or something with the Continental (run flats) versus the Pirelli run flats.
3) I THOUGHT I heard a little bit more tire/road noise than I did with the Pirellis, but I definitely need to drive more to confirm - it could have been the state of the roads maybe. However if this is the case, this 'con' is made up for by #2 above if that also pans out as the new consistent experience.

bips

I agree with the title of this thread, as per my own thread on this topic when I made the switch.

jsv598

my 2018 GLC came with pirelli scorpion run flats......they are very smooth and performed well on it first snow day. I wonder which ones are better........