BlackGLC

It’s time to replace the 18” Scorpion Verde All Season Run Flat tires that came on my 2017 GLC. I’ve only got 24k miles on the tires and they are already down to the wear bars.
I’ve been struggling with whether to switch to “regular” tires, and deal with the lack of a spare, or just continue with run flats. Is it worth the trouble to switch to regular tires?

I’m leading toward a switch, for several reasons: primarily disappointment with tread life, but there is also the lack of availability of a replacement in the event of an urgent need, and the RoF tires seem to get fairly horrible reviews by owners in categories such as ride, noise, and handling (maybe I'm missing out on an improved ride).
I am currently considering Michelin and Continental tires. Both of these companies appear to offer free towing, should a flat occur. This would give me one option for dealing with flats. I’ll also plan to buy a plug kit, a portable compressor, and some sealant. I may eventually get a spare, for out-of-town trips.

Anyway, living in the Chicago area, I’d like to buy all-season tires with some ability in snow/ice. I’d like tires that are quiet, provide a nice ride, exhibit good handling/braking, and decent treadlife. For regular tires, I’m currently looking at the Michelin Premier A/S and the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 6. Someone on the forum has posted that they were happy with these Michelins, but I haven’t seen anyone mention of these Continentals on a GLC. I’d be interested in reports on either of these tires, and also in other thoughts/suggestions.

Thanks,

Teckno

We are in Australia, so not a lot of need for an all season tyre. We run 20” AMG rims.
Originally Pirelli scorpion summer tyres that were terrible, high wear rate etc.
Mercedes changed our tyres for free due to tyre skipping, to Goodyear Eagle Sport all season, M&S, MOE, RFT.
This was because of issues with RHD vehicles.
Ride is better, handling much better and tyre wear much improved. Running around 36psi.
In USA I believe they have a 50k mile g’tee. You get the best of both worlds, with the slight negative of RFT ride which is a bit harder.
Continental were developing a SSR tyre, Self supporting run flat. They also have a self sealing tyre, which has had excellent reviews, again I think they are summer tyres, unsure of sizing or if they have developed a Mercedes “MOE” version.
We in Oz miss out on a lot of tyre options, being a much smaller market.
Hope this helps a little.

ChinaBob

[QUOTE=BlackGLC;7811522]For regular tires, I’m currently looking at the Michelin Premier A/S and the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 6. Someone on the forum has posted that they were happy with these Michelins, but I haven’t seen anyone mention of these Continentals on a GLC. I’d be interested in reports on either of these tires, and also in other thoughts/suggestions./QUOTE]

I have had some experience with both of the tires you are considering. I had the ExtremeContact DWS 6 on my Audi A3 after the factory originals wore out. What I noticed immediately is that they were quieter, had a better ride, and were more responsive to steering inputs than the originals. I can't say how long they lasted because my A3 was a TDI and VW bought it back in the diesel scandal of 2015. I think I drove them about 25 K miles and was pleased with them.

I have the Michelin Premier A/S's on my 2017 GLC 4Matic now. Again, I am very pleased with them. They are quieter and better-riding than the RFT originals and their durability is fantastic. I now have about 65k miles on them, Consumer Reports says they should go to 80K. When I last took the car in to a dealer they looked at my tires and said they're fine now but I should replace them before winter sets in. The way I drive that's another 20,000 miles.

NB: I bought the the Michelins from a tire chain in New England that[size=3] gives free rotations every 5,000 miles and $100 for alignment and balancing every 10K or so. I am sure that has a lot to do with my tires' longevity. Maybe you have a dealer in your area that does likewise.

lkfoster

I haven't put Conti DWS' on a GLC, at least yet, but have had them on an Audi mk1 TT, Audi S5, Volvo XC60 and as of this morning an AMG E53 and have always ben pleased. Wet and dry handling and tread wear are fine. No issues either in snow within limits.

Sigp232

Take a look at the Michelin Defender LTX. Replaced the Contis RFT with these. So far I’m pleased.

BlueRidge

I can second the suggestion for Michelin Premier LTX tires. Very comfortable ride. I cannot compare them to the stock RFs because I put the Michelin Premiers on when I received the car.

BlackGLC

Thanks all for the responses and recommendations/feedback. To be fair to my current Scorpions, it does seem that they've worn on one side, while there is still tread elsewhere. I did rotate them, but probably not often enough, and I'll plan to have the alignment checked, once I get the new tires. ChinaBob is setting a good example for treadwear.

Teckno - thanks for the info about the Goodyear tires, I had not considered those - they seem fairly new, and don't yet have ratings at Tirerack.

I'm glad to hear that others have had good experiences with the Michelins and the Continentals. I'm going to go with one of them, rather than run-flats.

ajmtbm

are you planning on buying and carrying a spare and a jack? or good and a compressor?

BlackGLC

ajmtbm, here's my plan:
Michelin and Continental appear to each provide a warranty on their tires which includes towing up to 150 miles, should a flat occur. This is limited to 3 years from date of purchase. That's one option for dealing with flats. I’m also going to buy a plug kit, a portable compressor, and some sealant. That will give me additional options. If I have a flat, I can decide which option to take at that time. For example, if it's a simple nail puncture, I might use the plug kit and pump up the tire. For a blow-out, I'll call for a tow.
For long trips, I may consider buying a space-saver spare to bring along (and jack, wrench, and lug nuts...).

Ddmccormack

Decided to go non-RFT. Went with tireRack research charts overall winner, the Goodrich Advantage T/A. Less than $700 and so far remarkably quiet.

mtberman

I too went with non-runflats and put a sealant + pump kit in the trunk. After talking to a law enforcement source and looking at their independent tire tests I settled on the Goodyear WeatherReady. I have 19s and paid about $221 per tire plus tax. They're not cheap but they are cheaper than some other tires. The cost was not a deal breaker because my first priority was to get the best performing tire.

The WeatherReady is one of the new "all weather" tires that are intended to provide superior snow/ice performance while still being a true all season tire. I think the BFGs mentioned above are another one.

My GLC's performance on snow and ice last winter was night-and-day better than the OEM Scorpion Verde tires, and the Goodyears are noticeably more resistant to hydroplaning, too. The ride is great even on hot days when they get up to 36-37 PSI due to the heat.

I live in Denver where the climate varies from torrential rain to scorching hot summers to occasional ice and snow in winter. Although it definitely snows here sometimes, any snow and ice we get doesn't generally remain on the roads for more than 2-3 days because it's usually sunny and dry. And the average winter temperature is too high for dedicated snow tires to perform well here. The WeatherReady has proven to be a great choice for this climate and my needs.

guido3

Replaced my 18” Pirellis with non-RF Michelin Latitude Tour HP and after 15k miles 100% satisfied — better ride and wear for sure.

BlackGLC

Just to update the thread, I've ordered a set of Michelin CrossClimate SUV tires. Michelin is having a sale in the US this month, which saved me $110 at Costco.

peet

BTW as a fellow Chicagoan, I can tell you that RFTs only saved me once in the last 5 years. I say 5 because I've had ALL of my flats in the last five years (of 35 years of driving). Where it saved me was picking up a drywall screw on i290. One of the typical sights of Chicago is the scrappers that frequent the alleys and pick up all the metal they can find. They drive the WORST trucks and leak metal all over the place, so to speak. In this case, I repaired the RFT (screw was in the face of the tire, easy fix) and saved the tire for a backup and replaced the tire on the car. Perhaps over cautious but since I drive to and from Springfield regularly, I didn't want to risk being stuck on 55.

Now, the other five incidents, all involved pot holes. The more likely situation to mess you up in Chicago. In all cases the sidewall blew out, rim was damaged and the RFT aspect did nothing but cost me more money to repair.

Will your situation be similar? Who knows. I wish you the best either way. But now I have a parachute for my parachute for my parachute... RFT, a spare and if all fails roadside assistance which comes with the car.

All the best!

My_1st_MB

Seems like the early wear issue on the original Scorpion Pirelli (run flats) may be attributed to the recommended tire pressure. I have 2017 GLC300 4Matic with original tires and 22K miles. The right tires are wearing off from the outer edge.

What tire pressure do you maintain ? The stickers on the driver side door and on the fuel door seem to differ. I maintain 32psi in cold (hot will be +3 pis). I am in Houston.

Teckno

Always use tire pressures as base figure from fuel door.
I add 4psi to stated door pressure, 32psi becomes 36psi cold ( add 3psi for heat and running temp when checking after driving to fuel station - 36 becomes 39)
From there you can slowly reduce to compensate for ride and handling quality - its like balance scales.
Higher pressure gives firmer ride, better fuel economy, better tire wear, more even. Big plus is in cornering, less sidewall roll and in heavy braking minimal tire distortion, more rubber on the road across full tire - not just outer edges as tire distorts on braking - much safer.

Gullikson

I’m ready to replace the original Scorpions on my 2018 GLC 300 4matic and am leaning towards the CrossClimate SUV. Can you report on your experience with these tires? Are they quiet? That’s my main concern​​​​​, noise.

ajmtbm

I have about 5,000 mile son the CrossClimate 2's and i am very happy with them. I have them in size 235/60-18

Like you, i was extremely worried about noise, especially given the unusual looking treat.

These tires are extremely quiet. I don't hear them at all when driving. .

In addition they are very nice riding. No snow yet, but in heavy rain they performed admirably.

I would not hesitate for a second to buy these again or to recommend them to others.

Starting to see some reviews on TireRack, and there too many report the tires to be extremely quiet.

Gullikson

Thanks for the quick feedback. Am also deciding between the CrossClimate SUV or the CrossClimate 2. The TireRack review seem to show the SUV to have slightly better marks than the 2 in several categories. The Michelin literature talks about the technology used in designing the 2 to help make it very quiet. Haven’t found similar for the SUV version.

ajmtbm

Yes i was in that same situation, There seemed to be a couple specs that that the leaned toward the original CC. I too saw that the Quiet technology for sure seemed to lean towards the CC2, which ultimately made my decision/ Especially since i don't drive aggressively, any minor differences in specs of the old versus new i probably wouldn't notice. Plus i just assumed the newer compound and design ultimately should hopefully be better

BlackGLC

I've been very happy with the CrossClimate SUV tires. They've been on my vehicle for more than a year, and have been driven through all seasons here in the Chicago area. They have been very quiet and they tick all of the performance boxes for me. Perhaps they are not the best in snow, but they seem more than adequate. I would buy them again, for sure. Mine have the MO designation, but that is not the reason I chose them.
One thing that sticks in my mind was the difference in noise level with the change from the worn out Scorpions to these tires. The drive went from very noisy to silence in the cabin. Also, the road joints/cracks are handled noticeably better with these tires. I think they're great.

Gullikson

Thanks so much for the response. My Scorpions are nearly done and after having them rotated at the dealer they are making a lot of noise. I live in San Diego and don’t anticipate driving in snow except on rare occasions. Heading to Costco today to order. Thanks again.

EVILL1

Also in Chicago and have only put 20k miles on my 2018 and it’s time for tires! A bit upsetting so I’m looking to get something other than the oem setup. Thanks for the feedback!

Gullikson

I ended up getting the Michelin CrossClimate for SUV and am very happy with them. They ride so much better than those run flats. The difference is quite noticeable.

mikapen

Those are pretty strange looking tires, but they perform very well in all conditions.
A recent Tire Rack YouTube showed that they handle better than some UHP tires in the dry. Pretty solid tire.