My car came equipped with cooper tires, which to be honest I don’t know much about.

My car is at the dealer now for a second time with a drivers side airbag malfunction, and I was given another GLE as a loaner.

The loaner is with the 19 inch wheels wrapped with michelin tires. my car is sitting in 20 inch AMG wheels, with cooper tires. I have noticed that the 19 inch wheels with michelin tires have a significantly better ride and handling quality to them. The cooper tires feel very unsure while driving and handling. Almost like the car is less stable while driving.

so I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on the cooper tires, or is it my imagination? Yes, I’m sure the 20 inch vs 19 inch wheels do play a roll, but there is a significant handling difference between the 2 cars.

i am currently running 33 psi on the cooper tires. Dealer had them set at 31 psi during delivery, but the ride quality was sloppy.

 

I have the 20 inch AMG wheels with Cooper tires on my GLE350. I was not thrilled with this when I picked up the car but the dealership has nothing to do with that. I don't feel unsure or that the car handles poorly. However, I find the ride pretty harsh. I'm not sure if that is the tires or the stock steel springs. I feel every bump in the car. Regardless, I will not be buying Cooper tires whenever I need replacements down the road.

 

I can't give you much feedback on Cooper, though they would definitely not be my choice. Upside for some is that they are made in the US.

I can tell you though that the stock 19" (255/55-19) tires have the same sidewall height as the 20" (275/50-20), so that should not be a factor in ride quality. For some reason the OEM 19s are undersized compared to the other choices.

 

My GLE450 came with 20" wheels and Bridgstone tires. My last Merc came with Michelins I was surprised this time.

 

I think it may have to do with the PSI on the cooper tires. The loaner is running 36 psi on cold. I will inflate them when I get the car back and revert.

on a side note, they can’t figure out why the airbag light keeps coming on. There is no fault code in the diagnostics. Germany is now involved!

 

Coopers don't completely suck, but they're not Michelins either. This is the first time I think I have seen someone say their car came with Cooper tires. GL to ya!

 

its been pretty well publicized that cooper was awarded a contract with Benz on the GLE. I was shocked as well during delivery.

 

Supposedly, it is a higher quality Cooper tire just made for MB. Whenever I see a 2020 GLE parked I look at the tires. I see a surprising amount of Cooper tires installed.

 

i would imagine that the "higher quality", is some good marketing for MB while using a lower quality tire!

 

It's not limited to just the GLE. 2020 GLS with 19" and 20" wheels are coming with Cooper tires as well.

 

Here's an article on that: https://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...inal-Equipment

 

Thank you GregW. I don't know how you get all this information, but I for one appreciate the contribution.

I've logged the tire on my browser for continued research on it. It's interesting that they didn't go with Michelin or Pirelli. I think I read that it's Cooper's first OE award. Wish it wasn't on a car I'm seriously considering...I guess Kia turned them down??

EDIT: Not that I'm knocking Cooper Tires. It's just that you don't hear of them as quite as often in tire comparisons/reviews as the other, "usual suspects." Also, over the last 40 years, I've had good and bad experiences with a variety of tires: I know which brands I trust. I simply don't know enough about Cooper Tires yet.

Bottom line: I hope that it's a good match between the GLE and this Cooper Tire. Like someone else said, the tire is made in the USA and, for me at least, that means a lot.

 

Tire Rack lists original equipment tires for the 350, from Cooper, Michelin, and Pirelli.

 

I have seen Cooper, Bridgestone, Michelin, and Pirelli tires on GLE and GLS sitting on dealer lots. Majority of the 19 and 20 wheels I've seen are Cooper or Michelin. My guess is Michelin couldn't make enough so MB had to find another supplier.
When my wife's X3 needed new tires two years ago, we only wanted to get Michelin, took us a year to get a set of tires. No Michelin warehouse on the west coast had any in stock. It wasn't an obscure tire or size either. It seems Michelin is having some production or supply issues the last few years.

 

You can add Continental to your list. SUVs with 21" wheels are arriving with Continental summer tires here.

 

Auto manufacturers almost always have at least two approved tire manufacturers to avoid supply issues. To make it worthwhile for the tire manufacturer they spread the business around.

 

Mine came with Pirelli P Zero's

 

I confirm. My GLE came with Continental tires (with 20" wheels). But to my knowledge MB didn't dare sending GLEs with Cooper tires in Europe.

 

My 21s are wrapped in Pirelli Scorpion Zero

 

Cooper's Tupelo, MS plant is 140 miles from MBUSI in Vance, AL.
Coincidence? I think not -- a good business deal for them.
I also agree with master poster Greg: big corporations go with more than one provider to avoid supply issues.
I've seen IT companies provide HP and Dell laptop options to avoid bottlenecks...and ensure their needs are priority.

As for quality, we're hopeful it's a good fit for our 450 with AMG 20s. Only 1750 miles so far.