I've driven my H-rated 21" Pirelli Scorpion Zeros pretty hard in some canyons and they are just fine. This is not a vehicle you are going to take to the track or push beyond 130 mph.

 

The vehicle automatically displays pressure and temps after driving a short distance. It also automatically reads the new sensors when you change wheels if you have Mercedes compatible sensors installed. It takes a little longer changing wheels...maybe a couple of blocks.

 

That’s why I reduced the front pressure thinking they might have them reversed. Here’s mine for the 53 with M&S is the third line down with 3 passengers.

 

I’m not a Conti fan anyway but it’s currently the only V rated tire in the GLE 53 AS sizes. There are several Michelin and Pirelli in H rated. I might have something else going on with the suspension so it might not be the tires. I prefer a firm Sporty ride but also don’t like getting my teeth chattering on bumps.

 

The Acoustic will be nice but that price difference seems high compared to others with a similar feature. I think my AS have it and they are still noisy on recently seal coated roads. Other than that it’s very quiet inside the cab.
My Michelin tires are quiet so maybe it’s also the tread.

 

Ron, I forget if you have ARC. I think you do, and I'm disappointed if the active suspension doesn't do a better job of bump absorbing.

My old GLE450 E-ABC certainly did a nice job of smoothing the ride while improving handling, and the lack of E-ABC is what forced me into ordering the AMG53, which now sits at the dealer waiting for pickup. It has Conti CrossContacts, 21", which I was disappointed to find out. My last two sets of Conti's just ruined the cars, in handling and especially wet and light snow. Or maybe especially in the dry - just crap tires.

I am looking for tires to replace the Conti's before I take delivery, but as we know there are few alternatives in stock 21" sizes.
I am not done with winter; I don't want 8 wheels and tires for any car any more (had 20 off-season tires, mounted, on racks, that took up an entire bay); I'm more interested in All Weather (three peaks/snowflake) than All Season (no season); and I haven't been to the track in two seasons.

I'm going in to try the new 53 this Friday, to decide if it's a keeper. I started this process in October but have never driven an ARC GLE. If I keep it, I'll probably swap for Scorpion Winters, as the only available Snowflake (!) tires available this late in the season. I just can't see heading out cross-country with Conti's.

So I'd like to hear your experience with the Conti's in inclement weather. What pressures would you recommend? I'll have the dealership set them for my first drive.
Also, we went from Run-flats to V-rated Nokians on our GLC - the ride was about the same (handling improved over the stock Scorpions).

Also, @GregW / Oregon did you leave a comment on Tire Rack about the Scorpion Winter's on your old ML? If that was you, were they as squishy as a Blizzak or X-Ice3 in the dry? I have done track days with Nokian WRG3 in the Macan and they were impressive, but they aren't available in our crazy 53 sizes.

 

Mikapen...

I've done a little more research and testing today. It would seem that my issue is more the lack of sidewall bulge with the 10” front wheels. It’s stated in several articles/reviews that sidewall bulge has an affect on ride quality. I had forgotten that but noticed today that the sidewall is nearly straight with very little bulge. The bulge on my 20” winter tires on 8.5” wheels is much more pronounced.
I do have ARC but on my vehicle the camera is not functioning properly so that probably affects the ARC function...I’ve decided that in most cases it did soften the ride (most of the time) with my 20’s. Depending on lighting I can tell that my Camera is struggling at times with Distronic and reading traffic signs compared to my GLE450. Either the lens is dirty or they left the protective film on it, IMO.
Snow performance seems good with the Conti’s and the tread pattern looks to be new compared to a set I saw a year or two ago. The inside and outer tread are different much like a set of tires I ran on my RZR 2 years ago. These have siping on the inside. I was in the Blizzard Friday that is now in Colorado....heavy wet snow that packed and became greasy and slicker than ice. Temps were just below freezing so the rubber compound might be better than your standard AS. The I 15 freeway closed for 5 hours just after I made it through. There was heavy traffic and slower speeds of 20-50mph but the tires seemed to work well stopping and accelerating. It would take more experience at higher speeds and colder temps to know for certain but so far nothing negative. I’ll be in St George until the end of the month so this will probably be the end of winter driving conditions for this season. Here’s a pic of the tread-

 

it would be great if other GLE 53 owners would comment about their experience.

I don’t have a strong recommendation for tire pressure other than maybe to drop the front tires to 35 from the 38 recommendation for 3 passengers. That would be 35F-33R. Any less and we probably risk uneven tread wear from under inflation.

To elaborate on ARC a little more...I do believe that it works to soften the ride. At lower speeds in good lighting I noticed a softer ride over sharper bumps like a pothole with a straight edge or those small speed bumps found in parking lots. My winter tires absorbed a lot of those bumps... apparently. I am almost certain that I have a Camera problem after 10 weeks of experience. Events like poor reading of traffic signs might be something else but a couple of “camera function not working” and 3-4 “collision warning” for no reason point more to the Camera. This might also be radar or software but that seems like a low probability.

I now have some pictures and a log of events to take to the Dealer since it would be hard to replicate some of these glitches.

 

Ron, The answers I got back from Michelin are nonsensical. I asked them what the difference was between the two tires that appear identical, but one being much more expensive. First they responded,

"I was able to look up both Pilot Alpin 5 SUV (21209 and 54724). You are right they both are the same. They both have the XL witch is the extra load. They both are directional tires. They both are severe winter tires. They both are Mb which is for Mitsubishi applicable. They both are MTP with is Motor vehicle total performance. The only difference is they are made to be the original equipment for 2 different style Mercedes."

So I then asked how you are supposed to know which is for what vehicle, and they responded,

"Thanks for responding to my email regarding case 02078135. Either one of the tires will be a good fit for your vehicle. It's just a difference in the updating of the name of that particular class."

So do they mean one is for the ML and one for the GLE, but either one is fine? Doesn't make much sense.

 

Greg,

I agree...the answer doesn’t make sense. The person answering was just comparing specs and probably missed the one that accounts for the price difference. I would guess that your first assumption is correct-that they have added the sound insulation to the more expensive tire.

 

Based on an earlier communication with Michelin (last fall, but don't have documentation), the claim was that any tire over a certain cross-section width would have the Acoustic Tech. If true, would that mean that the 275 front tires would not have the belts, and a 315 would?
However I didn't trust that exchange, because I had asked about Acoustic vs. Speed Rating.
I guess all I can say is "FWIW."

 

I experienced a similar situation when I replaced my 22 inch Continental, with 21 inch Michelin Primacy Tour MO spec. All Season tires. There were 2 front and 2 rear codes with the same spec. The dealer got the higher number as it could be an improvement and when we got them installed I see they are all the MOs spec with the acoustic technology. The information was not there on the change in spec. when questioning Michelin last Dec. but the new website has the new information in the details today.

 

Similar to the designation for Michelin, I queried Tire Rack yesterday about the difference in Pirelli Scorpion Winter tires in GLE 53 21" sizes. Pirelli matches the MO-S (silent technology) with "PNCS," which stands for "Pirelli Noise Cancelling System." It's an added belt of acoustic foam, similar to panel sound deadening material. The Tire Rack person said that the responsiveness of the tire wasn't affected. The price of four increases from $1531 to $1715 with the PNCS, and the fronts lose load capacity from 110V to 107V.

 

Short update....I came from 20+ degree colder weather and found that my tires were running around 42 front and 40 rear +/- after they were warmed up with tire temps 70-80. After adjusting them for daytime temps they have a softer feel now. Using the rule of thumb of +1 psi for every 10 degrees they were still overinflated maybe 4 lbs each. It’s been cold in the garage in the morning so I was still setting them at colder than normal temps. Love the Mercedes tracking temps and psi...
I’ll try this a few days and report any improvement. I might also do a Nitrogen fill at Costco. Nitrogen is a dry air and reduces temperature fluctuations. The last Nitrogen fill was only $32 on my GLE 450.

 

OK, it’s been 3 days and the lower pressure has taken the jolt out of my car. Morning temp in my garage is about 55-57 degrees now and I am starting out at 34 front and 32 rear. After driving around town for 30 minutes the tires register about 37 front at 75 degrees and the rear are 34 at 70-72. The larger rear tires take a long time to warm up. I’ll be driving home tomorrow 600+ miles towing about 3,000lbs so will see what happens as the pressure increases. My impression now is that any front tire psi over 38 starts to make for a harsh ride.

 

After a few more days in different driving conditions, I am beginning to like the Conti Cross Contact AS tires overall performance. There is a noticeable difference cornering...there is less sidewall sway carving sharper turns at speed. They seem quieter on seal coated roads so they probably have an Acoustic liner. I reduced the air pressure to 35 front & 33 rear for a better feel on sharper bumps.
I had one short drive in winter conditions and they seemed OK in snow for AS tires. I run a second set of tires in Winter so that won’t be a factor for me.
The GLE 53 ride is just about perfect for my taste, just a little firmer than my GLE 450 with 20’s in S mode. The one difference might be that my 450 tire pressure was set at 36psi and didn’t need changing from Spring-Fall. I will probably need to reset the 53 Conti’s several times a year as temperatures change to keep them from creeping up toward 38-40psi in front. At that point they become too harsh, IMO.

I had hoped to be able to report accurately on fuel economy towing but had a strong headwind last trip. At times I got 10mpg and up to 12. This was towing about 3000 lbs at 75-85 mph with frequent elevation changes. I barely made the first leg of 230 miles putting in 21.5 gallons. I think that towing is where a V-8 with more Torque will work best. My GMC truck with the 6.2 was at least 4mpg’s better in similar conditions. The 6 has plenty of power but ran in 7th & 8th gear most of the time. Maybe with no wind it would have pulled 9th gear and better mpg’s.

 

Were you in comfort mode during the towing?

 

Yes