pcsgrp

I initially posted this in the 166 forum, I must have been sleeping! I have 275/50-29 tires on my gle350 made by cooper. They are not all that great, seem to be worn out after 17k miles and there are chunks of rubber missing from the treat. Everyplace I read, people complain about the Coopers and I am looking for a replacement. My desire is to go with the defender ltx but the only size available is the 285/50-20 which is about 1.5% larger then the cooper tires. I called michelin and they are not going to have the exact size any time soon and told me the larger size will work with my 8.5" rims and Costco said they can put non-stock sizes on as long as they are withing 3% of the stock size. The coopers are 31" dia and the defenders in the 285 are 31.2" dia which if my math is correct, is within the 3% window. Does anyone have any experience with this size tire?

Bryce1023

From previous experience, I would purchase the exact replacement size and not worry. BTW, I too have the Cooper’s and only have 6k miles on them and they are fine. I was disappointed in getting the Cooper tires , however, dealers are not looking to be switching out tires on new vehicles , they wouldn’t do it.
Stay with a top brand, Michelin, Continental, etc. and you may want to seriously consider not getting run flats. Good luck

BillD1953

I have a 2015 350 ML with 125,000.
Just replaced the OEM Continental LX 20's (2nd set) with a new set of LX 25's.

Great tires IMO

Lucky 777

I have Bridgestone run flats. They're wearing pretty good but make for a harsher ride.

TexAg91

Same here. 19K and they are wearing well thus far, rotate them Left to Right at every 10K service. I run them with 35 psi and the ride isn’t bad. I think the newer runflats are an improvement (NVH-wise) over the older ones.

Bryce1023

Hi pcsgrp, I believe that you may be eligible for tires from MB if you only have 17k miles on them and they are shot, may be worth asking. I kind of remember reading that some owners on this site had 4 tires replaced free of charge.

Sigp232

Tires came with car which I was surprised but they are PIRELLI scorpion zero all season H rated.
7000 miles on my 21 GLE 450 20 inch tires. I’ve been impressed.
First time for me driving on Pirellis. Normally I’m a Michelin fan. But if these hold up for a couple of more years might buy them again
Still have lots of meat left.

GregW / Oregon

I have the same, and also usually default to Michelins. I have 17k on them, and just measured 9/32" tread depth front & rear. Not sure how that's possible, since specs new are 9/32" front & 10/32" rear? I have driven them hard on a canyon run in Sport+ and they grip just fine. I would definitely get them again.

cupecoy

The Pirelli Scorpion Zero AS that came stock are excellent IMO

KrustyKustom

As others have said as well, I too am a Michelin fan. With that said my 21 model GLE with the AMG 21" offset wheels came with the Pirellies Scorpions and while I only have 5300 miles they are wearing super flat, and are very quiet on the road. While I am one day not going to be too excited to replace those huge 315/40/21s I really am impressed with the tire so far.

Lanzz

My OEM Bridgestone OEM runflat 19s were down to the wear bars in 13 months / 22,000 miles. I was surprised, but it doesn't seem all that unusual for GLE / GLS, X5 / X7 and other heavy mid/full size SUVs. I had planned to replace with the same tires, as they were quiet and performed well in all conditions. (I ended up trading it, but I considered the Bridgestones excellent tires, if a bit short-lived.)

TexAg91

I have 19k on my 20” OEM Bridgestone RFTs with no sign of wear. That wear sounds excessive, have you ever had it aligned?

Ron.s

Tires used to come 11/32 so I wonder if they now use the depth to the tread wear marker that is 1/32 or 2/32 of tread depending on manufacturer. It appears like you are going to get some very good life out of your tires. 👍

GregW / Oregon

I wouldn't think that would be the case. Those figures are from the specs on The Tire Rack website.

Ron.s

How do you explain the wear? 17k at best should wear 2-3/32. The only other possibility would seem to be that the specs are wrong.

GregW / Oregon

That is likely the case. However, even 2/32" in 17k I consider excellent. Of course, compared to my M4, which goes through a set of tires every 15k max., anything is good!

Lanzz

Tex, I didn't have the vehicle long enough to have an alignment - I planned to have one when I purchased new tires. I did rotate the tires every 5,000 miles (and also changed the oil every 5,000 miles because I spent hours and hours idling in covid testing lines, curbside pickup lines, etc...) So - you are right - could be the case that it was out of alignment when I picked it up new and I wasn't aware of it.

Lanzz

Tex, I didn't have my GLE long enough to have it aligned. I planned to do so when I put on the new Birdgestones, but never got to that point because I traded it. Your point is well taken, it could have been out of alignment since new... I would say that it tracked straight and handled very well, so if it was out of alignment, it wasn't something apparent in my daily driving.

pcsgrp

Well, I pulled the trigger and got rid of the Cooper tires. It was a difficult time getting the new tires. BJ's wouldn't even consider putting on a tire other then the one listed on the door and Costco was fine with going with a slightly larger tire since it was within the 3% diameter limit that they have for replacing tires. So, I did put on the Defender LTX tires (I had them on my ML and tthey are great) in the 286/50-20 size, just a little bigger than the 275/50-20 that came from the factory, and I got them from my local mavis tire store. Price was the same as Costco and BJ's and unlike Costco who didn't have a clue how long it would take for them to be ordered and delivered, Mavis had them ready for the next day and the manufacture date on the tire is 1221 so they are really fresh.

Even the short ride home from the install I noticed a huge difference in the handling of the vehicle.

Bryce1023

are there run flat tires?

Sigp232

No there not. But from personal use on my last 2 cars they are one of the best out there.
Quiet, Strong and Safe tires.

C-Rod6

For almost a year now and to be honest, I’ve have zero complaints. Quite smooth and zero road noise on the highway. Maybe because the interior being so ridiculously sound proofed, I just don’t notice anything. Granted, I only have 12,000 Km’s on them but so far so good. I’m just loving this vehicle, though I do miss my diesel and the cheaper gas ⛽️ prices.

Kleen_GLE

Dont mean to go off topic but does anyone know if the factory uses nitrogen to fill up the tires? My tmps notification popped up today after 3k miles.

Ron.s

They don’t but Costco has an inexpensive Nitrogen fill if you want it.

Kleen_GLE

Thats where I'll go to get new tires because they add nitrogen but will they purge the air and fill it up with nitrogen without the purchase of new tires?