2021 GLE 63, front 285/40/22 & rear 325/35/22
Purchased from Discount Tire

All-season tires in OEM sizing have (very) limited options - Pirelli and Nitto are the only two choices I could find. The Scorpion A/S in Aston Martin, Land Rover, or normal spec, price out between $3,100 to $3,600 for a set. The Nittos NT 420v, before tax, are $1,316.

Nitto reviews range from terrific to too noisy and/or rough riding. An unserviceable flat and back-ordered Scorpions forced my hand, a bit reluctantly, to the Nitto's. Prior cars all-season tires have been Michelin A/S4 and Conti DWS..

The Nitto's "may" be slightly more noisy than the stock Yokos, rather it's a different tonal noise vs an increase in loudness. Ride quality from a sidewall perspective is equally firm and smooth with maybe a touch more steering wheel "grit/feel" due to aggressive tread blocks.. Tire slap over expansion joints is quieter with the Nittos (but it's comparing a full-tread tire against almost worn Yokos).

Stance and look on the rim is equal to the Yokos i.e. the outside tire shoulder appears equally squared off vs being too rounded. Sidewall appearance is subjective and fine by my eye. Traction is a hard one to opine; I don't push the car hard enough and it's comparing summer rubber to A/S,.

My ultimate opinion is summed up as: The Scorpions are back in stock and I can return the Niitos; I won't be doing so; Quite frankly, I'm fairly shocked, especially at the price point, that the Nittos are this good. I have a week under my belt and if my thoughts change, I'll post an update.

Hope this helps anyone on the fence or looking for 22" all-season options.
Best,
Eric

 

That's good to hear you're sticking with them. I hope you continue to post your experience with them as you continue to put more mileage on them. If I recollect from past tire threads that brought up the Nittos, there might have been one or two members who tried them out and decided to return them. I personally went with a 2nd set of winter tires (Alpin 5) on a stock set of 20" AMG wheels (I don't have the big brakes on my 580).

I don't drive much so at the end of last winter season (last trip up to the mountains), my winter tires (22" Scorpions) were end of tread life for winter driving (3mm) so I kept them on in the SoCal weather until just yesterday. Because they are winter tires in 70-75F SoCal weather, I didn't drive that aggressive and they held up pretty well until the heatwave a couple weeks ago (90F) thrashed them. I was glad to get a couple thousand miles out of them before sending them off to be recycled. I liked them as a winter tires even at 3mm.

Now I'm back to my 22" Michelin PS4 summer tires.

 

Yes, please keep us GLE users who opted for 22”ers. Nitto 22’s hopefully is a reasonably priced A/S solution.

 

Updates on these? I'm about due for my next set of 10,000 mile continentals on my GLE 63s coupe. LOL. I think I might squeak out 12,000 miles from this last set of Continentals. If any rain is forecasted between now and new tires I'll drive the E63 with fresh rubber though.

 

Yep - still good and original insights stand. Relative to the Pirelli All Season at 2.5X the cost, the Nitto's are a no-brainer. Relative to any well regarded summer performance tire, would I pay a $500/set premium over the Nitto purchase price? Before buying the Nitto's, I would have paid the extra money but I can't roll summer performance all year long. Now that I have actually experienced the Nittos, I would NOT spend $500 more for another set of tires.

Again, I do NOT press the car hard in handling. Wet and dry traction seems very good and the sidewall feels similar to the OEM Yokohamas. The tire noise is "different" - primarily due to the large tread blocks. It may be marginally louder but, if it is, I'm oblivious to it at this point.

FWIW, if you purchase from Discount Tire, they'll let you return them in 30 days if not satisfied.

Good luck,
Eric

 

Thank you for the update!

 

A quick update on the Nittos after 4,000 miles. I'm pleased, it's a good tire, can't imagine not buying them again relative to current A/S options available. Some insights:

Wet and dry performance seem more than adequate BUT I'm not trying to explore the handling limits of the car. Is this a track capable tire, probably not and I'll never know because I'll never track the car. Is it a good passenger tire for the GLE 63, certainly. Cold weather performance seems just fine, no negative observations. Traction in the snow? Unknown, we haven't had any snow this season in St. Louis.

Noise level - other forums reported the tire as noisy. At time of install, I sensed a different tonal noise but didn't believe it was louder, it was just "different". After 4K miles, the noise is gone - meaning I'm now accustomed or tone blind to whatever it was at time of install. Case in point, I'm driving down the road the other day thinking how quiet the car appears to be.

Wear levels? This week, the car was in for MB service. The inspection report listed the front left at an 8 (out of ten) and the remaining three at a 9. Wear pattern seems normal.

Vibration and balancing? Zero issues, they are every bit as smooth as the OEM Yokos.

Downsides? There's no mileage warranty but I'm thinking 20K to 25K in service life. Name and reputation? My perception is/was that Nitto is a second-tier tire brand and these tires were not a "confident purchase". Relative to spending $3K to $3.5K on the Scorpions (which we're out of stock at the time) and based on Discount Tire's 30 day return policy and their recommendation, I took a chance and glad I did. Unless there's another competitive A/S tire in the same general price range, I'll buy these again. In my opinion, they're a steal.

Good luck!

 

@ebernstein thanks for your report.

I sold Nitto's in the 70s. They were a second tier tire then, but I think they've moved upscale since then.

I still have a Nitto cap!

 

How I wish I could find 22” Nittos instock. I may have to garage my GLE53 with 22” summer tires for a few months until the weather thaws in PA.(Not a happy camper!)

 

@ebernstein thank you for taking the time to write that! If you do experience snow this year, please do update us!

 

Walmart.com

285/40/22 Front. Walmart.com for $267 each and Walmart vendor 'Tires & Wheels Experts' for $260 each:

Nitto Light Truck All Season Tire NT420V 285/40R22 110W XL - Walmart.com

325/35/22 Rear. Walmart.com for $391 each:

Nitto NT420V All Season Light Truck Tire, 325/35ZR22 114W XL, Superior Traction, Quiet Ride - Walmart.com

 

Ok - snow performance, we got some (actually a lot of snow) this week here in St. Louis.

Does the tire work in cold temps? Yes and would say much better than any summer rubber. Does the tire work in the snow? Yes but it is certainly not confidence inspiring. One look at the tread pattern and it makes complete sense - there is zero siping or blocking for snow. The tire's snow performance is probably, mostly, due to the rubber not freezing up like a hocky puck as summer rubber tends to do. It evacuates the snow just fine, there's just very few biting edges in the tread pattern.

So...will it drive in the light to moderate snow? Yes. Will it drive on plowed roads? Sure. It got up my inclined, 3" snow covered, driveway just fine. Will you be ultra attentive? Absolutely - not white knuckle attentive but you'll be going slower and being very thoughtful about your steering inputs.

If you're hoping for Continental DWS or Michelin A/S 4 levels of grip, you'll be disappointed.

Good luck.

 

Any comparison to the Scorpions in snow? My GLE is on order, currently spec'd with 21", trying to decide if I want to swap to the 22".

 

I haven't driven the Scorpions but one look at tread pattern vs the Nittos and it's clear as bell, the Scorpions will hands-down perform much better in the snow. The Nittos will drive in the snow but it's not confidence inspiring. The Nitto tread pattern is telling...it's good in cold weather but it would not be my choice in a snow heavy environment.

 

If you live in St Louis, get the 21" wheel option. There are many good tire options, including the Nokian R5 SUV, which is the King of All Snow Tires, and is actually fairly fun to drive on.
There just aren't many options for a 22" MB wheel.

 

I do live in St Louis and purchased the Nittos. For the limited snow we get, the Nittos work...surprisingly well.

 

You weren't kidding. These tires are really noisy. I may just opt to sell the 22" wheels and get the 21's instead. Sheeze.

 

Good to know. Not getting the 22" on my order is one of the things I keep going back and forth on in my head, but I absolutely hate that there's only one or two viable models of AS tire so I'm sticking with the 21". Should give a better ride too.

 

Yes, it has been a nightmare. The 21" wheel is a good looking wheel too.

Thankfully, we already have a set of the 21" wheels as dedicated winters but I'm thinking of selling the 22"s as I cannot justify 3800 dollars for All Seasons that will only last 30k miles.

 

Buying 21" and selling the 22" will be a very costly interaction unless you find someone to do a direct swap.

Perhaps, try the Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season first.

Scorpion Zero All Season tires price | Pirelli

 

Already have a spare set in 21” with scorpion winters. I’ll let my wife try the Nittos out for a few more weeks. If the noise level is not acceptable to her, then I’ll swap.

 

FYI. Walmart.com has the front 285/40/22 from various vendors starting at $500.50. Tire Rack is $861.81 each.

Pirelli Scorpion Zero 285/40R22 110Y XL All-Season SUV/Crossover Tire for Year-Round Use - Walmart.com

The rear 325/35/22 is same price at Walmart and Tire Rack for $990.76

Pirelli Scorpion Zero All Season All Season 325/35ZR22 114Y XL SUV/Crossover Tire - Walmart.com

 

I never would have thought to shop at Walmart for tires, but I rarely go to Walmart. Great information as I am thinking about switching to All Season when the summer tires wear out or cold weather returns to the DC area.

 

That's not the same tire. The front ones from TireRack that are more expensive are "(110Y)", not "110Y". The parens means that they exceed the values for 110Y but they stopped testing because it didn't matter (they're designed for the Aston Martin DBX). That said, you don't need the (110Y), the regular 110Y are fine, but don't buy thinking TireRack is ripping people off.

 

Are the Tire Rack prices you mentioned MO or MO-1 spec?
I've seen Aston Martin spec tires for 2X MO spec, or more.