GLK250 BT Tires
Newbie
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
E320
I would take regular tires with a sealant and compressor any day over run-flats. Run-flats are a deal killer for me. Regular tires give you a better ride, they last longer and cost less. I also carry a tire plug kit in all my cars, whether they have a spare or a sealer/compressor setup. Those kits can save you time and aggravation without even romoving the wheel you can skip the sealant and just use the compressor. It's too bad M-B cannot figure out how to put a Diesel engine in a vehicle and still keep the spare. My VW Touareg TDI has regular ties and an inflatable spare. I still carry a plug kit. The tires have almost 38K miles on them and I expect 45 -50 K miles on them. Good luck getting that with run-flats.
Member
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 105
Likes: 0
From: Boston , MA
GLK250 BlueTec- 2014
I would take regular tires with a sealant and compressor any day over run-flats. Run-flats are a deal killer for me. Regular tires give you a better ride, they last longer and cost less. I also carry a tire plug kit in all my cars, whether they have a spare or a sealer/compressor setup. Those kits can save you time and aggravation without even romoving the wheel you can skip the sealant and just use the compressor. It's too bad M-B cannot figure out how to put a Diesel engine in a vehicle and still keep the spare. My VW Touareg TDI has regular ties and an inflatable spare. I still carry a plug kit. The tires have almost 38K miles on them and I expect 45 -50 K miles on them. Good luck getting that with run-flats.
driving without a SPARE in the back. For me Run-Flats are nothing new - infact GLK is the 3rd car with those. In my experience Run-Flats are lot(very) harsher ride and always terrible traction/handling even in Summer time. In winter the Dunlop runflats I got in my GLK are terrible (and even dangerous at times) The purpose for these types of tires were never designed (Michelin has long stop any development AND NOT made any since early '2000s) for NORMAL EVERYDAY use - except for race day use....
The crazy part is - these same model -GLK250BT in China I drove for two weeks (during CNY time) did have a Vredestein Spare - but NO ADD_BLUE feature! During out china drive - we meet up with another couple who (Sth Africa) were driving another GLK and they said their 250GLK has a SPARE TIRE.
Even the Audi Q7 TDI that I used get to drive (service loner for my audi S8) has one of those in back! (other day I walked over to the Audi section of the dealer(same dealer owners for Audi + BMW+MB) - looked at Q5 & Q7;s all TDI;s have these Vredestein tires!!
SO why don't MBUSA/CANADA give you one?
I bought one of those Vredestein from Another MB Dealer (ordered online= NO TAX) and it sits behind the passenger seat in a BAG (hardly use the back seats. When that space is needed we move it to the back luggage area.
Last edited by miked807; Feb 17, 2014 at 03:02 PM. Reason: typos
Junior Member
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 38
Likes: 0
'14 GLK250
Something worth mentioning. The lug nuts for the spare that come with the 350 are shorter than the standard lugs. A set of five is provided in back with the tools - jack, lug wrench, etc.
If you have a 250 and have the Vredestein spare, you probably want to go grab these from your dealer. It's about $30 for the set of five.
If you have a 250 and have the Vredestein spare, you probably want to go grab these from your dealer. It's about $30 for the set of five.
