Doctaz

I am in the market or about a 17 0r 18 gls. I drove the 450 and
loved the ride on the base 19 inch wheels.

i would like the options that most 550 have, but notice that very come
with 21 inch wheels. I am concerned of a harsher ride. comments?

Thanks in advance.

JoeMa

Welcome to the forum Doctaz. With larger wheels and smaller profiles, its going to be a firmer ride but the 550 has a smooth ride in Comfort mode. That said, you need to test drive some 550's to see for yourself.

fabbrisd1

No contest - for smooth/cushion ride GLS450

jerome8283

We have 21s on our 450 and the ride is smooth to me. It depends what vehicle you’re coming from.

c4004matic

I have not driven the 450 but the 550 has one of the best rides I have ever expirienced in any car, period. It cruises through rough pavement as well as any S class Ive ever driven. The addition of the active sway bars make the handling in normal driving as adroit as the present E300. My decision was simple, best ride ever, best handling by far of any real 3 row SUV plus a lustily powered v8 that really moves said monster with sport car gusto. I tested it back to back with a Q7, aside from the audis more modern interior it was no contest at all, particularly in the power department. The 63 may get the AMG cred but the 550 has more daylight among any other competitor than the 63 does to it. Note that the 63 has 120 more HP but only 7% more torque, thus, at sane speeds, the performance, powerwise, is almost identical. Finally, a fully equipped 450 costs almost the same if not more than a base 550 which already includes most of the stuff that is optional on the 450 and you still get the v8 torque monster and significantly better brakes. Thus, even with the price differential the 550 is a better deal!

fabbrisd1

As pointed out by other's - it all boils down to "expectation" and "desirred ride feel"..... some one who "loves" a GLS450 on 19"'s in my experience is NOT going to love GLS550 ride/handling.... different strokes for different folk's..

19"'s have max sidewall - in comparisom - as you increase wheel size - yes you get wider tread - but lower sidewalls..

I have has 3-4 customers who moved from GLS550's to leaded GLS450's for "better ride" - and majority were women.. I say that in a non-sexist factual way.

For anyone who "loves" GLS550 ride/handling - wish more owner's would consider Active Curve - now Active Curve is d*mn impressive !

cmginc

The 550s and 63s have AIRMatic so you can adjust the ride to match your needs.

Doctaz

Thanks for the replies. I opted for a loaded GLS450 with 20 inch wheels. I pick it up tomorrow.

c4004matic

handlingwise adding the active curve system makes the 550 and 63 even. The "only thing missing are the even more monstrous engine and even bigger brakes😁 Many reviewers have even reported to prefer keeping the550 in sport mode full time!

jbak31

I bought a 550 and the first thing I did was put 19" wheels on it. HUGE improvement in right quality, night and day. I also have ACS which I highly recommend.

Isawelvis

I think you would be able to find someone who would trade you their 19 inch for what ever comes on the GL550 ( 20 or 21 inch) , GL ML/GLE wheels all sizes are interchangeable The wheels on your car will fit ML or the GLE which normally come with 19 inch wheels .

fredccr

I have similar feeling, Putting on S mode makes my GLS 550 feel very different and shows the actual face of the V8 engine. But I am not sure about MPG. I guess for highway, it will be similar, but for city, S mode will consume much more (still under testing). Another thing I notice is that when I am on highway above 45 mph, under comfort mode, I can occasionally feel vibration on the central console with my knee leaning on it, especially with cold tire and interstate road (parkway is much better). Under S mode, it is much better on either road. I don't know why. I will have take my car back to the dealership for a road force test and match mount if needed.

fredccr

Cannot agree more. I feel vibration on my new 2018 GLS 550. After reading many threads, I find that I am not the only one complaining about it.

It seems that it is the fault of the 295 width tire&wheel. 40 wall ratio and 21 rim is not uncommon, e.g., Q7.

fatmatt0116

what kind of tires are coming on the 21" wheels? contis?

fredccr

Yes. CROSSCONTACT UHP - SIZE: 295/40ZR21

fatmatt0116

Others are reporting similar problems with the 21 inch contis. Try some michelins or pirellis

fredccr

I will first let my dealership take a look tomorrow. But I believe michelins no longer provides 295 40 r21.

Scorpio550

would you be able to post a picture how the 19"s look on your 550? did you use spacers?

cmginc

No issue running Conti DWS06 on my GL63 with ride or handling.

fredccr

Today my dealer did a road force balance and fixed the issue. I think it is all about the manufacturing imperfection of the tires. New car will have standard balance in factory, but not road force test. Some one, like yourself, got lucky, some one not. But for most of cases, a road force re-balance should be sufficient to fix the issue. I saw other 63 owners experiencing the same issue.

Boatracer41

will 19s fit on a 2017 gls550?

jtorrebl

we have 22s with big normal size tires. No low pros and it rides very very well

c4004matic

Yes. Just as they fit the 450. However, It changes the car significantly since in the 450 the wheels are not only smaller, the tires are also significantly narrower.

BigJob13

The front brake rotors on the 550 are about an inch larger in diameter. Be sure the smaller wheels clear the brakes.

BTW, if someone wanted the most luxurious riding GL it would have to be a 450 on 19 inch wheels with...wait for it....active curve. I'd be wiling to bet this spec is a unicorn. Nobody gets active curve on a 450, let alone one with the 19 inch wheels. But that would provide the best ride, since the sway bars are essentially disconnected when not in a corner with the active curve suspension.

DRP

jbak31

I haven't installed spacers yet, but planning to.