2018 GLS-550 Tire Wear
 

I purchased new a 2018 MB GLS550. Took it back for annual service. Told, I needed to replace tires at 13000 miles. Just took it in for second annual maintenance. Again I was told tires needed replacing...at 14000. Was actually told that tires would need replacing well before the next service. I decided to wait for a few months before replacing but only 2 or 3 months. When I said no, I got a video from a mechanic explaining why I need to replace tires, and every time I seem to turn around, I get an email reminding me I didn't replace tires. This is the first MB SUV...GLS I have bought but am not used to tires lasting so few miles. Is this normal? Also somewhat surprised that tires are rated for 168 mph....W. No way I am going to drive my GLS that fast, my Porsche Cayenne Turbo or my Dodge Challenger Demon, maybe.

It's normal that GLs and GLSs eat tires, particularly rear tires. The reason is MB's alignment settings. You will see posts on this site that "GLs/GLSs are heavy". That is not the root cause. MB's choice of alignment settings is the root cause. Too much camber and toe are specified on the rear axle.

Measure the tread depth for yourself. Or take your vehicle to a reputable large regional tire chain. Dealers behave in a similar fashion as snakes and thieves. I'm not calling them snakes or thieves, just noting that their behavior often resembles that of snakes and thieves.

REALITY IS OEM THERE IS NO FRONT CAMBER OR CASTER AND NO REAR CAMBER !

THE OFTEN QUOTED REASSURING - “Will Carry Out Full Front & Rear ‘4’ Wheel Alignment” is in fact only adjusting basic Toe / directional adjustment.

No longer is there adjustment to spread load more evenly - resolve costly, premature excess edge tire wear.

IT IS NEW CAR INDUSTRY'S BEST KEPT SECRET. It is all to do with ever increasing speed of new car assembly lines.

We saw the need therefore for Front and Rear Bolt-On adjuster kits - designed so no special tools or need for control arm removal (not only provides adjustment but also replacing at same time the highest wearing bushes).

Also the needed adjustment to resolve passengers side excess wear through high cambered roads, or to cater for varying height / load conditions encountered in day to day commuting or just having ongoing adjustment capability for curb knock damage.

FRONT KIT #504016M $595 (Camber & Caster) - also at same time resolving the common (costly to replace) premature failure of the 2 rear arm bushes !

REAR KIT #504026K $480 Camber & Extra toe

Alternative Rear (instead of replacing the 4 highest wearing bushings) is Upper Camber adjustable control arms (and Extra Toe) #504126N $695 (Unlike other brands steel not soft extruded aluminum)


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...3b7b97b413.jpg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...c3a4e1d09b.jpg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...4be77c5331.jpg




AUDI to VOLVO - K-MAC Experience Of Resolving OEM Suspension Shortcomings Since 1964 !

I recently picked up a 2017 GLS and I'm wondering if a tire rotation is needed. I see the front tires are more worn than the rear. Based on what I'm gathering from this thread, the rear should wear faster. Since my front tires are more worn, it appears they were rotated before so I currently don't believe a rotation is needed currently. Does this make sense? Thanks

It could be. How many miles have you put on the vehicle? I would get 10k miles under your belt, then rotate if the front tires are still usable prior to putting them on the rear. If your have a square setup (all four tires same size) I prefer an 4 tire X rotation pattern. Rears --> front and fronts --> opposite rears.

i think under 1k so far. I’ll strongly consider your X recommendation. Thanks so much.

I'd rotate more often, at 5k for such a heavy rig. Oops! just reminded myself to fo it ASAP. Driving hard on a free set of new tires, but feel meat is getting worn out fast.

Exactly what Chassis said - a master MB tech explained it that the rear has negative camber for improved cornering which creates the inner tire wear. And this negative camber really isn't necessary for 99% of driving situations of most GL owners=)

Bear in mind these vehicles are designed in Germany by Germans (mostly) who work in a company and in a country where high speed driving is the cultural norm. This means the vehicle platform with passengers and luggage needs to be capable of safe maneuvering (lane changes, for example) at autobahn speeds. This in my view is a main driver for rear camber and toe settings, which give more grip to the axle. The downside is increased tire wear. In the US market where autobahn speeds are not possible or common, there is no practical need for the alignment settings MB specifies. And tire wear remains the downside for US customers.

Next time you are on a family vacation in the GLS, tooling along the interstate, imagine stepping it up to 130mph, and needing to avoid a deer standing in your lane at night. At that moment you would want all of the axle grip you could get.

I too got about 12,000 miles out of a set of tires. However, they are worn fairly evenly across the thread width. Not sure what I should do, but I'm not too happy about the idea of spending $1000 on tires every 12,000 miles or so. The right rear tire is down to the limit (2/32") and the other three to 5/32". The dealer indicated they rotated the tires recently, but I would think that would put the worst one somewhere else, no?

Does anyone have access to the alignment specs (it's a '17 GLS450 with air suspension (code 489).

(I originally posted this in the other X166 forum, but recently realized the error of my ways.)

TIA,
John

Here is an alignment sheet from our 2017GLS450 (X166) with air suspension:

is this a dealer alignment? How much coin?

Awesome! Thanks. Just what I needed. I was beginning to think it was proprietary information, or something. "My" guy has an older machine and it doesn't have the specs for the newer cars, and can't be updated. Must be Windows XP based...

The stock settings eat the tires too quickly. I have the alignment shop use the crash bolts and set the tires as straight as possible and it really saves the tires. These aren't sports cars so, in my opinion, the alignment settings don't need to be set as such.

Just replaced my rear set of Michelins which were shot after 30k. About the same wear as OEM Pirelli but better handling and better grip in light snow.

The rear axle definitely wears faster than the front so makes sense to rotate though I generally want the higher tread depth to be on rear. None of these tires seem to make it to the promised treadwear warranty level and difficult to collect the remaining credit when you have a blowout and can’t return to original store.

the alignment is a good suggestion particularly with new tires. used to do this religiously on my BMWs.

Would inflating the rear somewhat below recommended pressure help prolong the life of the rear tires?

Under inflation will cause a significant reduction in efficiency and will cause excess heat from the rolling resistance. I would not recommend under inflation for driving on a paved road.

So, what do you do when the recommended pressure exceeds the limit for the recommended tire? Michelin Premier LTX 275/55R19 max pressure 44 psi. Mercedes recommended pressure 45 psi.

Also, at 45 psi, they wear more in the center of the tread than the edge, which tells me either they are over inflated or the rim isn't wide enough.

The maximum is for towing or heavy loads. Are you running heavy loads all the time? If not, don't run the max tire pressure. These are big heavy SUV's. My GL63 eats rear tires every 6k to 10k miles and I don't typically drive aggressively.

"I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.” - Alan Greenspan

The sticker on the door frame doesn't say "maximum.". The owner's manual says they are "recommended". The pressure on the sidewall of the tire does say "maximum" and it is my understanding that this is the tire manufacturer's design limit. That said, the "recommended" pressure for the rear tires on my GLS is higher than the pressure limit determined by the tire manufacturer.

I was able to get 30k miles out of my original set but was very disappointed to know that I had to replace them so soon given previous non-MB vehicles had tires that lasted 50k miles. I’m on my second set now and over 50K on my vehicle so I was expecting them to be replaced by 60k miles too.

On the other side this is why I never made the push to get an AMG. I remember having a loaner one and the vehicle had 5k miles to the odometer. It gave me a warning that it needed air in one tire so I went to Discount Tire. The rep told me the tires would need replacement soon, so he wanted to know if I was interested in buying a set. When I said “the car has 5k miles total and it already needs a new set of tires???” I could see the shock in his face as to how fast the tires were wearing out. “Perhaps it’s the low profile but they’re almost ready for replacement”.

I have an X166 GL 550 and I've gone through 2 sets of DWS06 so far. I just had my 3rd set installed. Each set has lasted around 20K miles before needing replacement. I only paid full price for the first set and paid an average of 50% for the subsequent 2 sets using Continental's mileage warranty.

I currently have 2017 GLS550 with 11,400 miles on it. It still runs on the original set of Continental CrossContact UHP (Ultra High Performance) tires which I really don't like. Roads and highways in Sothern California are pretty rough and have grooves cut through the concrete surface to help with water drainage. This, in return, introduces more noice and with UHP tires the car experiences vibration since the tires seem to be tracking the groves in the road's surface. I bet that Germans never thought of such peculiar things as groves in the roads' surface when designing these cars for autobahn.

I am looking to replace the original set and currently considering ether Continental DSW06 PLUS or Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4. Both of these models have 45-50k thread warranty and priced similarly. Does anyone have experience with these tires to provide a recommendation which set would be a better choice for GLS550?

Did you ever replace those Continental Crosscontacts? What did you decide on and what are your impressions?

How do you get that 50% off? Im about to put DWS06 of my '17 GLS550 and i'm worried that they will be ruined before i know it, lol.
Thank You