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Hi All,
Purchased a new (2,200 miles) GLS450 from the dealer two years ago, at the time they had just put new tires on it, the salesman said (I believe he was being honest because we already exchanged funds) that this was the third set of tires the car had. 1st set was new when they took delivery, and they had issues with noise, so they replaced them, the car sat on the lot (just prior to Covid) then the tires had flat spots and were making noise, so they replaced them with COOPER DISCOVERER tires which is what i bought them with. the car now has 12,000 miles on it and the front tires are all chewed up. I brought it in they said they cant do anything about it because its from driving on gravel. I do have a gravel driveway but I have also had lots of different cars and trucks and never this issue. I noticed its also only on the front tires so I guess its just the combination of a soft rubber compound and steering on gravel?
I know a lot of people have issues with the rear and the alignment, my tires are wearing evenly and the ride has been quiet, but the tires look chewed.
Aside from paving the driveway, any recommendation on which tires to get? they are 275/50/20, I believe the first sets of tires were Pirelli Verde and the oem Michelin
How would the shocks contribute to this? Again it’s only got 12,000 miles, air suspension, and tires are all equally worn.
it does happen even with low mileage.
have it checked out
thats why I said possible bad shocks .
also when repaired or corrected rotate your tires every 8 to 10 thousand miles.
GL/GLS are known for eating tires. Caused by MB alignment specs with excessive camber. Gravel has nothing to do with it. Only choices you have are feeding it tires, sell the car or put a K-Mac kit on it.
I understand the tires wear prematurely because of the aggressive setup, but how why would chunks be ripped out? What alignment specs should the car have once the KPak kits are installed? What tires do you recommend?
I've never seen a wear pattern like that. Has it developed while you have had the car, or was it always like that? Are all the tires the same? (If they are, I doubt it's alignment, unless they've been rotated after it occurred.)
I think the gravel road explanation is actually valid, but, how much driving do you do on gravel? (Interesting that it only appears on the outer edges of the tire.)
Three sets of tires in 2,200 miles? Is that a typo?
Possible Cause: Most frequently encountered on tires that are used off the pavement for extended periods of time
Solution: Depending on the severity, replacement may be necessary.
Tire chunking is typically the direct result of frequent driving off-road or on unpaved/ gravel roads. These rougher surfaces eventually break down the tread blocks and cause pieces of the tire tread to be ripped off or worn away.
Tire chunking can also occur when an off-road or mud tire is used on the highway for an extended period of time. Designed to handle rugged off-road terrains, these tires have large voids and tread blocks that can break down on the highway.
All four tires are matching, the front two are the only ones chewed up as shown in the photos. This has developed since I’ve owned the car but only noticed it while I changed the oil last week.
I have an F350, two X5 diesels, and a bunch of “small” cars, all with various tires and none have any kind of chewing like this… I asked my guy at the tire shop he said the Discoverer tires on there now were discontinued and the only time he has seen that kind of chewing is from
ripping up gravel roads.
Well I would say that the 2 front tires has the most tearing cause you are turning on gravel and sharp stones. The tires you have are soft and not really meant for that kind of wear. I have the original Pirelli's on my 2018 with 40K miles on them and they have a lot of life left. I do not travel over sharp gravel however and to me its not shocks or anything with alignment. There really is no better tire for gravel driving and turning on gavel. You may just be needing to change tired more often.
I would agree with gravel theory. I think fronts are getting chewed up because of turning on the gravel not just rolling on it. One option could be all terrain tires. Cheaper than paving the driveway
In any case I've had nothing but good luck with Michelins. Yes the tread wear is not as good as promised (35k on the OEM set, and more like 40k on the last set) but not horrible. Of course we rarely drive off road or on gravel.
Pirellis are normally highly rated but wear even faster, and I did not like the ride. No way I would go with any other brand like Cooper but then again my primary use is suburban driving with a few ski trips.
I expect you are right - the soft tread that performs ok on snowy roads gets shredded by the gravel. So you will have to find a truck-tire option that does not destroy the ride quality. Good luck.
This is not due to a gravel driveway. You are all assuming this guys driveway is pure shale!
There is something seriously mechanically wrong in the alignment/steering/suspension or tire sizing of the vehicle that wore that tire, also they are ****-tier tires.
Mercedes sets these cars up with a lot, a lot of camber, then doesn't allow you to adjust it. Not sure why other than to run laps on the Nurburgring? But have you actually had an alignment done? I'm wondering if you've got excessive toe-out which would heat up the rubber to the point where it's coming apart. I have been to a few track events with my other cars and when "street" tires get too hot and you're pushing them too hard, they can start to chunk like this.
On my GLS 550 I've taken out as much of the camber in the rear suspension as I can, then checked toe and it was still perfect. My last set of tires got CORDED on the inside edge when the rest of the tire still had tons of life left. I want to install camber adjustment bolts to totally get rid of the problem, but having a hard time justifying the $500 just for a front or rear set.
Crash bolts will get you a very nice alignment to where you won't need to spend a grand on the front and rear kit. I did them on my old GL and it really helped with the tire wear.
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