clunker

Just a brief note on my winter tires/rim experience this year.

Being in the North-East US, I prefer to run winter compound tires when average temperature drop. Even the best AWD/traction control is simply no use when the summer compounds become rock solid in the cold. Other than the cost of the rims/TPMS, fhe tire cost it is a zero net as you save wear on the summers over winter and vice versa. I also prefer to run an inch or two smaller diameter on the winters, meaning wider sidewalls, to give more cushion again potholes etc.

(For example instead of 275/50r20 on the 20' rims them 275/55r19 on 19' rims are a very close match - see tiresize.com/calculator for a quick check.)

I had used the same set of 18" rims on both my GLE (W166) and then my GLS (X166), with just tire change for the larger X166. Those were third party rims with TPMS from tirerack.com and I got M-B center cap logos from 3dcarstickers.com (used them a lot, recommended) so it looked more OEM.

However for my GLS450 (X167) the 18" will not clear the front calipers so I could not use those rims again. Although M-B do offer 19" rims on the X167 in Europe, I did not chance it (in case US-spec calipers larger etc) and went for 20" rims for the winters, same as my OEM summers.

The problem was finding the winter tire set. Usually tirerack.com is the easy go-to, but they offered only one option for rims - and that sized at 21", so even less suitable for winters. In the end I did order from tirerack.com but had to slightly fake it out: I ordered Platinum Retribution (graphite) 20" rims with TPMS (433Mhz) for a GLE (X166) - on tire rack you have to specify a vehicle to order a rim. I then selected separately (with specifying vehicle) a set of 275/50R20 Blizzak DM-V2 tires - tire rack then helpfully asked if I wanted these mounted for free on the (GLE) rims already in the basket - perfect. They also provide the necessary sized lug nuts for the new rims. No hub spacers are required as the rims are same hub size (66.6mm) as OEM.

They arrived pretty quickly, ready to mount, and it all fits perfectly. The new rims have an offset of 35mm versus OEM 62.5mm, which means they sit out from the vehicle 27.5mm more than the OEM, but this not an issue there plenty of clearance and it looks decent too. See attached pics. The M-B center cap logos (55mm) are on order from 3dcarstickers.com.

Hope this helpful.

ACC2

Looks great and I really like your math on zero tire cost. I never thought of it that way, but makes sense.

The only thing I would be worried about is the proud offset. I would think that will end up causing a lot of “road rash” from sand, salt and stones slung off the tires. It’s already a problem with standard offset and this is much more severe. Maybe mudflats would help if wide enough?

Another member posted some road rash photos on a nearly new car and it’s pretty bad. Enough to make me nervous for you. I’m sure you can find them searching.

clunker

That is a fair point about the tires kicking stuff up. I did just go out and check and the picture is a bit misleading: the tires still fit the Federal rule about not being proud of the top of the wheel arch when viewed exactly from vertically overhead - it makes it, just may +/-mm. I think mud flaps would significant help with kick up. Of course, one can aways go for higher offset rims, tirerack does have up to 52mm offset rims.

ACC2

Just to share information, a few years ago I bought staggered Ace Alloy rims with snow tires from Element Wheels. This was for my CLS63. The rims were available in any offset and though I picked what I thought would work best, they weren't perfect. Element was great and had me ship them back and they adjusted the offset, I assume by having the back plate milled. I was very happy with end result.

Again for informational purposes and not to bum you out, but this is the thread I was referring to. It got me so freaked out, I dropped 2k on PPF. If you start seeing chips you might think about it or try the mud flaps.
https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...22-gls450.html

Anyway, glad you're happy with your set up. They look great and I'm sure you going to do amazing in the snow!

clunker

Very interesting - well, so far I have not had any issue with chips from kicked up gravel, and we do run a decent amount on VT gravel roads. That damage was insane, and from OEM wheels.

TrialsDoc

What is necessary to make TPMS sensors work when changing tire/wheel combos each spring and fall? Do the TPMS sensors from TireRack work well? Thanks.

clunker

Nothing to do - just mount the wheels and start to drive, the vehicle should sense them and get readings in few miles / minutes.

I think the tpms sensors wake up when in rotation and start to transmit - the vehicle is looking for the tpms signals when it first starts up and the new wheel tpms units are recognized as the only tpms signal nearby - I think this Mercedes has an antenna near each wheel so they automatically match up their locations ( eg front- right etc) - anyway no tpms coding to do. Same when you put summer wheels back in.

Good idea to check tire pressure and do pressure calibration reset if you unsure. (That’s the Home button on left of steering wheel, scroll to Service, pick Tires, then press ok to do reset.)

Tirerack had set up the tpms for Mercedes when they were installed / shipped.

gklott

We have MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX M/S 275 /55 R20 113T SL BSW on our 2020 GLS580 - all 4 tires.

73/gus


MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX M/S 275 /55 R20 113T SL BSW

misterkye

Runnin a size 275/55/20 in the Nitto Ridge Grappler series. About 10k miles in and so far a great all purpose tire.

Don’t think they can compete w blizzard in the snow, but surprisingly the Nittos held up decent on few trips to the snow this Season

misterkye

any additional shots? Would love to see it from the side

gklott

Dirty GLS. Quiet, good traction, longer life, etc. Purchased 4 tires from Discount Tire, $1453.11 out the door with mounting, lifetime rotation & balancing, replacement certificates, disposal fee, and taxes. We've used this Michelin tire on our GL/MLs for many years.

73/gus



MICHELIN DEFENDER LTX M/S 275 /55 R20 113T SL BSW on 2020 GLS580

misterkye

Def want to try those tires next, looks great!

mjenergy

I am looking to buy a set of rims and tires for winter and found these rims on the Tire Rack website. They are 20" rims with a 52 mm offset. I plan to mount 275/50 R20 snow tires on these rims. The offset is closer to the OEM Offset of 62.5 mm.

https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/resu...=&package=true

SnowCub

I'm planning to go down one size for year round use when the tires on my 21" rims are worn out. The wheels that I have my eye on are the Enkei XM-6

Non-AMG

Looking fantastic !!!

SnowCub

I slapped the 20" Enkei XM-6 on my GLS450 and they look fantastic. I was so bummed that I hadn't done it sooner.




So I emailed TireRack and asked them to update their configuration utility to open up the GLS to more of these 20" wheels. The Brake Rotors, Pads, Hubs are the same parts numbers between the GLE 450 and GLS 450. So why not make them available? TireRack replied and said they don't recommend most of the GLE wheels on the GLS due to weight limits. The wheel that I bought the XM-6, doesn't meet the GVWR for the GLS. So I went out and checked my vehicle weight placard:
Front axle limit is 3417 lbs
Rear axle limit is 4079 lbs

The XM-6 wheel that I bought can handle 1850 lbs, so 3,700 lbs per axle. So I miss holding up maximum load on my rear axle. They recommmend that I remove them but I'm going to leave them on and see if the wheel actually bends or fails dramatically. I've never looked into weight limits before and I have all sorts of questions like, the E-class wheels that I'm using for snow wheels on my S-class, are they going to fail.

What about the 2024 GLE 450e? TireRack has the Enkei XM-6 as an available wheel. The GLE 450e curb weight is 5754 lbs vs my 2021 GLS 450's 5467 lbs. Am I to believe the GLE 450e has a much lower payload capacity to compensate for the heavier weight of the vehicle?

The Swim Back

Which wheels are these? Can you please provide the model and exact specs?