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Hi, I know this topic has been discussed in past (e.g. '21 GLS63 Winter Setup - MBWorld.org Forums) but I was wondering if anyone with more recent experience could help me out:
I have searched within 200 miles of my address and there is only one 2023 GLS450 in the lot that meets my requirements. However, the car comes with 22 inch wheels that normally take 285/45R22 in front and 325/40R22 in rear. I live in SoCal so it is normally summer tires all year around, but I also take 2-3 trips to mountains for skiing each year, and that does not justify the cost and hassle of getting winter tires just for those few trips. Has anyone found an easy and practical solution to get all-season tires for the 22" rear wheels?
Michelin Defender MS 275/50 /22 and 305/45/22 . I am planning to use these as my next set. I dont stick around for winter and go south so an all season tire was my only option. I had to purchase new 21 inch rims so I could get All Seasons 3 years ago as nothing close in size for a 22 until now. I used these tires on my 2014 ML and they were excellent. If you go this route give us some feedback please.
Tire guys said it should be okay to run 275/40/22 on the front and 315/35/22 on the rear. Anyone have any experience with it? I think that is the path I am going to go down, as there are almost no options for all seasons in the OEM specs for 22s.
Tire guys said it should be okay to run 275/40/22 on the front and 315/35/22 on the rear.
That is shorter sidewalls than the OEM spec. I’m a mechanical engineer who previously worked at Michelin and I just ordered Michelin Defenders in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22 from Tire Rack:
That is shorter sidewalls than the OEM spec. I’m a mechanical engineer who previously worked at Michelin and I just ordered Michelin Defenders in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22 from Tire Rack:
I would ne very interested in your feedback once you try these. In particular what your thoughts are on the noise level versus the MO-S tires Mercedes specifies on other SUV.
That is shorter sidewalls than the OEM spec. I’m a mechanical engineer who previously worked at Michelin and I just ordered Michelin Defenders in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22 from Tire Rack:
I apologize, I was referring to the 22's on the GLE, I should have made that clear. I have a GLE450 with the 22s that came with Summers on them. The tire on that is actually a hair different 285/40 and 325/35. Haven't found much info in the GLE section so came to the GLS section because more people have 22s on them. I mistakenly assumed Mercedes ran the same tire on the 22s for GLS and GLE but they're different. With the GLE tires, and going with the Continental DWS06 I will lose .15" and .13" if sidewall on the front and rear respectively. The tire shop expressed a bit of concern about running the 275/50 22 and 305/45 on the GLE because I would gain almost an inch of sidewall, potentially resulting in rubbing. Their fitment guide said they would warranty the 275/40/22 and the 315/35/22 but not the 275/50 and 305/45. Sorry to create any confusion. The Continental is a pricier tire, has load specs and speed specs that basically match the OEM Michelin Pilot Sport, so hopefully it is a good replacement, although I never like losing sidewall for a car that is supposed to have a comfy ride.
0.15” loss of sidewall is not much, I would go ahead with that. The GLS OEM tire size has more sidewall, so your proposed size would be a significant step smaller, but coming from the GLE, seems like a good move.
I just got home from the local Discount Tire store, who educated me on a few things.
The GLS designers chose the 22" wheel size to be "XL" load rated, so this must be the version of the GLS with the highest payload rating and highest tow rating. All other wheel sizes are "SL" standard loading.
Within the "XL" category there are a range of load index numbers, starting somewhere around 110 and going up (110 is also available in SL rating, so be aware of the overlap in specs). Mercedes specified a 114 load rating to achieve the gross vehicle weight rating for the 22" wheel size.
The Pirelli Scorpion Zero All-Seasons in 285/40R22 and 325/35R22 have a load index of 110 for the front and 114 for the rear. Therefore, Discount Tire was unwilling to sell the front tires to me because the load rating won't achieve the OEM GVWR spec.
I'll never tow a heavy trailer and thus don't need the high load index, but I understand them not willing to take on the legal liability.
The larger 23" wheels can be fitted with Pirellis with a front tire load index of 107, but they won't sell 22" wheels with a stronger 110 load index simply because it's not the 114 that came on the factory 22s. Ugh.
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S All-Seasons in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22 have a load index of 111 for the front and 118 for the rear. Again, Discount Tire won't sell me the front tires because of the load rating.
Tire Rack would sell them to me, but with an 8 week wait time, arriving around DEC-28 which is too late in the season to be running summer tires, risking a crash. Plus, whatever installer I choose could still reject the install for the same liability reasons and then I'd have to hassle with returning the tires. Any installer lax enough to ignore the specs is likely also lax enough to damage the wheels or the leather interior, as I know from experience.
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S2(note the generation 2) in 275/50R22 have a load index of 115, so DT will sell these front tires to me. However:
Michelin does not yet offer the Defender2 in a size that would fit our rear wheels, so you'd have to mount gen2 on the fronts and gen1 on the rears. The tread shoulder on the gen2 looks very different from the gen1, so they would be mis-matched aesthetically. Potentially the grip levels would be different.
Also, the tread shoulder of the gen2 looks like it's designed for an off-road vehicle and not fitting for a GLS in my taste
Gen1 Michelin Defender:
Gen2 Michelin Defender:
FWIW, I was quoted $2,735.60 after install and tax by the closest MB dealership for Pirelli Scorpion Winter in OEM size 285/45R22 and 325/40R22.
2023-11-20 UPDATE: I found an independent mechanic who specializes in Mercedes who will sell and install the Defender LTX M/S All-Seasons in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22. Appointment is next week.
Last edited by Missourian; 11-20-2023 at 02:53 PM.
Thanks @Missourian for the detailed write up. Very interesting - I always thought all tires for GLS regardless of the wheel size should be XL rated and SL would be no go but apparently not the case...
Back in the days I was looking for my next car, I figured out it would be safest to stay with 21" wheels to get A/S so that's what I ended up getting. Good luck!
Just want to add that everyone should cross shop the dealers around you. Sometimes they have better prices than the 3rd party shop and each dealer sets their own price so check all of them that you're willing to drive to: https://www.mbusatirecenter.com/
For example for winter 22" Pirellis, the price range is from $2400 to $2900 for the 4 dealers around me.
I just got home from the local Discount Tire store, who educated me on a few things.
The GLS designers chose the 22" wheel size to be "XL" load rated, so this must be the version of the GLS with the highest payload rating and highest tow rating. All other wheel sizes are "SL" standard loading.
Within the "XL" category there are a range of load index numbers, starting somewhere around 110 and going up (110 is also available in SL rating, so be aware of the overlap in specs). Mercedes specified a 114 load rating to achieve the gross vehicle weight rating for the 22" wheel size.
The Pirelli Scorpion Zero All-Seasons in 285/40R22 and 325/35R22 have a load index of 110 for the front and 114 for the rear. Therefore, Discount Tire was unwilling to sell the front tires to me because the load rating won't achieve the OEM GVWR spec.
I'll never tow a heavy trailer and thus don't need the high load index, but I understand them not willing to take on the legal liability.
The larger 23" wheels can be fitted with Pirellis with a front tire load index of 107, but they won't sell 22" wheels with a stronger 110 load index simply because it's not the 114 that came on the factory 22s. Ugh.
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S All-Seasons in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22 have a load index of 111 for the front and 118 for the rear. Again, Discount Tire won't sell me the front tires because of the load rating.
Tire Rack would sell them to me, but with an 8 week wait time, arriving around DEC-28 which is too late in the season to be running summer tires, risking a crash. Plus, whatever installer I choose could still reject the install for the same liability reasons and then I'd have to hassle with returning the tires. Any installer lax enough to ignore the specs is likely also lax enough to damage the wheels or the leather interior, as I know from experience.
The Michelin Defender LTX M/S2(note the generation 2) in 275/50R22 have a load index of 115, so DT will sell these front tires to me. However:
Michelin does not yet offer the Defender2 in a size that would fit our rear wheels, so you'd have to mount gen2 on the fronts and gen1 on the rears. The tread shoulder on the gen2 looks very different from the gen1, so they would be mis-matched aesthetically. Potentially the grip levels would be different.
Also, the tread shoulder of the gen2 looks like it's designed for an off-road vehicle and not fitting for a GLS in my taste
Gen1 Michelin Defender:
Gen2 Michelin Defender:
FWIW, I was quoted $2,735.60 after install and tax by the closest MB dealership for Pirelli Scorpion Winter in OEM size 285/45R22 and 325/40R22.
2023-11-20 UPDATE: I found an independent mechanic who specializes in Mercedes who will sell and install the Defender LTX M/S All-Seasons in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22. Appointment is next week.
Hi, I'm located in St. Louis and wanting to buy wheels and tires for my 21 GLS 580. Currently has the 23" wheels which we all know have no options. Can you let me know the mechanic you found?
I first used Tire Rack’s website to pick out the sizes and model of tires I wanted, then asked Schwartz to order these exact tires and they agreed. I can look up later today what all-season would work best for 23” wheels.
23" General G-MAX AS07 All-Season available in 305/40R23, but no other 23" sizes. Okay for rear wheel fitment, but not recommended for the OEM front wheels that are 9.5" wide because a 305mm tire's recommended minimum wheel width is 10.0".
Last edited by Missourian; 11-22-2023 at 01:24 PM.
Really appreciate you searching this out! Looks like it would be nearly 5k just for tires so a dedicated 21" or 22" looks to be the better answer. Seems like wheels are available for around 1500 for 4 and the tires should be around 1200-1500 for the set.
Really want to see what bronze would look like but can't seem to find any that work for the 2021 GLS 580.
My Michelin Defender LTX M/S All-Seasons in 275/50R22 and 305/45R22 were getting mounted today and couldn't complete yet because the rears were a very tight fit on the 11.5" wide rear wheels. The shop is keeping my car for a 2nd day and said with some heat to warm up the tires, they should fit.
Note that the Porsche 911 4S OEM rear setup is 11.5" with 305/30R21 tires, so much shorter sidewalls. The GTS and GT3 use 12" rear with 305. Then again, it probably requires special mounting equipment to get those to fit. TireRack says 305 is okay to use up to 11.5" wheel.
Last edited by Missourian; 11-27-2023 at 10:51 PM.
If I could do this over, I would NOT install Michelin Defender all-seasons on 22" AMG wheels.
$2,300 for the independent shop to purchase and install them, higher than originally quoted because they apparently spent several additional hours to get the rear tire beads to seat. Therefore, if I want to remount the stock Continental summer tires in the spring time, it will cost a lot to remount these Michelins in the fall, so I should probably just leave these Michelins on until they wear out.
The front tires rub the fender liner when steering at full-lock. The tire calculator said they are only 0.36" taller sidewall, but of course how a tire mounts up and measures never matches the simple calculator theory.
I'm asking the shop to quote removing the Michelins and installing the Pirelli winter tires.
If I could do this over, I would NOT install Michelin Defender all-seasons on 22" AMG wheels.
$2,300 for the independent shop to purchase and install them, higher than originally quoted because they apparently spent several additional hours to get the rear tire beads to seat. Therefore, if I want to remount the stock Continental summer tires in the spring time, it will cost a lot to remount these Michelins in the fall, so I should probably just leave these Michelins on until they wear out.
The front tires rub the fender liner when steering at full-lock. The tire calculator said they are only 0.36" taller sidewall, but of course how a tire mounts up and measures never matches the simple calculator theory.
I'm asking the shop to quote removing the Michelins and installing the Pirelli winter tires.
Sorry you have trouble with these tires. There is another thread from several years ago where a GLS 580 has these exact tires but he used narrower rims. I checked in again with the poster after some time and was still OK. Did you lower your GLS? Can you take some pics of the rears? Here is that thread link; https://mbworld.org/forums/gls-class...eel-setup.html
I went through a whole rigamarole when buying my gel 63s. These cars just aren't meant for "regular" driving. They aren't even offering 21s yet on the 24s! I wound up getting 21 inch rims and am running pirelli all seasons. I originally ordered a snow package of tires with them but I'll never get those again. Wore them too long and rubbed out the fronts. I have 2 rears that are in perfect shape if anyone wants to buy! I'll just stick with my 21 inch rims. Can even get them powder coated black by the shop! I'll never buy a car with 22 inch rims again what a hassle.
06-29-2023, 02:16 PM
