jcr22042

Just bought my '06 ML350 last week and was worried about the tires in snow (Bridgestone performance summer tires). We got about a half inch a couple day's after, so I was able to test the tires in this condition. After a few tries braking and accelerating, I quickly came to the conclusion that they are not appropriate at all! I went back home and ordered 4 new tires!

Since I did a 24 month lease for this vehicle, I did not want to invest a huge amount in tires, nor did I want a dedicated winter tire, since we only get snow 3-4 times in a typical winter anyway. I also didn't want to have to switch tires every season. So I ordered the 19" performance all-season tire from Kuhmo from Tire Rack. They'll be here soon and I hope they are better. Anybody have any experience with those tires?

What should I do with the Bridgestones? They are basically brand new (less than 100 miles)? I noticed Tire Rack sells them for about $292 a piece. Should I sell them or keep them to put them back on the car before I turn it in? If I sell them, would MB care at the lease turn in that the car has a non-OE tire on it?

KEY08

That's a bummer... You may want to hold onto them and just mount them up prior to turning your car in at lease end. When they do the lease end inspection they will be looking for a "OEM-like" tire and one with usable tread left. Your all-season tires may be acceptable as "like" tires or they may not. It all depends on who does the inspection and if they are picky or not. Generally they just want to make sure the tires have some usable life as measured by tread depth. You could try selling the tires, but you may find that since they are now "used" you may not get the real value out of them.

Nice wheels and high-performance summer tires are always an issue in the cold and snow. The cold itself usually turns these high-performance summer tires into bricks, which makes for some interesting driving even with 4WD! Happy and safe motoring on your new rubber!

GregW / Oregon

I know you said you don't want to switch but it's not a big deal. My wheel guy charges $80/4 mounts/balances and it takes about an hour. All season tires are a compromise. I would put the summer tires back on in the Spring. Then sell the Kumhos when you turn in the vehicle (unless they fit your next one).

Curious George

If you have the Bridgestone Turanzas on your vehicle you are wise to get something else. They are good dry pavement tires but that's about it. I ordered 18" rims and Blizzaks from the tire rack. But then I'll likely keep my ML500 three or four years and have 100k plus on it by then. I'm hoping that the two sets of tires will get me there.

Paul Le Corre

I also drove my 320 CDI (17 inches standard wheels with summer tyres) on the snow yesterday and it felt quite unstable under braking. The ESP didn't light up but you could feel it. The snow in my place is rare so I won't invest in some winter tyres but it would make sense if I was living in a place with a real winter season.

GregW / Oregon

In snow you might try setting to Off Road mode--changes ABS and shift patterns. Won't make up for bad tires, though.

Drak

What tyres did your car come with from the factory ??

Rgds Drak

jcr22042

My all-season's will be mounted tomorrow, so we'll see how they perform. Gotta wait for more snow to see how they do in that, though.

jcr22042

By the way, I think I'm going to sell the Bridgestone's--they have about 100 miles on them. They would be a good value to someone I'm sure.