clubmed

I have a 07 ML 350 and just upgraded to 19" AMG rims. Wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions on best tires for this upgrade. The stocks were 17" Michelin Latitute. 225/65/17

1) oem is 255/50/19. IS it worth it to go a bit wider to 275/45/19 (I am leaning towards this)

2) Tires considering: Michelin latitute hp vs. sport 275/45/19 vs. Bridestone Duler Sport vs. continental Extremecontact dws

Any suggestions/comments would be appreciated.

sosh

I prefer the Continental Contacts that have been OEM on my 02, and 06 ML500 and my 2010 ML550. Find then very good in the snow, quiet and produce a good ride. I usually get between 36 and 40K out of them.

pharaoh

Are you sure the stocks were 225? I thought 235 was the common one. Look at the chart below and that will show you what differences you are really looking at.Any diameter difference of >3% from the OEM fit is considered not suitable, so basically you are good to go if you can tolerate the speedometer differences in this case.

As far as the tire choice goes, I'm gonna leave it to the experts here.

clubmed

I stand corrected. the OEM is 235/65/17 as you correctly pointed out.
on tirerack, the continentals have not gotten very good reviews. I live in southern california, so Snow and cold weather isn't too much of an issue. I am looking for good wear, good handling and low noise levels.

dgiturbo

Then go with the OEM Conti's. They are a good tire, but I switched from them due to wearing down to much to safely handle the Chicago winters. The bad reviews you see on Tire Rack will have to do with the thread wear and extreme winter traction. For all other cases they are a really good tire.

FYI, I switched to Nokian tires WR G2 and they so far are superb.

sosh

I could not care less what tire rack says. I gave you info from my own experience with these tires since 2001. The "ratings" from tire rack are likely to be self serving. They are also good in the wet. If you do not go with these my second choice would be Michelins which I have on my new E Class. Also quiet, good in the wet and so far good in the snow We just had 30 inches.

pharaoh

Rather than just talking about the brands, look more into the specs. For instance always look for the Load Index/Speed Rating and UTQG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTQG), the higher the number the better. Also a major contributing factor to your decision should be where you are going to drive it. Good luck!

Benzo 003

I just put Continental Extreme Contact DWS's on my 08 with 19inch wheels and could not be more pleased. They are a knock off of Nokian WGR2s and make an excellent "all season" tire.
Very quiet on the dry grounds and great in light to moderate snow.

189 ea through T/R...plus, they meet the load/speed ratings

CDNROCKIES

Our ML came with the Michelin's, while our X5 came with the Bridgestone's. I don't really notice any significant difference between the two other than that the Michelin's might be just a bit quieter. Ride comfort is essentially the same. My father just put the Conti ExtremeContacts on his X6 and I was amazed at how smooth and quiet they are. All 3 sets are 255/50/19's and RFT's. Personally, I think they're all good tires and would be looking at the best deal available for any of them.

jeme

CDNROCKIES - how do you like the 2010 X5 35D compared to the ML320 Bluetec?

CDNROCKIES

Here's the comparison I just posted on Bimmerfest discussing just this:

We picked up an '09 ML320 Bluetec in May of last year for the wife and I got a '10 X5 35d just last month. They are both very good vehicles that cater to vastly different drivers. The wife prefers the ride and comfort of her ML, while I prefer the added power and handling of the X5. They are also different, in that, our X5 is almost fully loaded and our ML is not. We chat all the time about if you could take the best of both vehicles you would have the perfect SUV (which doesn't exist...lol).

Strengths of the X5: it handles better than anything in it's class excluding the Cayenne; feels more like a sedan than a truck; the power delivery is fantastic...much, much quicker than the ML; the comfort seats are amazing; love the Premium Sound Package; service is included; love the HUD; the top view camera is a huge plus, especially in a tight garage like where I park; and I love the panoramic roof.

Weaknesses of the X5: the ride is a little rough over bumpy surfaces...which did improve with switching to non-RFT's for out winters; the diesel noise is significantly louder; the wind noise is quite loud; I can't figure out why the rear door will only open with the remote and not close it as well (both the ML and our old RX had this capability.); I don't like where the awkward phallus like gear shift is positioned; the image quality of the rear view camera is disappointing compared to my IS F; and we have already had it in the shop 3 times to deal with a faulty amp that didn't function correctly at delivery (which the dealer handled very well and compensated me with some free work ).

Strengths of the ML: very good, even great gas mileage....average about 30mpg on the highway and have got as high as 33mpg....combined average of about 25mpg (compared to about 27mpg highway/22 combined in the not fully broken in X5); the ride comfort is much smoother; surprisingly quiet in both diesel and wind noise; I actually got used to and like the third stalk on the steering wheel as it frees up useable space on the console; feels more like a truck than a car and personally, imho, it is one of the best looking SUV's out there (yes, I like the looks better than the X5...lol).

Weaknesses of the ML: feels like a slug compared to the X5 (it's not that slow...lol); steering is a little loose, especially compared to the X5; COMMAND is totally lame; the reliablity has been weak thus far....no "driveability" issues as the dealer likes to say...but lots of electronic glitches and we had a AdBlue pump freeze and need to be replaced.

Different strokes for different folks!

Messerchmidt

yokohama prada spec-x off tirerack.com

shawndh

CLK Group

Hands down the best tires I have ever put on my ML: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...n&autoModClar=

prohacvice

How do you guys feel about using MO v non-MO branded tires on the ML?

vardes

Totally agree. This is the 2nd set of Continental Extreme Contacts we have on both our 2008 ML350 and 2010 C300 Sport and we love them. They give a smooth comfortable ride and are great in summer, rain and expecially in the snow here in Michigan.