cmginc

My '13 ML550 needed new tires at 24k miles. Stock was Conti CrossContact LX Sport P265/45/20 and I was never happy with them. Dealer priced them at $410 each... shopped around and decided to go with a slight change in size and a different brand: P275/45/20 and Yokohama Parada Spec-X.

Instruments stay in line with a minor change, so that's not an issue. What I have seen is a quieter ride, better and flatter handling, and shorter stopping distances, especially in the wet. The best part is that the tires were only $155 each from Tire Rack.

Just thought I would share my experience...

Thimee

I have the exact same vehicle, mileage etc. The stock Conti's weren't too bad for the first two winters, I regularly drive I-70 in winter in Colorado and no issues even in pretty severe snow/ice, such as a storm where other 4x4's and SUV's can't even get going on Vail pass, I had no problems.

I'm now at 22K miles, service advisor told me last month that I have a few thousand miles of tread remaining - however... it's pretty icy out today, I almost slid into a rock feature turning into a parking lot (I was driving cautiously at probably 10-15MPH). On the way home I tried a few wiggle turns at 20MPH on an empty road, and found myself facing sideways. Yikes - I see we're on "accident alert" tonight because of ice: http://on9news.tv/1HyKS5R so I guess it was a good evening to find out that the OEM Conti's really only last 20K miles.

Are those Yokos you bought all seasons? Specifically, do they have a M+S rating on the sidewall?

I'm eyeing out some Pirelli Winter Tyres, thinking to run them in summer as some reviewers suggested they would be decent all year (not just winter). A $1,666 gamble that they won't wear out at 10,000 miles? Hmmm...

Barry45RPM

Just to note... I have always gotten 45K+ miles on Michelins on my MBs. Expensive... but to me worth it. I've got 12,000 mi so far on the OEM Dunlops that came w/ the car in November 2014. (rotated at 10K service Nov 2015)

cmginc

Yes, the Yokohama's are all season and highly rated on Tirerack.com and DiscountTire.com for snow and ice. I looked at that as I am in the Midwest and get a fair amount of snow and ice.

Thimee

Have you had a chance to test them out in the snow that's blowing over to your part of the world yet?

I'm very tempted to get a set - can't beat that price, and the reviews are pretty good too. Most of the negative ones seem to be complaining about the mileage, but it seems that if you have a performance car like we do that you shouldn't expect more than about 20-30K miles from all-season tyres.

I guess for the best traction/performance/mileage one should get an extra set of rims (saw some refurbished 20" AMG rims on eBay for about $200/rim), and have two sets of wheels - one for summer and one for winter, but that's such a pain to have to switch over every 6 months.

cmginc

No snow for me yet but I will post once I do... as for the mileage, I don't mind if I only get 20-25k if the replacement cost is reasonable. The Pirelli PZero's I had on my C63 lasted 4k miles and the Yoko's I replaced them with lasted until I got rid of it and were half the cost with no drop in performance or handling.

gplank

Thanks for sharing this, particularly how you successfully used the wider/taller tire size. How did you adjust your instruments to accommodate them? Is this something I could do as a non-mechanic, or do I need to professional service to accomplish?

cmginc

I didn't change anything because it is only a 1% change. For example, if the speedometer reads 60mph, the actual speed is 60.6mph. It's not enough for me to worry about and stays within the metrics for other Mercedes-Benz sensors.

gplank

Oh, now I understand what you meant, thx.

But now wonder, what's the advantage of going with the P275/45/20 size instead of the recommended P265/45/20?

How much of the benefits of your tire change (i.e., quieter ride, better and flatter handling, and shorter stopping distances, especially in the wet) is due to the Yokohama Parada Spec-X alone?

cmginc

It was a combination of things, including a wanting a slighter wider tire, not paying a premium for a tire that I didn't like, and the Parada was reviewed nicely. That's all...