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Time for new tires for my wife's ML350. Current tires are Michelin Latitude Tour HP's. Overall these have seemed fairly good in both dry, wet, and snow. Only compliant is that they don't last long. I'd much prefer to have good and safe tires than long lasting though.
That depends entirely on your definition of better. There are cheaper tires, tires that will last longer, tires that will grip better in the summer and tires that will grip better in the winter - but all of these characteristics are mutually exclusive. There is no magical tire that will do everything better than most others and/or cost less to boot.
The Michelin Premier LTX is rated quite a bit better than the Latitude. Michelin has incorporated some new technology that make them a better tire for wet and cold weather conditions. There are some reviews and videos on the Tirerack website.
It's more expensive initially and more work since you have to switch twice a year but I think to get the "best" tire setup, you have to do summer tires and winter tires.
It's more expensive initially and more work since you have to switch twice a year but I think to get the "best" tire setup, you have to do summer tires and winter tires.
It's more expensive initially and more work since you have to switch twice a year but I think to get the "best" tire setup, you have to do summer tires and winter tires.
+1000 on this. You've heard the "Jack of all trades, master of none" saying? It is very true when it comes to tires - all-season or all-weather tires are goign to be passable in all areas, but not even very good at any one of them. If you want the best performance, get two sets.
Research the winter tires but can recommend Nokian's , Michelin Xi3 and Bridgestone Blizzaks.
If you end up getting different set/19" rims you'll gave some more choice as well.
Research the winter tires but can recommend Nokian's , Michelin Xi3 and Bridgestone Blizzaks.
If you end up getting different set/19" rims you'll gave some more choice as well.
Good suggestions but with one minor correction... the Michelin Xi3 is a passenger car, not an SUV winter tire. The Xi2 is the SUV winter tire.
The only non-studded SUV winter tires from the other two manufacturers nookie mentioned are the Nokian Hakka R2 and the Bridgestone DM-V2. I would also add Continental WinterContact SI to that group... all four are solid. I am partial to Michelins (have the Xi3s and Xi2s on my C63 and ML respectively) but all four are decent choices.
We use to swap tires for winter & summer. For the past decade or so though we've not found that necessary compliments of better clearing of roads and improved vehicle handling and braking. Swapping tires would still be the best of both worlds but not necessary any more, at least for us.
Yes, 'better' is a tough one. I'd not want to give up grip/handling in summer or winter. I'd be willing to pay a bit more to improve one or both or perhaps give up a little of the already short life of the Latitudes.
Has anyone any experience with the Continental CrossContact LX Sport?
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Has anyone any experience with the Continental CrossContact LX Sport?
IIRC those were the OEM all-seasons that came on most W166 MLs sold in Canada (the Mercedes MO tires). I am sure they're OK for soccer moms driving around town if Mercedes put their seal of approval on them. Most CPO MLs in the lot at the local MB dealer still have them on. Having said that, IMHO they are awful in the snow. They inspired so much confidence in the white stuff that I took them off two days after I picked up the car last November (there was already some snow & slush on the ground) and put on a set of Michelin Xi2s on the OEM rims to use in the winter. It's a 5,500 lb truck... the additional 40' of stopping distance from 30 mph matters to me a fair bit.
Not sure what size tires you have but I recently installed Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 tires on my ML350. I have aftermarket 21" wheels on my ML so my tire size is: 295/35ZR21 107Y.
These are an all season tire with a 50K mile warranty on them. I have only had them on for about 5K miles, but so far I really like them!
Unfortunately no studs allowed in most of MN. From what I've been reading the DWS's are great tires but the Latitude Tour HP's do a noticeably better job in the snow and aren't really any worse in other areas except longevity.
Unfortunately no studs allowed in most of MN. From what I've been reading the DWS's are great tires but the Latitude Tour HP's do a noticeably better job in the snow and aren't really any worse in other areas except longevity.
As I pointed out above, the Michelin Premier LTX outperforms the Latitude by a large margin in the wet and snow. I went through the same choice as you and and went with the Premier. I am very pleased - quiet, smooth and excellent grip in dry and wet. I have limited experience in the snow so far, just a few inches in northern PA, but the grip seemed quite good. As I stated earlier, check out Tirerack's test results for the Premier.
And yes, pure winter tires are the best choice in snow, but the OP made it clear that he wanted to go the all season route.
People looking for all season tires to use in the snow. They should look at the newest category of tires that has the snowflake on the side. They have special compounds for cold weather. They meet the requirement of snow tires yet can be used all year around. So if you are in a location that requires snow tires, these meet that. Also, not sure, but I have read that in some places that require chains , ie mountain passes etc, you can use for snow tires if you have 4 wheel drive.
I previously was running the Michelin Premier LTX. They were installed by the previous owner of the vehicle. I hated them because they were too soft, felt like a boat when driven hard around corners and I could see the tire outside edges being scrubbed by road on those corners. I am now running Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season Plus: https://www.pirelli.com/tires/en-us/...ll-season-plus. Corners a lot better without the scrubbing on the outside edges. Too soon to speak about mileage, as I have only put on around 10,000 miles. But so far so good. They are great in the rain, cannot speak to winter precipitation as I live in Dallas, TX.
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