comtndriver

Hey all -

I have a new to us GLS 450 arriving soon, but it's currently outfitted with the 22" AMG rims. Being that I'm in Colorado, I'd prefer a severe rated all weather tire which obviously is not available in the stock 21 or 22" OEM benz wheel configs.

With that being said, can those with more understanding of vehicle dynamics and tire/wheel sizing please weigh in on this option. I've never seen anyone mention this, but I don't see why this isn't talked about more.

Is there a reason I couldn't buy another set of 9.5 x 22 'front axel' rims to fit a square setup for the rear by adding spacer to push the wheels out a bit more for closer to factory look? The oe 22"s are 285/45/22 on a 9.5 x 22 ET 45 and rear 325/45/22 on a 11.5 x 22 ET 47.

EWL5

There are two 21" options w/All-Season tires according to the MY25 Order Guide (pic attached). All 22" options are Performance Summer Tires. Your best bet is to get a second set of wheels or replace what you have.

AKSwift

Agreed entirely. I went to a 20inch square setup and had a good time last winter. Going back to the 23s was better looking, but much less comfortable...

Scttq

Funny you mention this, I had done this in the past on our X5 and just did this about a month back on my recently acquired GLS 580 with 22” wheels. I used 23mm spacers from H&R made specifically for the GLS, they are pricey but well worth it for the quality. These spacers bolt onto the hub and you use your original lug nuts to both the wheels to the spacers. 23mm puts the wheel face exactly even with the original rears. There are a ton of good all season options in 285/45/22, I did the Pirelli WeatherActive.

streborx

If you're looking for all season tires that will perform year-round, you'll find the best selection, price and availability in a 20" squared up setup. I changed out my X7's staggered 22" performance runflats for 20" squared with Michelin CrossClimate 2s. Whatever you decide, if you want a real all season tire, go with one that is 3MPSF (3 mountain peak snowflake) rated, not one that is simply M+S rated.

EWL5

I wouldn't say that!

A casual search for All-Season tires for a MY24 GLS450 (should be same as MY25) at Costco shows Michelin Primacy AS for the 285/45R22 (front) and zero options for the back (325/40R22)!
BJ's has no 22" Mercedes OEM tires.
Tirerack only has summer OEM options for 22".

I think you should really walk back your statement as it's nearly impossible to find 22" or 23" OEM Mercedes tires if you want All-Season/Winter!
I tried to replicate either a 22" Pirelli Scorpion Weatheractive or Pirelli Cinturato Weatheractive on Tirerack and get "Tire is Not Available for Your Vehicle".

Scttq

Read my statement again, did I say anything about the rear size? I think you should really walk back your statement.

This conversation is about using front wheels all around, we all know the rear size is a problem.

Scttq

The spacers I would suggest are H&R 46556655, you can find them online with shipping from Europe.

Tire Rack carries 6 different 3MPSF all season tires in XL range 285/45/22 and 28 more that are standard all season tires.

EWL5

My search was for the staggered setup so if the front sizes were readily available, they would show up (I fully understood you're running a square 22" setup).

Does the fact that I did a search on Tirerack for your Weatheractives and finding nothing for 22" tell you anything?

Scttq

Lol, pretty sure you are completely missing the point here. This isn't a theory, I am using this setup.

You need to search by tire size, Tire Rack doesn't show you tires that only fit the front wheel size when searching by vehicle, that would be super annoying for 99.99% of the people searching.

EWL5

I don't doubt that you have them. My point is 22" AS are hard to find!

Scttq

Search by size, there are 34 all season XL rated 285/45/22 options on Tire rack.

comtndriver

This is exactly what I was thinking (and the same tires too). Talked to dealership yesterday and they didn't seem to have any problem, but said there could be issue with the 9.5" front wheel clearing the rear calipers and/or ebrake. They said they'd just have to try....but if I used spacers, I just can't see what the problem would be.

What I don't understand is why haven't other looked at this as a solution, I see so many posts of frusteration from people about A/S(or all weather) options, and this seems like a relatively simple solution albeit with the costs of buying another set of front rims.

The Perellis weatheractives are severe snow rated too. Can you comment on any ride quality differences after moving to the weatheractives in a square setup?

EWL5

I would ask the dealer about making warranty claims with spacers in place. Mercedes may see this as an "out" for making any in-warranty repairs! You'd be surprised what dealers will go through to not pay up!

AKSwift

I'm intrigued by this comment. Are you saying that you'd buy one set of two wheels and swap the other set of fronts to other tires twice a year?

Scttq

I haven't been running this setup very long at all which is why I hadn't posted anything about it. No noticeable difference in daily driving so far and no problems with fitment using the spacers I named.

Based on my past experience doing the same on my X5, make sure you clean the spacer to rotor mating surface well with a wire wheel or similar and use anti-seize on the mating surface including the hub centric flange. DO NOT get anti-seize on any of the bolts or threaded inserts, this will screw up your lug nut torque and likely cause over torque damage.

Scttq

I'll just run AS tires year round with the 9.5" fronts all around but you could swap in the original rear wheels in the summer and change out the front tires to match.

Note, many of the AS tire options have a much longer tread life rating (for what that's worth) and are cheaper.

comtndriver

Correct. Please read original post. This is about using the OE front 22" AMG rims in the rear for a square setup using MB rims in a 22" size.

comtndriver

BTW, for the 22's, this is the Perelli all weather. These are 3PMSF (Three Peak Mountain Snowflake).

comtndriver

Yeah, I'll for sure be exploring this. With those new aftermarket laws I thought they'd have to prove the spacers caused the issue (which for all I know they could, I have to talk to some guys experienced in suspension design to really dig into this). The guy in the MBenz parts department said if they fit, he would not use a spacer and they've done that type of square setup for a long time at the dealership without concern. I think it'd look pretty funny being over an inch and a half in from stock, but yeah...needs to be confirmed.

Scttq

I don't think we will ever see dealers onboard with using aftermarket parts like a wheel spacer, there is no upside to them for recommending. My BMW dealer never had an issue with the spacers, I don't think they even noticed, but that's apples and oranges.

Something to consider...several years back I brought my GLS 550 into the dealer with a leak around the shark fin antenna on the roof. They confirmed the leak was just due to the cover loosing its seal to the roof and the cost to repair was ~$1200. I told them to holdoff on the repair and I would pickup the car. When picking it up, a couple mechanics were hanging around the pick up area and I asked them what the deal was since the antenna cover was only like $60. They said they need to follow what the MB repair instructions dictate (remove headliner, replace all internal parts, antenna needs to be painted, etc), they aren't supposed to improvise solutions but they strongly hinted that the repair would be very simple outside of the dealer. Long story short, someone on the x166 forum sent me the MB work instructions on how to replace the antenna cover which showed how to remove the original and using windshield urethane to seal the new cover in place. I carefully removed my old cover, cleaned it up and reinstalled using the recommended adhesive. Total cost was about $22 and 35 minutes of my time. There is some risk vs reward consideration to how you approach things like this.

streborx

Whether I was a dealer or an aftermarket tire shop, I would not take responsibility for installing spacers. If you do it yourself, don't go cheap by not buying a new set of longer lug bolts to compensate for the spacer thickness. Just because you can torque them to spec doesn't mean they're adequately seated.

Scttq

I'd go step further and say don't use a spacer designed to be used with longer lug nuts. The ones I use/recommend are made in Germany by H&R and are TUV certified, the spacer bolts to the hub with low profile bolts they include and you use your original lug nuts to attach the wheel to the spacer. There are made specifically for the GLS and cost around $250 delivered to the US, not $50 sketchy Amazon/eBay no names.

https://www.h-r.com/en/article/?arti...uppliernr=4311

streborx

I was looking at a similar spacer to provide a bolt pattern adaptation, but the minimum spacer thickness was 3/4" (19mm) which was more offset than I was comfortable with. I assume there's a similar minimum thickness for the H&R?

Scttq

Check the H&R website but I think the 23mm was the smallest of this style. You need the depth to counter sink the spacer to hub lugs and also for the treaded inserts.