[earthian]

Hello guys:
Would like some advise. I have a Mercedes GLE 250d (2017) which i use for long road trips. The OEM tyres were Continental - ContiSportContact 255/55/R18. During 2018 i had been to forests in MP and Maharashtra and i had a blow out. Since the car had done only 10,000 kms, i replaced two of the tyres with Michelin Latitude Sport 3 - 255/55/R18.

Last year i drove to Uttarakhand and since the Continental tyres were prone to punctures, had carried an extra tyre (without rim), since the spare is a baby tyre. . I had the obligatory puncture in the Continental tyre at Ranikhet (thankfully not in the wilderness) and there were no issues after that. I kept the tyre pressure at 40 psi ( higher than the recommended 35 psi) since the roads in Uttarakhand were quite bad at places with sharp rock fragments.

I plan to drive to Uttarakhand again this April and have been mulling about what tyre change i need to do. The Michelins in the front have done 10,000 kms whereas the Continentals in the rear have done 20,000 kms. The options are:

1. Continue as is and carry the spare tyre. The problem is that it occupies space and secondly, tyre change service for tubeless tyres is not available easily in the mountains and forest areas. At best, the person does a jugaad change which damages the rim spokes.
2. Buy another two Michelin Latitude tyres. Though they are not AT tyres, they seem to be less puncture prone than the Continental ones.
3. Buy 4 new AT tyres for such trips and change back to the old tyres for normal use. The problem here is , apart from a waste of money, that the car is mostly used for long trips and our appetite has been mountains and jungles. Reaching the mountains and jungles involves long highway driving (~1000 kms one way) and hence we may have to tolerate the higher noise and lower ride comfort. If we choose this option, then which tyre should be best suited?

I presume that the option of changing the rear tyres to AT, and keeping the front with the Michelin latitude Sport may not be the ideal solution.
So what would be the best course of action? Would appreciate some thoughts.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by earthian

Buy another two Michelin Latitude tyres. Though they are not AT tyres, they seem to be less puncture prone than the Continental ones.

This is what I would recommend. Also remember that, contrary to popular opinion, new tyres should go at the back (not front) - related thread (Where to Install a New Pair of Tyres? Front or rear?).

[earthian]

Originally Posted by GTO

This is what I would recommend. Also remember that, contrary to popular opinion, new tyres should go at the back (not front) - related thread (Where to Install a New Pair of Tyres? Front or rear?).

Thanks GTO. I went through that thread. While there seems to be conflicting opinion among members, i guess the tyre manufacturers (Michelin) would know what they are talking about.

Your suggestion for getting two new HT tyres was based on maximising value and utilisation. Right?

[ajmat]

Oh and by the way, ensure there is not more than 3mm difference between the tread depth of the old tyres and the new ones. A large difference in wheel diameters will confuse the 4WD system and wear out the central differential

I would replace all 4 tyres ideally

[earthian]

Originally Posted by earthian

I plan to drive to Uttarakhand again this April.... [*]Buy another two Michelin Latitude tyres. [*]Buy 4 new AT tyres for such trips and change back to the old tyres for normal use.

Originally Posted by GTO

This is what I would recommend. Also remember that, contrary to popular opinion, new tyres should go at the back (not front) -

Originally Posted by ajmat

I would replace all 4 tyres ideally

The lockdown cancelled our plans. We plan to go on October 10th or so to HP and stay put in a remote homestay.

The problem is that the imports of tyres have been curtailed at present. Michelin Latitude tyres are not available in Ahmedabad, and where available, they want to sell a set of four. There are two tyres available of 2018 manufacture and hence i rejected that.
Pirelli Scorpion Zero and Verde tyres are available, but in the Scorpion Zero the size is 255/60/R18 instead of the normal (GLE) 255/55/R18. The aspect ratio increase by a factor of 5. An increase of ½ inch if my calculations are right. To compound the problem, i recently bought a full size spare alloy wheel and have fitted it with one of the old 255/55/R18 tyres. So if i change to Scorpion Zero, would this spare tyre be useful?