Townshend

I owned a C63 and own a V8 Vantage (C63 was my daily) and decided to look for a car that might be better in the winter. Looked at a variety of options: RS5, Cayenne, Macan, etc.. While I enjoyed the Cayenne, I took a CLS63 out for a spin and fell in love. Living in Chicago in a few months time I will need to put a winter tire package on the car and wanted to see out of those who drive these in the winter what tires do you wear and how your experiences have been? Thanks!

TraumaDude

That doesn't look like a 4matic. Good luck no matter what tires. Aside from that...

I'd recommend running not just winter tires, but winter wheels. I go with Continental Extreme Contact DWS (Dry-Wet-Snow). But if you're going to be swapping skins every season- buy new wheels, then you just have to swap wheels which is better on the tires. I run 20s in the summer and 19s in the winter.

No matter what, good luck. And most of all, have fun!

Townshend

You're correct. She's a 2013, a MY shy of AWD.

wasupdu

I thought I was the only one who selected the CLS63 as a winter vehicle

I drove my '07 CLS63 through 3 WI winters with Blizzaks and while the traction wasn't perfect, I'd put it up against any front wheel drive car with all season tires. Winter tires make a world of difference.

The guys at TireRack will point you in the right direction, but I've always ran a square setup for winter (think four front wheels - all 8.5 width rather than the stock 8.5 front & 9.5 rear) with 245/35/19. A narrow contact patch on the snow will give you the best traction. Get spacers if the "tucked look" on the rear wheels makes you lose sleep at night. It didn't bother me for years, but I think I may get some this year.

I can't wait to see how my '13 CLS63 handles in the snow. I just picked up some extra 19" wheels, but I'm still on the fence about tires. Pirelli Scottozero's have been getting great reviews. Bllizzaks were great and I ran Michelin Pilot Alpin's on a previous BMW 5 series that I thought worked well too.

Good luck!

silvers2k

Congrats on the new ride!

I'm not planning on driving the merc in winter months but you should be fine with a set of good winter tires.

Pic to prove it

silvers2k

+1
if you go with slightly narrower tires, the traction will be better on snow (less contact patch to slip per tirerack). That being said, I was running a squared/narrower setup on the bimmer.

Yasser Haider

I live in Indianapolis... for that reason i went with a '14 AWD... Just didnt want to risk it with the snow..

wasupdu

True, but there's something about RWD that I absolutely love. With snow tires, it handles quite well.

AMGAffalterbach

Pretty much agree with everyone above. Probably the best performance winter tires out there are the Pirelli Sottozero 3, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2, Michelin Alpin PA4, and Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60. As far as studless ice and snow which are a little better on snow but lack the road manner of a performance winter tire are the usual suspects... the Nokian as mentioned, Bridgestone Blizzak WS80, and Michelin X-Ice Xi3. The Nokians are expensive but such a great tire...

I run some cheap GT Radial Champiro Winterpro HPs on a set of TSWs I just bought as winter wheels. I agree, it saves the tires and wheels, and is much easier in the long run. Even the best winter tire is better than your best all season tire, which is why I run an entry level winter (seeing as how I have 4-Matic).

otakki

Good summary there.

ACC2

I'm in the same boat, also looking for a winter tire package. Coincidentally, I have the exact same car and also live in downtown Chicago.

Right now I'm leaning towards a set Brailin BR02 wheels with Michelin PA4 tires. The good thing about the Braelin wheels is they come in a variety of offsets, so you can run (4) 8.5" wide wheels without having them sunk further in the wheel wells. Hopefully they'll look good on the car in the matte gunmetal. Where are you in Chicago?

Yasser Haider

What are the best deals on winter tires? The only two tire rack has are the Pirelli's and the Michelins... for the 19" stock wheels




$1124 for the Pirellis and $1207 for the Michelins..


is there a cheaper option available?

TraumaDude

Yes, buy a Prius. A set of four Blizzaks are $300.

But then your life won't be nearly as much fun!

AMGAffalterbach

19" snow tires is the reason, get a second set of 18" wheels and your options will open up greatly, or even better, 17s if you can stand the aesthetic hit

hyperion667

nice ride OP, must have missed this thread all together haha


I'd love an Aston martin someday.......someday

otakki

Yes, an AM might have an outdated and old engine and old electrics and be loaded with problems, but its combination of class+sport is something not matched by any other makers.

wasupdu

I found some 245/40/R19 Michelin Pilot Alpin tires on closeout at tire rack 3-4 weeks back for $670 shipped. The 40 sidewall size wasn't recommended, but a couple folks at tire rack who I talked with seemed knowledgable and said that there's plenty of clearance. I test fitted the rears the other day and everything appears to be fine.

I have a hard time believing that there's a 17" wheel available for our cars given the AMG brake caliper clearance. You may be able to find an 18" that'll fit. Personally, anything smaller than 19" destroys the look of the car.

AMGAffalterbach

True ^ Forgot the enormous size of your brakes, 18" is probably the smallest you can go, but looks like you've shopped around for tires before and didn't get totally screwed over on prices.