truelove

zimmer26


you're thinking about getting all-season tires like me.

so then you're not threated by the ruining of your nice C7 rims in the winter?

avlis

uh...yes. And it even has a spare, an air compressor, and cute little gloves so we won't get our poor hands dirty.:p

truelove

whoa, where is all this cool stuff? (yup, RTFM) i will sometime.

avlis,
it seems you're getting annoyed with me (you keep rolling your eyes at me ). i just ask alot of stupid questions. i'm thankful for getting answers though. no really, where is all the cool stuff?

amdeutsch

RTFM

Tai230K

Hey truelove79

I just got the sumitomo's HTR +'s on my c7 wheels...... i have to say they are pretty decent... BUT.. i had some problems going up a 30 degree ascent... i don't remember having this much trouble with my MXv4's...... must be the snow conditions..... (very mild snow conditions last year)

avlis

I'm not annoyed, I just have something in my eye.:p :p

I don't mind stupid questions. It's stupid answers some people give that REALLY bother me (this thread not included).

tommy

Not to rag on you, but if you get some time this weekend, take some time to read the manual. There really is a ton of info that you should know about your car that's tucked away in there, like how to adjust the stereo settings (really helps to have the setting that you like most selected on there), hvac controls, and emergency stuff that you should know before you need to know.

I used the jack on Monday to put on my steelies. That whole area is so amazing to me, even down to the baggie that they give you for the spare.

Food for thought for your decision: you'll have to rotate the tires down the road, so factor that into the equation (with the changeover in the spring if you go with steelies, you avoid that once, assuming that you'll do the swap yourself). Also, any all-season leaves you wanting more in the summer; I don't think that I'd be happy with all-seasons for summer driving. Also, I don't think that you'd get much for your stock C7 tires, especially this time of the year, and especially if they're the Contis (YUCK!).

Good luck, whatever you do. Unless you've ordered the Sumis already.

Oh, just to continue with Avlis' theme:

zimmer26

I think the folks were referring more to the tire place scuffing them when unmounting and mounting your new all seasons. If I planned to keep the car long term I would get a set of 16s with 205/55 Nokians- no question. But as long as I've got my MR2 equipped with NRWs- I have my snow car and a fun one at that. But no, I wouldn't be afraid to switch them off- you're gonna have to at some point anyway- my C7 Contis have 13k on them and the rears are already pretty much toasted. So I figured I'd be willing to sacrifice a bit on the snow capability side to retain excellent dry handling. If I didn't have my snow car it would be already wearing Nokian V rated all weather WRs on the C7s (all season with emphasis on snow), no doubt.

truelove

tommy, sorry, i really will read the manual but my life is very hectic right now with a new wife, new apartment, and now a new car. i haven't sat down once in the past week, except at work. my wife and i have been putting up the x-mas tree and cleaning the apartment and all that. the wife will be gone this weekend to her parents house so i will read it then. i just have no patience so i ask these questions without waiting to RTFM. thanks for all the answers though.

okay, you're probably gonna all yell at me or something but, i'm keeping the stock C7 tires for this winter. i've talked to 2 people on this forum who live or have lived in illinois and other people not on this forum who have driven the winters here on the performance tires. some of them have winter tires for their performance cars and never even put them on here in illinois. they told me not to worry about it, just take it easy and all the electronics in the MB will keep me on track, it's doable. i will replace the tires with all seasons next year when the tread wears off. like i've said, i'm used to a 92 cougar with bad tires, RWD, and no ABS. it was a pain (i'm willing to bet it was even worse than it's gonna be on the MBs performance michelins) driving that thing in the winter but i'm used to it. and if the weather gets really bad, i won't take the car out at all. sorry, i debated for days about this and i'm thankful for all the advice. i know i'll get it for this, but i guarantee all of you, i can handle it.

zimmer26

Can you elaborate on that? How does the dry/wet handling/braking compare to the original summers that were on your C7s? Were you at the point where you had so much slippage that you had to turn esp off to get anywhere? Were the roads covered in white?

Thanks in advance,
Zim

zimmer26

Don't mind those irritable, jaded veterans that are so prevelant here. They should learn to say nothing if they don't have don't feel you asked a worthy question. But anyway, I'd like to strongly advise you against believing the crap about you're OK to leave your summers on. YOU'RE NOT!! With one inch of snow on the ground I barely got up a BABY hill. I had to take ESP off and spin the daylights out of them to make it out of the place where we stayed in Lake Placid, and that's when they had less than 2K on them! Try if you want, but I think you're doing yourself a tremendous disservice, seriously.

tommy

Hey, it's your life.

Just kidding; I'm sure that you'll be fine. But, do make sure to post how you like the tires, as it seems that you're not the only one wanting to go with this kind of setup on your ccoupe (or hatch - recent SoCal sighting, so having those old issues come up again).

zimmer26

I don't recall where in Illinois Peoria is- (central?), but if they get near the ammout that Chicago gets I'd say you'll be in several scary situations. Unless you have the luxury of staying home when the road are bad- in which case it won't really matter. Otherwise, your saving a little $ and hassle but losing safety. On my ride home yesterday, cars were stroon along the sides of the road, stuck in a ditch, shoulder, ect. I am 100% convinced that if I drove my C230 to work, I wouldn't have made it home- simple as that. But, its your call.

truelove

you don't all seem to understand just how crappy my cougar drove in the snow (the tires are shot). i couldn't make it up my parents driveway last year and it's a slight hill. and yes i do have the luxury of not taking the car out anytime i feel i shouldn't. i can guarantee i will be fine. like i said, i've talked to someone who lives 15 minutes (he's on this forum) from me and he drove on the exact tires i have last year and he said they were fine, no problems. i will drive slow and careful, even if i have to **** off the people behind me. and if it does get stupid to drive, then i will go out as soon as i can and get some all-season or winter tires put on right away.

zimmer26

Well alright then, but I bet your Cougar had crappy all seasons and not a 225mm wide summer tires. If you look up your tires on tirerack.com under survey results, for snow traction it has in crimson red N/A (definitely not acceptable.) I'll leave you with that thought.

truelove

i know, i've read all the info on the web. but i've also actually TALKED to people that have actually DRIVEN on these tires IN THE SNOW where i live. and i promise that if i have major problems, i will go out that day or the next and get appropriate tires.

EDIT: after talking to my wife, i've decided that if there is snow on the ground at all, we will car pool or i will just drive her car or something. i will not endanger myself. why coulnd't MB just stick the pilot sport all-seasons on the car.

zimmer26

OK, I didn't really think about that fact that Illinois is about as flat as they get and the roads as straight so my troubles getting home from the 4000+ft. peaks of the Adirondacks doesn't really apply to you. See, I actaully CAN be objective! Be careful anyways, and go with a good all season once the summers wear out.

truelove

thank you zimmer for understanding. i'm not stupid. i have really been racking my brain these past couple of days. i really did listen to everyone and their advice, but i take into account more people's advice who actually live here, sorry. but i promise, if there any more than just a teany tiny bit of snow on the ground, i will NOT drive my car, period. and yes, illinois is flat. i have no hills where i live. next year, i will get the sumitomo all-season or shell out more money for some pilot sport all-seasons.

mctwin2kman

Yes but did you care as much for your Cougar and recking it as you do for your new baby??? Anyway I am getting the 16's for mine after I get it, but I live in PA and they have no idea of what a snow plow is or how to use it. Until it stops snowing.... And the C230 will be my primary car, as when it is snowing the wife will not drive it. When it is dry it will most likely be in her possession as she care what she drives and she has a longer distance to go. Fortunatelly for me she is not as happy driving in snow as I am. BUt I grew up in Upstate NY in snow country north of Syracuse so it is all fun for me. Expcept these damn PA drivers.... Good luck with whatever you chose. I guess it all depends on how long you are keeping the car and how much snow you do actually get and how often. It has not snowed much here in SouthCentral PA the last few years, but we got 8 inches yesterday and it reminded me how unprepared the Road Crews are. SO I will need something more than the C7's to get through.

Edit: Plus you could always change your mind and buy them next year. Rather save the money and frustration if you do not really need them.

truelove

actually yes, i did care about my cougar very much. i loved that car, and still love it (since it's still in my posession, soon to not be). and i never EVER once did any damage to it due to the weather (even with it's crappy winter driving capabilities). you don't seem to understand people, which is understandable if you don't live in central illinois. let me give you the scoop. illinois is flat which means no hills pretty much AT ALL. and i WON'T be driving on the tires when there is any more than just a teany tiny bit of snow on the ground and if there is more, the car will stay home. and i probably don't understand where all of you are coming from either. i've never had to put up with hills (what all of you would call hills anyway), except in the summer on vacations. i'm not stupid, i will not going tooling around in snow drifts and slush with summer tires, duh. i just need to be able to get to work (on a road that is straight with no hills), when there is a little bit of snow on the ground, like so little that you can still see the road under it. and yes, i am listening to everyone and i thank everyone for their advice.

and when it comes to winter dedicated tires, if you mention them here in illinois (unless you're talking about a tractor or riding lawn mower) you'll get weird looks. we just don't need them, period.

Matt230K

Just put a little weight in the back of the car and you should be fine on those days with just a little bit of snow. I changed to 16" wheels with Michelin MXV4's, but I still think the car needs some more weight in the back end. They don't grip quite as well as I expected, but they get me by. I'm going to get a sand bag though and that should help. A full tank of gas should make a difference too because that weight is almost right over the rear axle.

mctwin2kman

Oh I understand TrueLove I was more explaining myself so you woudl have another point of view. I am used to hearing about Chicago weather, and I assume you are below them and don't get the snowfall they get. And I am sure you will find out how good or bad your car handles in the snow and make appropriate adjustments to get what you want out of the car. Myself I will need the snows and 16 inch wheels. Although I will most likely get all-season and the 16's so I do not have to worry about it when the snow melts and I still get good traction on the dry pavement.

schwarz c230

I live in Champaign Illinois it not very far from Peoria, we do not get even close to Chicago snowfall, I think it snowed like 4 times last year, and it was gone by the end of the day. I bought a set of the the factory 16's for winter because, I did get a deal on them, I thought it would double the life of my summer tires, they look almost as good as the c7 wheels, and I am a little Paranoid about sliding into a curb, or hitting a pothole, plus noway will my wife drive me to work, I think you will be fine with your Summer-tires, especially since if we actually get more than an inch of snow your wife can drive you, btw if you decide to sell your c7 tires for a decent price, I will come get them, I think mine will only last about 15000 miles.

Pan Da

Currently driving a 2002 C230K 6 speed with 17" summer tires + brembo brakes. Considering to purchase winter tires, but don't know which option is best?

1) keep existing rims + brembo brakes, purchase 4 new 17" winter tires
2) purchase a set of 16" rims + winter tires, and sell the brembo brakes

Which would perform better in snow and in normal condition?

Lynn

Where do you live and how much driving in the snow will you be doing?

The summer tires and Brembo brakes are better when there is no snow or ice, and the snow tires are better when there is, of course.