RedC230K

I live in the same town as truelove and I drove a total of about 75 miles today. No big whoop.
You condescending nay sayers should realize that it's all about how careful you are willing to be. I never felt unsafe today because I adjusted my driving to the conditions on the road. I think the C230K performs admirably... except maybe on icy inclines (I had to get a push once).
If some yahoo in an SUV slides into - well, there's nothing you can do in that case anyway.

Matt230K

Spinning on snow will not wear your tires much, if at all. Not only is there not enough friction to cause significant wear, the tires get real hard in the cold, so they wear slower when they are hard. I was spinning for over a minute today trying to get up a hill. I made it eventually, but it took a lot of work. ESP off and steering to keep the thing going straight.

Matt230K

I had always thought that weight in the rear was lacking in the coupe, but I had it confirmed today. On my dealer lot where I work, we have a bridge on a hill and it was snow covered all day. It was fine going down, but not up. My first attempt going up was in a '03 E320 and I didn't make it with ESP on, but I did with ESP off.

But then I tried it with a CLK430 with 17" tires. It was tough, but I made it with a lot of wheelspin and steering out of tail slides. But anyway, my coupe which now has 16" Michelin all-seasons was way worse than the CLK430. I did make it up, but I didn't think I would. I was moving at 1/4 mile an hour if that with the wheels spinning. ESP on has no chance in this situation. But considering the tires on my car should be better in the snow, it must be too light to keep traction. So I grabbed a couple bags of salt and threw them in the back. It seems that weight over the rear axle is not enough, and while I'm sure snow tires would help, I also don't need them much. We get 6-8 days of snow at the most here and the roads are usually salted pretty good. Today was pretty bad though. If I were to get snow tires, this would be the week to do it.

schwarz c230

I live close to the same area as Truelove, when we get snow it only last the day, it is usually gone the next morning it only snows here about 5-6 times max.

Tai230K

I don't see the point of snow tires unless your persistenly getting large amounts of snow falls..... all season performance tires are good enough... who's really going all that fast on a really snowy day.... and if they are.. whatevers haha

vadim

If you *already* have a set of hi-performance summer tires (such as Michelin Pilot Sport or Conti Sport Contact - as many do who opted for Evo/C7 package) which are useless - and downright dangerous - in the snow, then there is no point in getting all-season tires - they will be inferior to hi-performance summer tires in summer and to winter tires in winter. Even if you have a few snowfalls in your area - winter tires are a cheap insurance that may save your car - or your life (I know, this sounds very pathetic, but it is true nonetheless). Besides, there are situations when you just must be somewhere on that snowy day - I had a situation like this 2 weeks ago. Luckily, I also have a Volvo S70, which saved my butt (and my company) from a lot of trouble.

As of yesterday I've got a set of winter tires mounted on 16" C-Class sedan rims. Just tested them in real life (we have snow in Fairfax, VA - yet again!) - and I can't be happier. It really is a no-brainer to me.

eason

I don't know how is your driving style, but I still have appox 60% left after 16k km (10k mile). I sometime drive very fast in corners as well. However, I don't recommended this tire, for the same money, you can always get some better tires.

vadim

It doesn't make sense - as a matter of fact, it is an oxymoron - a low profile tire with a comfortable ride. You *want* them to have stiff sidewalls for handling (reason #1 to have low profile tires) and to better protect your rims from road imperfections. If you want comfort - go with 16" or 15" rims and high profile tires, soft springs etc.

bagwell

That's why I have 17's and not 19's. is it so hard to see I want the best of both worlds Vadim ? I luv the look of the AMG dual spoke wheel...BUT I didn't buy my car with the intention of making it try and handle like an F1 car...

amdeutsch

This thread is starting to be real entertainment. LOL
It brings back those much and often discussed question: To be or Not to be, or I want my cake and eat it to.

I really like this thread because it shows the diversity of the membership and their wants and wishes.

Thanx all for the education and insights. Keep it up please.

truelove

thanks for all your input guys, and thanks for looking out for me. yesterday afternoon the snow pretty much all melted on the roads or had been plowed and now it's completely gone. if i had spent yesterday morning putting snow tires on, i would now feel like an idiot. i'm not stupid and i know my limits and if you could only look out my window you would probably laugh at the thought of snow tires and perhaps even giggle at the thought that i absolutely need all-seasons or i would never be able to drive in the winter. to be honest, alot of people around here don't even realize there is such a thing as a winter dedicated tire. i guess i could buy some, they would make a very expensive coffee table or plant pot or something.

taylor192

Are you sure? Cause you can be ticketed for having tires that are worn too much, thus if you had an accident you could get a ticket for driving with worn tires, whcih could lead to a ticket for careless driving, which could lead to you assuming 100% fault for the accident which then means your insurance company tells you "up yours" and doesn't give you a penny... just wondering if they could apply the same law to wrong tires for conditions...

TimmyC230boy

it snowed here a little bit last night/early morning. We have maybe an inch or two on the ground. I have stock 16's with Kumho ECSTA supra tires. 225/50/16. They are fine in the rain and I was a little worried of how they would preform in the snow. So, I made sure our portable air compressor was full, and put it in the trunk, and let out 5psi from each tire. That way a little more tire will be on the road. Had some slush, and a few little icy patch's but all were taken care of without a problem. Starting off in a few places was tricky, then I put it in "W" mode and it was fine.

taylor192

Totally agree, the time and $$$ in reality is nothing when compared with the value of your vehicle, and the value of your life, and the lives of others around you... I mean if you want to cut corners just to save a few bucks... why not take some of the options off the car that really aren't going to provide you any real safety but cost around as much as a set of dedicated snow tires/rims... or do as my dealer offered (but I refused), put the snow tires/rims in as part of the bill of sale, and thus you don't have to pay for them upfront.

TimmyC230boy

Your car will be insured, whether you are driving on bald tires or new snow tires. Its an accident. Even if it is 100% your fault thats what collision insurance is for. What the difference if you rear-end a car or loose control and wreck it. either way its 100% your fault. Your insurance company will pay it, but you will pay for it for the next 3 years

amdeutsch

Laws differ from country to country. It sounds to me like Canada is like a lot of European countries in this regard. I don't know of any blanket laws like this in the US. Unless some lower form of government, state, county, city, has enacted something like this.

avlis

I think you want LESS tire on the road in snowy slushy conditions.

Wider is only better in snow when it is so deep that you need to float on top of it (like off-road).

Matt230K

It's true that skinny tires are best in the snow because you dig down into it and get better traction. But letting out air doesn't really make them that much wider.

What it does do is make them softer and it makes it easier to get started. Once you are moving, I don't think it matters much.

truelove

sorry i just have to giggle at this. are you a salesman for a snow tire manufacturer or something. it's like trying to sell someone in the arctic an ice-machine with a free air-conditioner to go with it.

maybe, MAYBE, if i were someone who likes to drive his car to the absolute edge of it's performance capabilities and owned a MB SL600 or something and for some strange reason wanted to drive it in the snow then i would opt for winter tires with awesome summer ultra high perf. summer tires. but i drive a sporty peppy little fun car that will do just fine with GOOD all-seasons.

did you hear what i said earlier, yesterday it snowed (and when i say snowed, i mean snow fell from the sky, not a blizzard) for roughly 5 hours and then it all melted.

i will NOT buy snow tires, i WILL buy all-seasons next year when the tread is gone on my current tires.

and why would i be cutting corners and disregarding my safety by not buying winter tires when the other alternative is to buy some and not ever use them because i guarantee you i would never put them on. i don't need them to drive on dry pavement in downtown Peoria, IL.

if you're trying to argue for all-seasons then you're preaching to the choir cause i will buy some next year. if you're trying to argue for snow tires, you're preaching to the devil.

taylor192

This is the first car I pay my own insurance on and really care about... but I understood the policy differently... if I was assigned 25% blame, the insurance company would only pay out 75% of what the damages total to my car... maybe I just understand insurance policies wrong as I have never had to use them...

taylor192

or maybe its the devil preaching to you...

anyways, I won't change my opinion, and you are entitled to yours, but I reserve the right to be the first person to say "I told you so" if anyone ever admits to having an accident in bad weather with the C7 tire package.

VoyagerDude

Hey taylor192,

take a number

RedC230K

So you're saying that if we (God forbid) would have a winter accident, it will automatically be attributed to the fact that we didn't listen to YOU guys?
As a person who responds to rescue calls when there is a car accident, I can tell you that "tires" rate pretty low in the list of causes of winter accidents - but "driver was a dumbass" rates pretty high!!!

taylor192

Even more reason for you Illinois guys to get winter tires... to be better prepared for all the "dumbass drivers" in your state... (and I won't comment on if you're one of them or not... lmao jj )

truelove

taylor192,

okay okay, i'm gonna give in and just say that YES, it would be safer to drive all winter long with winter tires, duh, this is obvious. but it would also be safer to have a 4-wheel drive truck with snow tires and chains on or a freaking tank for God's sake. and maybe we should all live in sterilized bubbles in a padded room so as to never get sick. if you're that frightened for your life, why did you buy a RWD sport coupe that is front heavy. you should be driving a 4WD Jeep. you're threatening your life to save a few bucks on a little car when you could be driving a jeep!! you're crazy.

there has been snow on the roads for a total of maybe 2 days this year (more patches of melted slush than snow), other than that COMPLETELY DRY ROADS. and guess what, when there was snow, my wife drove me.

i tell you what, you buy me some snow tires and i'll only put them on when i need them and i'll pay you $50 for everytime i put them on until i pay you back. i'd get a nice free set of brand new never been used tires, and 5 years from now i would still have a nice never been used set of tires sitting in the garage.

RedC230K,

do you even know anyone around here that owns a set of snow tires (besides those who live in the backwoods) and actually uses them? i'd never even heard of them until recently.