Pweb

What are you planning to do with your C230 in winter, when it starts to snow? I'm not talking to people from Florida or CA, where there is no snow

viper

Well if you got C7 you won't be going anywhere in snow or ice. But if you have the base model all season tires or snow tires you should not have any problems at all.

VoyagerDude

Even models with C7 (Evolution) are perfectly OK with PROPER winter tires (I used Michelin Pilot Alpin) on the same rims. The driveability was awesome.

Trust me, I live in Calgary. We had a snowstorm on Monday. Need I say more?


P.S. Swithing tires twice a year, esp. Michelins can wear down your rims.

Mark08859

I plan to replace the 17" C7 wheels with 16" inch wheels. If all goes well either Dunlop Winter Sport or Nokian Hakka Q's winter specific tires will be mounted on them. The C7s will go back on in March/April.

Now if I could only convince my brother to store the unused wheels in his garage.......

Iceman's C230

I have an Focus ZX3 for winter's. I put away the c230 in the garage when winter hits. I think it is a good idea to have an 2nd car for harsh winters, like here in calgary.

Bud

I have the standard wheels and standard Michelin all season tires. I was not happy with how it handled just an inch of slippery snow. The esp light was on constantly and it was very hard to get going even on a flat surface. If you're going to be driving it in snow, I would definitely recommend snow tires.

zimmer26

There is only one tire that does all very well- Nokian NRW's. An H speed rating so there is a small performance sacrifice but no more than any all season IMO, and it kicks butt in the snow, and wears long too. I must have at least 15 on mine and there going strong- my guess they'll make 25k easy. I've had pure snows on my cars- Yoko Gaurdex, Blizzaks and think these go damn near as well in the snow as those did. Try them, you'll like them. They're a bit tough to find (around me anyway.) I bought mine from etires.com. Happy rubbering.

DtS

In my opinion a rwd Benz has nothing to do in snow if not equipped with REAL (studded) winter tires. Those all seasson tires is not as good pure summer tires in the summer seasson and way worse than studded winter tires in the winter seasson. My suggestion is that you buy a set of studded tires on steel rims to have during winter.

Just my .02

zimmer26

Unless you add a few hundred pounds in the rear quarters, then you're good to go. Depends where you live. If it snows upwards of 10' per year, go with the Q's or studded (I think some places don't allow them) but I could be wrong. My point is for moderate snowfalls and reasonably sporty driving they're a great alternative for those who don't want to switch every 6 months. Or don't use them as the winter tire so as not to give up all of your handling which is what I did on my MR2. But I'm leaving them on full time now as I think they're perfectly acceptable in the summer too, and its become my 2nd car and don't feel like plunking down 5 bills on new summers.

zimmer26

That's JUST (not don't) use them as winter tires as I did, and with great success actually. I had no problems driving in a few serious 1' storms, they worked well for me. Best $ I ever spent on tires without question.

Spyke

That's alright in Sweden, but in most (all?) areas of the USA, studded tires are illegal on public roads. Once the roads are plowed, the studs tear up the road surface.

DrMike

I agree with Zimmer about the Nokian NRW's. I ran them last winter, in our snowless winter however. The highway handling is great, much better than the blizzaks or michilin artic that are on my other cars.

The Nokian web site is worth a visit for the detailed discussion of different driving conditions and different tire needs. It was a real education about the differences in Scandanavian winter driving and German winter driving. Also, fro example, in CT winter driving most often involves wet roads.

One addition to Zimmers note about availability. The Nokians were not hard to find here. My trusty local 3rd generation family owned tire shop got them for me no problem. Their price was just about $5 more/tire than etires, but I got free mounting and all the advantages of dealing with a company that I have used for 20 years.

galaxygrrl

Just some to California, life is good with less snow and more beaches.

DtS

I'm on my way!