Cars built for Canada do not have sensors in the wheels but instead use the ABS wheel speed sensors. Less accurate but no maintenance on sensors to deal with.

 

First of all, if I could get a deal on a brand new Aston Martin, I WOULD!!!

Nokians are cheaper when you are the distributor (Explains why I "got" a deal)
NOTE: They are pricey because they are the BEST

This will be my second winter on this set, my last car had low profile 19's and my wife's sienna has low profile 20's for winter and HAVE NEVER HAD A CRACKED OR DAMAGED RIM....... I've sold 100's of "low profile" winters, and they are just fine unless you are a dummy and don't know how to drive in the winter.

 

Agree that Nokians are great tires for those who can find them easily for sales/service and willing to pay the price. But, no, they are expensive because of the business model involved in producing tires in Finland, shipping to North America, international taxation/customs issues, and market acceptance for the brand perception. The product is the product, but the price is driven by margin objectives over cost, plus profit maximization for a given volume objective. If they added another plant and decided to target maximum market share, the same tire would suddenly sell for less.

None of that takes away from how good they are, but the price/quality perception is often just that...a "perception", as I used to teach my business students.

 

I'd go for tirerack and get their recommended wheel and tires which is a sport edition AMG replica wheel with WS70 blizzaks then buy the OE MB wheel caps. For $1600-1800 delivered to Calgary is still way cheaper than buying locally not to mention the bad looking wheels you can get locally. The blizzaks are really good and have tried them on my GLK and went to Whistler on some really deep stuff and they grip really good. I also found them really good on slushy, slippery highways and I can feel the car. If you want to see what these wheels look like on a C-class just say so and I'll grab 2 of the GLK wheels and line it up on the c-class for you.

 

Another Calgary guy here....I used Blizzaks on my '05 C230 (17x8 with 225-45-17) but now that I have a C350 4Matic, not sure if I'm going to put the winter tires on this year. Anyone else with 4Matic's in Calgary that can comment?

I originally bought them from tirerack and have had good experiences with them in the past. The shipping to Canada seems quite excessive, but it was cheaper this way than buying locally, even after paying to have them put on my car. Tirerack also tailors wheels and tires to your OEM specs and if you check the sizes and offsets of their recommended wheels, you can figure out the range of specs that will work for your car.

Another issue that I learned the hard way is the length of your lug bolts for non-OEM wheels will vary. Too long and they'll damage the brake rotor assembly, too short and you may lose a wheel! The OEM lug bolts won't always work.

 

Thanks for the comment. I am debating between Blizzak WS70 and X-Ice Xi2. I heard good stories about Xi2 as well. Does anyone know why the LM25 is more expensive than WS70? Is it meant for more icy climate?

 

I would not get the LM series. They are supposedly "performance winter" tires which means not the best performance, nor the best winter tire. An attempt to be the best of both worlds can often fall in the middle and be neither. On the other hand, the WS series (was 60, now 70) is a non-studded tire developed to approximate the performance of a studded tire. The WS will provide the best winter capability.

 

Thanks Sportstick. I am still debating between X-Ice and Blizzak. Anyone who had ordered from tirerack and had it shipped to Canada, did you pay custom fees/broker fees/or any sorts of taxes when these tires get across border?

 

All the fees for shipping, brokerage, GST etc are included in the cost from tirerack. They just show up and you don't have to pay any extra, but the up-front cost is much higher.

 

Sure, I can get you DB9 at 9% off (which is am amazing deal on a 400K car) - do you have cash ready ? My point is that Nokians are expensive and not necessarily best price per value. Good deal on 400$ tire is still more than 250$ tire.
"I've sold 100's of "low profile" winters" - If you are distributor for Nokians, perhaps you may want to join as supporting member and pass savings to everyone on this board.
The fact that you are really careful and "know how to drive in winter" does not mean that everyone has your driving style and wants to watch for every bump and hole on the road, hence low profile tires for winter are not advisable and do not sell very well (at least in Toronto and I had learned it from 15 years in automotive business). This is why you can get a good deal on those...

Igor.

 

I love my WRG2s, much more than my former Blizzaks. BUT, Auto Motor und Sport published their winter tire tests (in the high Alps, all one size on one car) a few weeks ago. They tested about twenty tires and the Nokian test scores were about mid-pack (!) and Blizzaks were not at the top either. I gave the magazine away but I may get it back next week and will review the article again.

My Nokians (with snowflake) came from a tire store in Michigan which was MUCH cheaper than anyplace else, even with shipping. So, I'm well prepared for our 2-3 annual snow days. But then, my Bridgestones (at the time) were worthless in snow.Two snowflakes and you are in the ditch.

 

Am I the only one in Calgary and drives RWD??

 

I visited Calgary once...Stampede was great! Does that count?

 

Yeah Stampede is nice but the winter is a different world XD it's brutal

 

Is it normal that the road noise on the winter tire is much louder than the stock Continentals all season I had?

 

First, take the dealers word with a cup of salt.

There is no larger brake disc with the C350 "sport package" , just 18" wheels & other stuff.

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/vehicl...C350W#packages

Not all 16" rims have the same shape at the ID where the caliper is.

I wanted a full size spare for the ex, and found one from Tire rack that fit the C300, with .2" clearance to the caliper. And there was a thread about 16" wheels and a guy in Canada (mabe a used parts seller) showed a specific MB wheels that he sold for the C350 with the bigger discs, vs the C300. I'll try to find the thread.

.

 

If they did not specify a new wheel too, that tire would be for the Canadian W204's that came with 16" wheels, like the ~ C230. But it is much taller than the 205/55/16's that were oem. Here are the theoretical radii:

12.44" __ 205/55/16 oem canada for C230
13.31" __ 225/60/16 1010tires
12.49" __ 225/45/17 oem front for most W204

The suggested 16" tire from 1010tires makes the car ride .87" higher vs stock tires, with 7% more radius. This may be intended by 1010tires for the C230, allowing mor ground clearance for the lower riding Sport model. But that would give you a spare that is way too small. It is likely a 1010tire mistake.

The simplest thing for C350 owners for winter tires is to set-up a spare set of (4) 17" rims.

It didn't.

.

 

I hadn't run the numbers, but I checked and you are right. It is more than the 6% limit.

 

You probably have 225-40-18 front, and 255-35-18 rear.
While different, their outside diameter is equal. your diameter is 25.1 inches. you can review this data on the Tire Rack website.

Always go narrower and taller for winter tires. That gives better road contact in snow.

So, how do you do that?

Ensure your new winter set are the same outside diamter.

If you go 17 inch, the size you want are 225-45-17. overall diameter is 25 inches.

I have 225-45-17's on for summer, and go to 205-55-16 for winter, which are 24.9 inches diameter.

For you, I would certainly suggest the 17 inch option, but before buying, seriously consider the 16 inch option. The 16 inch rim and a 205-55-16 will still look great on your car, as it does on my C300. And will save you a lot of money over a 18 inch winter rim/tire setup.

A good rim, if you can get it in your area, is the Eurowheel MBR7, a very classy quality rim made to look and fit good on MB. They retail around $150 in my area. There are less expensive rims out there, but these fit exact without spacers.

Good luck.

http://www.ykwmotorsports.com/index....age=7&limit=10

 

I have a 2009 c350 sport, with the amg 18' tire package. I found used winter tires online but I don't know if the offset will fit on my car. They're coming from a 2010 C-Class. So if it fit a 2010 without any problems, would the same apply for my 2009?

225/45/17
bolt patter:5x112