jgoga

Hello,

I own a 2013 C300 4Matic and getting ready for winter. I have the AMG 19 in staggered set up on my car.

I am looking to get a set of wheels and winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzak LM-60). Question is, could i purchase 225/40R18 all around? They do not seem to make any Blizzak in 255/35/18 for the staggered set up.

Wheels aren't purchased yet.

Thank you in advance.

John

Sportstick

Hello again....couple of things to reconsider. I would avoid the LM series at Blizzak in favor of their WS70. LM is an attempt to be a "performance winter" which turns out to be really good at neither. Huge difference in winter capability from the LM to the WS.

You want the smallest tire footprint possible for the winter for improved traction. With the constant weight of the car on a smaller contact patch, the higher downforce per square inch allows the tires to do a better job of cutting through snow to find traction underneath. Larger wider tires tend to "snowshoe" and distribute weight to keep you on the slippery snow. I would advise against 18" in favor of a set of four 215/50-17 WS70 tires on 17x7" or 7.5" wheels. Those are narrower tires than OE, but will also provide improved traction versus 225/45-17 on all four corners.

jgoga

Thank you for the quick reply. Will the 17's fit on my C300 4Matic without any issues? What about the Blizzak WS70 on 225/45/18's?

John

This is all great information.

Thank you,

John

Sportstick

Absolutely 17" will fit. Have them on my C and E, although the E came with 18". 17" is the standard size for the W204 (C Class) platform in many markets. In some, 16" are used, but they don't always fit over the different brake sizes used.

CodyC6

I just built a set on tirerack for the same car. They recommended 225/45/17, and their alternate recommendation is 245/40/17. Their preferred package did say the wheel was 17 x 7.5. As mentioned, smaller footprint is always better in the snow.

robnyc

Not meaning to hijack the thread but in my situation No Garage to have summer/winter tires so I have to go with Ultra High Performance All Season like DWS that I used before not sure if its still the winner for Winter/Rain /Dry as well. But since the 225/45-17 is OEM, wouldn't the 217/50-17 require wheel spacers?

jgoga

Does anybody have any experience with the Continental ExtremeWinterContact?

Thank you in advance.


John

Sportstick

215/50-17 can mount on the same OE rim size of 17x7.5. Just the tire contact patch is narrower. There is some flexibility of tire size versus wheel width.

DWS have been the best all season for light snow. But the new Michelin AS3 may leapfrog. Too soon to tell, but it's dry/wet performance is now rated #1 on tire rack.

robnyc

I would really look into the TireRack reviews/tests they have for winter setups and like someone recommended the Blizzak WS over the LM.

thx, I had 235/50-R18 in my previous car wish I could rock that tire size again.

bobblehead

for my 14 C300, I just picked up a set of OZ Formula HLT 18" wheels 18*8 and High performance, rather than dedicated snow/ice winter tires will be picked up early October. Under consideration is 1) Michelin PA4; 2) Bridgestone LM32; 3) Dunlop WS 4D - - size is 225/40/18, square setup so I can rotate them

Reason for choosing high performance over dedicated snow/ice is streets & highway get to be cleared fairly quickly, therefore, most of the winter driving condition would fall on just dry/wet which the high peformance excels a bit better on ride, road noise feedback and braking over dedicated snow/ice tires.

Sportstick

Wish you the best but respectfully disagree with some statements. Performance winter tires will surpass studless (e.g. Blizzak WS vs LM) for steering response and handling. However, the softer studless tires will produce the superior ride comfort. Tread patterns may give a noise benefit to performance. Braking will be superior with studless, particularly as temps drop below freezing, whether the road is clear or not.

jgoga

So, for MI winter driving would you recommend Blizzak WS70, Continental ExtremeWinterContact or Michelin AS3.

Again thank you in advance.

John

bobblehead

it's fine. It's all about personal preference at the end of what you choose. That's why there are the two main types of winter tires out there. Whatever suits your local driving conditions.

Sportstick

The AS3 is Michelin's new ultra high performance all season tire and appears to be the new top of that class, an outstanding choice for the other three seasons. I would choose the WS70 for dedicated winter driving.

bobblehead

Another choice which is on par or better (dedicated winter/ice tires) is Nokian Hakka R2