_ccp

Hi all, I'm seriously considering buying a C43 in the next 12 months or so. I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, and we get a rather large amount of snow, so I'd want to put studded snows on it for the winter months. Problem is, no one seems to make studded snows for the tire size.

So I'm wondering if I could buy four standard C class wheels and put them on it. Would the standard wheels screw anything major up on it?

503C43 ////AMG

C43 performs POORLY in the snow even with snow tires.....

KJI3jflarryfe93

welcome to the forum
minimum wheel size is 17 inch rims and tires on this car.
buy winter tires M+S without studs.
during winter drive it normal without jerking around with it, it's a car with helluva torque if you step on the throttle!
might be dangerous

_ccp

good stuff to know guys, thanks . So, the standard c280 wheels will not work on it eh? The only thing I'm real worried about is getting it up my driveway, which is rather long (~700 feet), real steep (~13% grade) and not always plowed. I'm not sure how a real beefy C43 would do. My Subaru Forester handles it incredibly, but it has AWD...:P

FLYNAVY

I'd keep the Forester if you buy a C43, and use it during the winter. 17's are required to clear the big brake calipers up front IIRC, so that kind of limits your wheel/tire options. I only drove my C43 a few times in snow, and it was pretty squirrely, even in winter trans mode with me doing my best attempt at smooth winter style driving (I'm relatively experienced driving in snow at least). Definitely not the kind of car I'd want to be driving on snow/ice on a regular basis, let alone the damage you will be causing to such a nice rare AMG by subjecting it to road salt (if they do that in UT) and other hazards of winter roads.

503C43 ////AMG

+1..... flynavy hit the nail on the head once again. If you are going to buy the C43 it should be used for your summer car (or at least non-snow day car) and you should keep the trusty forester for when the road and driveways become white otherwise you will be subjecting yourself, your C43, and others to possible damage

RLx02

I was just there for 2 weeks for training earlier this month. I saw a total of 1 slk55 there (actually in riverton) and 1 white c63 in downtown slc. Neat place, its too bad that the liquor laws there blow. Good luck on finding a c43 though!

ddtham

Ditto with others. I wouldn't drive any RWD AMG on the snow here! Whenever it started snowing in UT, there's always hundreds of accidents. Seems like people here just forgot how to drive in the snow after summer and just keep on driving like maniacs.

I drove the AWD X5 with Sport Package wheels (19 inch summer Michelin Diamaris 285s in the back and 255 fronts) in the winter and it was a nightmare I had to switch to 17s and skinnier tires. I am sure C43 with snows would still perform poorly compared to your Forester.

There's a local C43 here a while back from a local dealer. It was black in black (no two tone) with 103K miles. They first wanted $9,999 but couldn't sell it for a long time and ended up with $4,999 Too bad I missed it! Good luck finding one!

colt45

C43s are not a good winter car for SLC--with studs it would be OK but far from ideal and even then you would likely struggle on your driveway. The other factor to consider is the spoiler and skirts are low (for a 4 seasons Utah car), if you don't plow the driveway you will ruin the bodywork, not to mention they *do* salt the roads and it is very hard on your car--listen to FLYNAVY and keep the Forester for your primary winter car. Standard sized wheels won't clear the brakes and may cause problems with the electronics (stability control).

The liquor laws here have pretty much been fixed-- except for the fact you can only buy hard liquor and wine in a state owned store, the laws are not that bad here.

I may know of a low mileage C43 in SLC for sale, PM me for details if interested.