SGT-PillzBury

Hello All,

I have a daily 74 miles trip in my C63 sedan in the Seattle area. It recently started snowing but nothing has sticked yet. This winter season is predicted to be horrible and the C63 is my only car. I have read the other forums regarding the topic but I would like to put snow or studded tires on my car. I mostly do freeway driving but my house is on a hill. What tires are recommended for the stock 18" wheels? And does anyone have them for sale? Also what sizes?
I am also lowered on H&R coilovers, I hope this is not an issue.

Thanks in advance,
Ajay
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Ambystom01

I live in Alberta for context. I think our winters are colder, longer, with more snow. My understanding of Seattle winter is that it's similar to Vancouver: cool, some snow and wet.

I have Michelin Alpine PA4 winter tires in the stock, staggered size. I like them. They have good grip but aren't as hard core as studded tires.

Amr_c63

I'm in Ma and the snow will be here soon and in search for the perfect setup as well . I'm debating on which tires to go with and also the size on my stock 18s 225/235/245 all around ?

Alex.currie44

If you scout around you will find I asked the same question a few weeks ago. I live in Sidney.
Concensus was Nokian Hakkapetiita .
I bought R2s in 235 18 which I have on 8.5 x 18 in after market wheels. I do not have a staggered set up. I prefer to have the seasonal option on these tires to move them front to back season about.
I have the advantage of one season on crap winters recommended by on online tire shop and scrapped them.
I have not had them in snow but I have had them out in the recent heavy raid at 3 C with rivers running over the road and lakes and ponds along the side and I am super impressed with them to the point I drive with them in the wet like my MPSS summers in the dry.
The option is the 9 with studs but most of the guys said we don't need them. Time will tell but so far I am pleased that I acted on the inputs I got.

Cli63

I have a set of stock 18' wheels with ws 80s if you are interested. Tires have only been used for one winter, but the stock rims are in horrible conidition, but since they are winter rims shouldn't matter that much. Located in MA, pm me if interested

roadkillrob

225/40/18 is the recommended size from mercedes all the way around.

I am in MA and had some Michelin PA4's from my Audi S4 that I ran last year, they are great tires if you don't get a lot of snow as they are performance snows - quiet on the highway. They where great on my S4 AWD, on the C63 I found they were not as good being a rwd car and the tires were 245's, went with studless ice and snow michelin X-ice for this winter, will be a bit better in the snow, but probably quite a bit louder in the dry and won't handle as well for sure.

If you don't see a lot of snow, the Pilot PA4's should be great, if you will drive in inches of snow more often, I would go with something a little more aggressive.

SGT-PillzBury

I will be going with Nokian studded tires. I will most likely be running 235/40r18 and 265/35r18.

Cli63

265 seem very wide. You would ideally want something more narrow maybe a 245 so you have more weight on the tires to get a better grip.

Alex.currie44

I agree that seems wide. A service manager many years ago and a tire guy both told me the same thing. In winter the contact pressure of the tire patch does influence how well a winter performs. i.e a narrower tire has a smaller patch and the contact pressure per sq in is higher. This is counter intuitive perhaps but in theory makes a bit of sense. 1000 lb on 50 sq. in is 20 psi. 1000 on 80 sq in is 12.5 and in theory the snow does not get locked in as tight in the tread to provide grip.
Studs may save you.

roadkillrob

Mercedes even on the stock staggered wheels says 225's front and back, generally a bit more weigh per square inch will help you out, so a big narrower is better, but if you don't really drive in any snow and slush then it probably won't help. Slush is the worst as the wider tires seem to float and hydroplane easier as they can't get the slush out from under the tires fast enough.

Alex.currie44

Agree and our snow packs to ice under load but I went to the 235 which is also a recommended size with my new Hakka R2s and I am super impressed at 4 C with a heck of a lot of standing water and rivers running across the road. I don't want it but a bit of snow to test them out would be nice. For a day anyway then we can go back to normal winter here in the island.
Part of my thinking was I am running an 8.5 wheel vs. spec. 8.0 so a little bit wider rubber will keep them on the rim.

AMGangster

I run 235/40R18 Blizzak WS80 on all four corners on the factory wheels. I also put about 320lbs of salt in the trunk and use it in my softener as the winter rolls on. By spring the trunk is empty and the tires are bald.

Buy from Tire Rack. They have some of the best prices and are a great company to work for.

Ambystom01

The PA4s in stock size are good on packed snow and dry but cold asphalt. I haven't tried them in deep snow because frankly when we get a lot of snow, it's -25 out.

JeffACM

Hey, Not trying to **** off bumping a year old thread but instead of starting a new one...

I have my C63 coming in a week and have a set of winter tires at my shop that I was thinking of running on the OEM 18's

255/40/18
Bridgestone Blizzak Lm-001

Has anyone run this squared setup before? maybe not specific tire but the sizes.

I have searched and haven't found this setup run. Not to say I can't just buy another set, but if I can run these they are free to me.

Thanks in advance!

roadkillrob

They would be too wide for the front rims I think.

I ran my old S4 wheels and tires on my previous C63 (2013) and they worked not bad, was 245/40/18 all the way round yours will be slightly taller, but my biggest worry would be putting those on the front 8" wide wheels as the tire manufacturer calls for 8.5" wheel minimum. Load rating of those tires is ok, higher than required. MB recommends 225 width which will certainly be better in snow depending on if you live where it is just cold or if you get a lot of snow.

chrisridebike8

Dude, you're doing it right. You searched, found a relevant thread, and asked your question.

That being said, 225s are what MB recommends. I have also seen people run 235/45/18s all around, the rear being stretched a little, so they could rotate the tires every year (dismount and remount). If possible, I would see if you could source 2 extra front wheels so you don't have to keep paying mounting costs. Tirerack also has some really good winter wheel and tire packages. I have run setups from them on other cars and have never had issues. they always came with hub rings, lugs, and tires mounted and balanced.

JeffACM

Lol Thank you, I actually am on the forums all day for work (bimmerpost) and just have been lurking a few weeks here to get used to the forums and have noticed a ton of old thread bumps. Just trying to get along with the crowd :-)

I figure the front's would be too wide but im worried about the rear being too tall as well.

I have a wholesale account with TR and other local tire distributors so buying wont be an issue i just figure we have a set here i would get for free as they didn't fit a customers car.

Any ideas whether or not trying these, aside from bad looks or rubbing, will throw off my driveline?

chrisridebike8

Whoops, I made a mistake. 235/40/18. basically they put front tires on all 4 wheels.

J0HN_R1

I would look for a pair (or 2 pair if you want to be proactive & sell the other "set") of 235/40/18 tires to match.
Like others have said, the 255 might be too wide for the front and smaller/more narrow tires work better also. Use 2 for the rear & get some new fronts...

Cheers !

drawde

I run 235 Michelin PA4 all around all winter, no issues but also no major hills to speak of.

Ryan951s

Ryan951s

JeffACM

AWESOME!!!! i'm not worried about superior performance with these tires just for winter mode

Thanks!