Hi all,

I am new to C63S ownership and still getting used to things, but wanted to ask the wider group a few questions on the need for winter tires.

I am in Northern California at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. I am well below the snow line, but with the recent storms, it has me thinking. The weather is far from bad (originally from the UK, so rain is something that I am used to) but with Winter quickly approaching its common to see daily temperatures of between 40 - 50 F (4-10 C) on the cooler days with a more usual average around 55 F (13C) on normal ones. Early morning can see the temperature drop to freezing, but this is maybe once or twice a week at worst.

The car came fitted with Dunlop Sport Maxx 3 season tires (lets be honest, more like 2 season) which seem to have coped well with the rain storms in the last few days. But its easy to get them to break traction and even find that driving up my wet and leaf covered drive causes some slips.

So here is the question - would a set of winter tires actually make a difference? I know that its recommended if the average temperature is less than 45 F (7 C), since they are a better compound for this. But this would be uncommon for most of my driving and snow is a pretty rare thing where I live. Average temps are above this for most of the time and I am not intending to go to the mountains this year (we have a FWD Chevy if we want to). Clearly on colder days it will make a difference, but will it make enough of one? Or is it just a case of sucking it up and learning to drive the car better? Oh, and my last car was a Cayenne S which had traction for days but only 400BHP so it was always going to be tough to get it to do anything out of the ordinary.

What does everyone think?

Oh, and love the car! Wasn't necessarily on my list as options, but a local dealer had one and went for a drive. What a car. Dramatic, fun, an event every time you drive it! Wow.

 

if you don't get snow forget it . beat it up and get new summer tires . just take it easy on the really cold days or easy into the throttle for traction.

 

replace the Dunlops when they fade with MP4S or conti sports contact 6p . the contis are reference level and are the benchmark in those conditions but the michelins will last longer. I ran MPSS in the winter just gone and am using winter Alpin PA4s here because of the narrow roads and ice sections on the edges of the roads which have forced my hand in otherwise mild winters without much snow. I would say it is a lot more fun running summer tyres in the conditions you are describing . Alpin PA4s give you immense grip but the braking distances are worse than summer tyres in the sorts of temps you are describing. Also usually the UHP summer tyres are cheaper(in the UK at least) and can be run in hot temperatures whereas winter tyres shouldn't be.

 

Thanks all - kind of what I expected to be honest, so wanted to check on what the wider thoughts are. I guessed I would be borderline for winter tires, but was a little worried about traction and managing it - seems that its just a case of managing it and waiting until the weather clears. I am fortunate with the weather here as it dries up pretty quickly too - even in winter. So looking forward to crisp cool mornings with plenty of grip....

 

in all honesty I even drove mine in the snow in the UK when we had a 2 week spell. it was a struggle and I drove really slowly but in comfort mode , with mpss tyres, it can probably handle those conditions better than less powerful cars on cheapo summer tyres. in the dry , it is absolutely fine in comfort mode but in all honesty , good winter tyres on the c63 make it a better car for winter than any AWD car on summer tyres , no question.

 

put it to you this way. i couldnt pop a turn or accelerate last winter without going sideways unintentionally on my stock michelins. have kumho wintercrafts on this winter and i drive like a complete retard with full confidence, in snow. its actually disturbing how much control a proper set of winter tires gives you.

 

I have summer ContiSport 5p tires, it's impossible to make even a slight slope in snowy / slushy conditions. The car slides sideways and tires have no traction. However, when it's cold with no snow I would't worry. I drove the car in temperatures down to -3 C on dry roads. If it snows stay home if not you can safely drive in your temperatures.