ProV1

I don't think it'll be the best idea to drive all winter with yokohama all-season tires with 20k miles on them, although there is decent tread left. I'm thinking about getting a set of dunlop m3 wintersports or continental snow tires in 16" size, do E420s perform reasonably well on snow and ice with these snow tires?

OldNate

Just my opinion, but any two wheel drive vehicle, even with snow tires, do not do very well at all on the snow.

gujupimpster89@

i have yokohama all-season tires on my e420, and they seem to be doing pretty well, the car slips often, but the asr helps soo much, without it u would be screwed for sure. i got stuck once in my school parking lot, but all i had to do was turn asr off, and gun it, then put it on reverse, then gun it, then back to drive and gun it. you should be fine.

Tommy_s4

i had brand new all seasons and it scared the **** outa me.

Air Marshall Eldritch

I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S in winter. They can deal with a few inches, but a rear-wheel drive sedan will not navigate more than that unless you put chains on.

uberwgn

I've fitted our wagon with 4 Goodyear Ultragrip snows. Car does fairly well, I guess as well as could be expected. The traction control certainly helps. We have a very steep driveway; the car has no problems making it up.

Top Jimmy

I think it is more a an awareness thing than a 4x4 vs. 2x4.

My wife put the AWD Mountaineer into a pole with only 2 inches of snow on the ground. On the same day, I made it home from work with 6 inches of snow (ableit plowed) with my E320 on Bridgestone Protenza G009s and 125 lbs of sand in the trunk - no problems.

smazur

I have to say that I disagree with some of these posts about RWD drive handling in the snow. I'm not going to argue that RWD is better than AWD, but it is certainly better IMO than front wheel drive. When was the last time you saw a FWD police car or ambulance? Why, becuase RWD is more intuitive to drive in the snow It's nearly impossible to steer your way out of a jam with front wheel drive. Getting going from a standstill is way easier in a front wheel, but once moving, it's RWD all the way.

Now for my 97 E320, I've been driving it up to Vermont virtually every winter weekend to ski for the last 10 years and I've never had a problem. I've been using the Blizzak WS-50 which has the most aggressive tread pattern of any Blizzak. I would highly recommend this tire. I also put 140 pounds of steel in the trunk side wells to keep the back end firm to the snow. It's a tank in snow and ice and I'd trust this setup with my family over any front wheel drive setup out there.

Please keep in mind that no amount of snow tires or any wheel drive can compensate for stupidity. Take it easy and let your Blizzaks do the work for you.

ProV1

Thanks for the tips Smazur. here in ann arbor we only get about 42 inches of snow per yr, and i'd say 80-90% of winter driving is on plowed roads. Blizzak WS50 on dry pavement, especially on highways at 70mph, doesn't work too well!! Thus my preference for tires like LM25 or Dunlop M3s.

smazur

90% of my winter driving is on dry roads as well.

You'll do fine on any winter tire on straight dry pavement no matter what brand of snow tire you get. Just keep in mind that the bigger tread/sipe patterns mean that you need to take it easy while cornering. You're driving habits will automatically adjust on snow tires after just a few weeks.

I'd say I average 80 mph of dry pavement all the way up to Vermont for 160 miles then maybe the last one or two miles on snow at the resort. Your snow tires are just insurance for those few days of the year when you are actually driving in a blizzard, up a snow covered hill, etc. If you put them on when the snow starts to fly and then take them off the first sign of spring you should get 3 or 4 seasons out of them. Get them on their own rims also for an easier swap out.

Scan your local craigslist for a set locally...

djf1

We are just about finished up here in the lower mainland of BC with our recent snow storm. A foot and a half on the ground made it very interesting! I have Pirelli Wintersport 210 on my E320 and I can tell you that I plowed through were others were stuck. On very deep snow I was scraping the bottom of my car on the snow ( yeap it was that much!) , but I continued through without much issue. Slush and light snow is a breeze. My traction control came up several times when I wanted to play a bit keeping the car under easy control which was great. When I was careful with the gearbox in W I only saw the light flickering on black ice... I liked playing in the snow though at low speeds and hanging the tail out a bit Very easy to control! When the whole mess turned to ice, on some very hard ice I had some minor issues, but in general I drove daily for more than 70miles per day in these conditions without real problems. For next year I'm planning Blizzaks for extreme snow and ice to solve my minor ice issues.
In short, the car is fantastic in snow conditions and you dont have to worry about it.

kevins e55

I live in MI and have had no problem with my car in the winter months i use goodyear M+S recommended from the dealer in okemos 1000 bucks for wheels and tires and theyve been good for 2 winters

Musikmann

We can spend as much money as we want and be perfectly in control, but there's always going to be some schmuck in his POS trying his best to slide into us.

I'm glad I have a couple of other cars (both FWD) that, except for sentmentality, are worthless on the used car market. Those are the cars that I use to drive during hazardous winter conditions. Benzie will be safely sitting in my driveway, and under my carport.

ae1m

Definitely agree on the Blizzaks. Have a set on rims that I swap on the car in late Nov (New England). Run Touranzas otherwise.

I use 50' bags of landscape stones. 1,2 or 3 bags in trunk depending on conditions. Then I put them down around the pool in Spring.

2000 E320

BL