Winter setup for E350 4matic
 

Hi guys new here on the forum, i was on the R129 side b4, just got a 2012 E350 4matic and love it.
Since I live in Montreal Canada got to have a winter setup.
What do you suggest ?
Currently I have 18''s on the car but I want 19''s for summer and 17''s for the winter.
Your suggestion are welcome


Thanks

I am five hours drive south of you in southern New England.

I run four 17" snow tires from October to March. Bridgestone Blizzaks.

18" or 19" wheels will dent with potholes, I'd strongly recommend 17's

mikemargolis,

Do you get 4 new winter wheels or just change out the tires each season?

The aftermarket rims seem to be weaker than OEM. And they do crack all the time, my factory oem rim ended up getting bent and the tire had a bubble in it. The guy who fixed it was able to bend it back and he likes working on factory rims, sometimes he says he can't fix the aftermarket ones because they're too weak. Good luck trying to find one extra aftermarket rim a couple years after they stop making them.

I'm also in MA! Thanks for the info.

Yeah, couldn't really find anyone really cheap to fix it, typical price was $115-$120, that includes mount and balance of a new tire. $95 just to fix a rim. I think you can buy factory OEM or replica rims for around $150, but I didn't want to wait around for one to be shipped as I got it fixed in 2 days.

I'm in MA with a 2014 and last winter I used 18 AMG with contiprocontact, no issues. Although the rear tends to kick out a bit before AWD kicked in. I replaced the tires with contiextremecontact dws and this should be better than it's predesser.

Last year was a mild winter. Two years ago I believe we had over 100 inches of snow. I drove my W211 around and it slid out all the time on snowy slush, ESP did kick in and all that but it still slid around even when my other non MB front wheel drive had no problems.

I just had to run out to garage to see what kind of tires I had. Like "thePhantom" I have the 18" AMG wheels and ContiProContact tires. That makes me feel better.

Car has about 24K miles.

Rear tires are a tad more worn than the front but all in all they appear to have a ton of tread left.

I will do a tire rotation and see how it handles in the first storms.

Based on the the zillion acorns that continue to fall, I fear this winter will be like the one two years ago..

Did anybody go from 18" AMG to a 17" set and what rims did you get? I am contemplating getting a set of winter rims and tires.

Congrats on your E350....
 

Did you get your winter tires yet. What size did you go with?

I bought my car in the winter of 2012, and lived with the OEM tires for that winter.

Fall of 12, I bought four wheels (Axis) from Tire Rack with four Blizzaks and TPMS, 17".

The wheels are crap, I shattered one and dented another somewhere in the winters of 12-13, 13-14, 14-15 and 15-16. I actually ended up with a brand new spare wheel just in case I destroyed another one. Axis turned their back on me until I posted photos of the destroyed wheel on their Facebook page, then the quickly became quite helpful.

Those tires are now shot, and I am in the process of buying four OEM M-B take-offs and four new Blizzaks.

DO NOT buy 18's and low profile tires if you live anywhere where there are potholes. The super cold weather and the smaller amount of rubber between the wheel and road will cause you problems.

I actually tried to find steel wheels for this car, and simply could not find any anywhere.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...63e82dbeef.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...10fc3543a2.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...9bf84d0955.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...f2302e357a.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...8b3ea29fdd.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...2495857319.jpg

Yes I did,


I got a set of after market rims 19" for the summer, i'll be using the OEM wheels (18" with 245 40 18 Pirelli winter tires) we'll see how it goes, Quebec winters can be really harsh.


P.S. I got the car end of June 2016 and 2 weeks later I ugraded to the 19" ( more for looks than anything else) while I'm very carefull with potholes there's not a big difference between the OEM 18" and the 19".

Winter
 

Well I got rid of the continental winter tires and yesterday put on 4 blizzaks.....im told I should feel an overall better difference.....lol..now we wait for the snow

Holy crap, that rim is toast

Running C63 rims on the wagon, with 235/40-18 Sottozeros. BTW, we already had a dump of snow but its since melted away. But I'm ready...

Are you running staggered on your 4-matic wagon?

Square