guliano

Hi,

I live in Simi Valley and I just went to Lake Tahoe for the weekend but I couldn't find a spot where I could legally drive my 2008 GL450 where there is tons of snow. I drove it on ice and little snow on the road but not enough snow to actually see the all wheel drive working, not that it doesn't work but it probably works so well that it is unnoticeable. Does anybody done this before, would chains or cable chains be required? If so, what chains/cable chains would you recommend?

Thanks in advance

_AMG_

Go to Mammoth Mountain, They have had tons of snow out there.

guliano

Lake Tahoe has tons of snow too but where to drive on it legally to really test the all wheel drive?

MKW

I have a vacation home on Lake Tahoe and take the GL there often. I have a half mile pvt road that drops at a fairly pitched angle from the highway down to the property . It is privately plowed several times a day but not until 7AM. I have driven that stretch in both directions in glare ice, pebbly snow, 2 feet of fresh snow , etc and have never felt the AWD " working " at speed - which in my opinion is a good thing. That is with the OEM 19" Continental tires at normal tread depth.
I'd be dissapointed ( and frankly a bit unnerved ) with the engineering of this fine vehicle if it bucked and clawed under these conditions just to " feel it working "!
OTOH, I have friends whose properties are up high, away from the Lake , and they have studded tires as icy conditions in the AM on those sev mile long steep roads can cause a vehicle to " ski " downhill out of control, where AWD becomes " no wheel drive " !

guliano

Thank you MKW, that's what I wanted to hear, as I mentioned on my experience in lake tahoe, the car never went out of control or slide a bit, I am amaze of how great it handles on snow and ice but I wanted to push it to the limits but it seems that you already did that for me and I appreciate the feedback.

Nstar

You should never need chains with the AWD provided you have the proper tires~All terrains or winter tires with the snowflake symbol.

One word of warning, if off roading in snow hazards like large boulders are often obscured so be sure to fit skid plates if you haven't already.

Very nice SUV's the GLs. I strongly considered one along with an LX570. We're spoiled for choice in the mid-fullsize SUV market.

MKW

Worse thing about driving in snow is that giant or jagged potholes ( which always develop this time of year in the mountains ) are buried under it and you hit them at full force ! That's why I'm glad I don't have a GL 550 with its much lower profile sidewall 21 inch tires .

SFML320

Just repeating what others have already posted...the GL is really stable, no fear factor in the snow. As long as I maintained proper speed, had good thread on the tires (2 months old), and no sudden jerks, the vehicle won't give you any white knuckle driving.

Of course all my snow driving is in California (Tahoe), where most of the highways are paved. If you really want to try and break traction on the GL, I once waited until the ski resort parking lot was empty and had some fun or as I said to myself "wanted to experience what lost of traction was like".

Here's a photo I took from out last trip to Tahoe. The GL was buried in snow when I walked out to the parking lot.

vntgspd

Getting a bit off topic but here's a recent shot from my trip fromCA to OK to CA between Christmas and New Years Day. First time I drove the GL in snow since I bought it for my wife in November. It handled the trip beautifully and handled the snow and ice on the highway without drama. Love this car!

BTW, it was -7*F outside around 11am when I took this! Brrr!

guliano

Thanks everyone for your posts and the really nice pics. I wish a had the opportunity to get some nice shots of my car on the snow but I hardly took any pictures in my last trip. SFML320, did you take that picture at the main entrance of the Hyatt in Lake Tahoe? I ask the valet people to bring my car and at the time I showed up they cleaned the car so well that the only snow left was on the roof and on the hood. I wished I parked it myself instead.

SFML320

It was at the Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort. The one night I didn't valet and decided to self-park, it snowed all night.

guliano

Cool, thaks for sharing.

grover432

This post has me laughing. I live on the prairies in Canada where we have nothing but snow for 5 months of the year. We've had 2' in the last month. I was in Palm Springs for 2 weeks in December and was enjoying the dry pavement and Palm trees. If I lived in CA, I'd be looking for a vehicle that was 2WD.

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, or should I say "whiter" on the other side??

HIGHMILE E55

Ditto on this. Here in the Chicago area, we just got 20 inches dumped on us within 24 hours.... Nothing else Id rather drive in days like these though!