I just bought a CPO 2020 GLC 43 and would appreciate people's input on how to set it up and drive it in snowy weather. I have 21" wheels with the standard Continental Summer Performance Tires (255/40 ZR 21 / 285/35 ZR 21). From what I've read in other threads people don't like these tires for a number of reasons even in good weather. My preference would be switching out the tires to all season rather than buying a winter set. I live in San Francisco but plan on taking the car to Tahoe for ski trips so having winter tires for half the year when 90% of my time is in pretty mild weather seems like overkill. People seem to have had good results with 255 or 265/40 R21 / 295/35 R21 Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AS or Pirelli Scorpion. Doesn't seem to be a consensus but I'm interested if either tire is known to drive differently or it's just personal preference. Would I have to go to a tire center or would the dealership switch out the tires for me? I know wider tires don't perform as well in snow but have people had issues with them after going to all season and would going down to 20" really make much of difference? I'm not sure if I could use snow chains given the clearance but curious if anyone has tried that. I grew up in New England so I have a good amount of snow driving experience.

Lastly, what driving mode do people use in the snow? Sounds like the slippery mode isn't so great. I've seen people recommend eco but I'm wondering if anyone has set up something custom in individual mode?

Thanks for the responses in advance.

 

My GLB came with Conti 6 summer tires. I switched to Michelin P/S A/S 4 even after getting Alpin 5 winter tires... P/S A/S 4 are UHP tires close to summers. Michelin has also CrossClimate 2 All Weather A/S tires which is closer to Alpin 5 winter tires so they are better for snow, worse for dry/wet. Wider tires are better for dry pavement, worse for wet and snow. You can choose your tire/size based on your majority of driving. Slippery mode lowers the torque, good for starting, not maybe for driving as I use engine brake with pedals coming from stick shift cars...

Michelin Tire comparison:


Tire rack test of Michelins: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=270

 

There are no 21inch all season tires that fit the GLC43 due to the thinner rims. For safety I would get a new set of wider 21 inch wheels and then run All-Season 21s that the 63s run. That's what I did on my GLC43.

With that being said, the all-seasons weren't enough when I went Snowboarding. I still slid down the parking lot...lucky no cars were there when I came to a stop but I've switched to a dedicated winter wheel/tire setup for the GLE 53 to go along with my summer 22s.

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/glc63s-gl...placement.html

Isn't that's what's being discussed in this thread? Fitting a slightly wider tire onto the 21" GLC 43 wheels and not having an issue?

 

It is. But the tires aren't designed for that width. So it's a run at your own risk type of thing. Personally I wouldn't risk it, but to each his own.

I also don't use my summer tires below 40 degrees Fahrenheit but I see lots on the road..and several in the body shop.

 

All-season tires and, even moreso, sumemr tires are useless in the snow. Snow tires, studded ideally, are the answer. If you want a «simple solution», buy a set of dedicated rims (20'' or 19'' if they fit over the calipers), put a set of used winter tires on them, and enjoy. Otherwise, you just aren't safe.

My GLK is on 19s in the summer and 18s in the winter, and I only buy a slightly used tires. Much cheaper, and they are on 5 months a year minimum.

 

How much snow driving do you do though? I lived in Connecticut and Upstate New York for the first 30 years of my life. I know how to drive in the snow my concern is more with this car. So, seeing as how many people who live in far snowier areas of the country seem to be having no trouble with their all-season tires I think I'll be fine with those. So my real question is what has worked for people, do I have to go outside of the MB dealership, and are they going to try to void the warranty because it's not the tires they would recommend or something like that.

 

Well, it's winter roughly 5 months a year here, so the answer is A LOT. Anyway, winter tires are mandatory here from Dec. 1st to March 15th, so it's not like we have a choice.

 

Sorry, didn’t realize you were from Canada. My bad! I don’t plan on taking it up if conditions are really bad. Just want to handle plowed roads and light dustings.

 

I bought a 2020 GLC63 in 10/2022.
It came on summer tires.
I immediately swapped them for Pirelli Scorpion All-seasons and run them year round.
Car rides better, no more crabbing at slow speeds, and if it snows I am covered.
I have run consistent 0-60s in 3.8 seconds and 1.89 60' times on cold streets in 35-45 degree weather according to my Dragy, a summer tire would be like a hockey puck in those conditions.

It will not be as good as a snow tire, but I have NEVER run snow tires on any of my vehicles and have driven in DEEP snow if I have ground clearance.
With a GLC43/63 I would think we have 6-7 inches of clearance.

I would run it in comfort mode or weather mode.
Once tip, if you get stuck, turn Traction Control off, it will not let you spin to free yourself.

I also have a 534whp 2015 Porsche 911 Turbo S cabriolet, I swapped Continental DWS06 Plus on to that car also and in 37 degree weather it has run a 1.61 60' time, 2.59 0-60, and a 6.82 1/8th mile on a cold unprepped street.
I also run them year round.

 

Appreciate you sharing your experience. I just got back from Tahoe actually and saw plenty of similar cars on 21" wheels (including a few GLC 43s) and they seemed to be doing fine. At this point I feel pretty good about going with all-seasons just trying to figure out which ones to go with. Leaning towards the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 AS based on what I've seen on Tire Rack and some other websites.

 

Go with a Brand Name Tire (Michelin, Continental, Pirelli) in your factory tire sizes.
I try to go with a longer treadwear, 500+, as they will last longer and as you see with my Porsche, they are 560 treadwear, they stick pretty well.

 

I just replaced the OEM Continental ContiSport 5 UHP summer tires for the Continental DWS06+ all season tires. Those come in 10 mm wider widths than the OEM tires for the 21 inch wheels. My local tire shop said they would fit just fine, and they do not bulge out at all.

I have not taken them out in light snow yet. If anyone has any feedback regarding the Slippery mode versus Eco mode for driving in light snow and their experiences, I would appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

I drive a 2018 GLC43. It is still on the original Goodyear Sport Runon flat tires.
They do ok. but they are on their last year of usefulness.
Last year I drove through the Wolf Mountain Pass in Colorado heading east. There was a lot of snow on the road and it was quite dicey.
There was a Toyota SUV something in front of me that was having a terrible time navigating the snow and icy conditions. At one point, they had spun completely around, and me and that driver were looking directly into each other's eyes.
My GLC43 has no problems at all on that same road. I could feel the 4matic system switching which wheel to send power to, but there was no sideways, no spins, no rear-end sliding out. There were some jogs as slippery patches caused the car to lurch left or right, but there were no issues. Of course, I wasn't driving like an idiot...but I wasn't being overly cautious either. We made it over that pass with no issue. The Toyota (and the Ford F150 ahead of him) had pulled over and I passed them with little fanfare.
Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the way this vehicle handled the snowy and icy conditions. I come from driving Jeeps and those are the gold standard for 4wd reliability. But this Mercedes surprised me.
In my hunt for new tires, I took a look at the Michelin Pilot Sport all season and they look really good. But I keep going back to the Michelin Cross Climate 2. Those CC2s excel in every category...and they look stunning! Especially on wider tires like what the GLC43s use on the back! I have the Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 tires on one of my Jeep Grand Cherokees and they are good tires...nice ride, quiet, and do very well in wet and slight snow. And they are a great warm season tire as well. No complaints. But when you do a side-by-side comparison with the Michelin CC2s, the CC2s come out way ahead.

 

I have a question for snow drivers. When chains / snow traction devices are required in ski resort areas like Mammoth Mountain this winter (even with All Season or snow tires), I would welcome feedback on which axle they should be installed. Searching online, I see folks saying to install them on the rear tires. The MBZ service tech said to put them on the front tires if there is sufficient clearance around the tire.

 

I have two pairs of Matte Auto Extra-Pro snow socks. There is clearance on both front & rear DWS06 Plus AS tires when the snow socks are installed.

 

For the AMG, I would think that the rear wheels would work best with traction devices given that AMGs have a different power split front to rear than the regular vehicles. I know on my 2018 GLC43, it's a 40/60 split for power front to rear...so for my vehicle, I would have the traction device on the rear wheels. YMMV depending on your power split ratio.

 

Thanks. My 2020 has a 69% rear, 31% front torque ratio.

 

Any suggestions for chains for a GLC43? Also, is there any concern of the chains damaging / marking the alloy wheels?

 

I have the AutoSock HP 850 (size XL) which I purchased from their international website. The “Pro” version of snow socks is slightly thicker than their standard snow socks. I put them on and there is no concern of rubbing. I’m on 265-40-21 front and 295-35-21 rear tires.
When I was shopping for snow socks last year, the 21” snow socks were pretty hard to find.

 

Thank you for the information. I am running a R19 235/55 winter setup and live in the mountains. For the most part I should think the 4MATIC and winter tires should do. But I am looking for added traction in case of storms and multiple inches of snow. Are there a better alternative in such a scenario instead of chains? If chains are a better options, which one would you use?

 

Hi kshan,

I’m not sure what brand and model of tires you are currently running on your GLC 43, but I recently switched over to the Continental DWS 06 Plus all season tires. Are you sure you have 235mm wide tires? Seems pretty narrow for a GlC 43 vehicle.

The DWS 06 Plus tires received excellent reviews for snow traction and wet weather traction. I have a good friend that has them on his AWD vehicle and they perform flawlessly at the ski resorts.

Personally, with a luxury vehicle, I would not put snow chains or snow cables on there for fear of damaging the vehicle and the paint if they came loose. Several people online indicated that the GLC 43 vehicle performs pretty well in the snow with all season tires, but it should be noted that it has a fixed 69% rear / 31% front torque ratio. If additional traction is needed in the snow, I prefer snow, socks versus cables or chains. They are much easier to put on and take off. I like the Matte Snow Socks because they offer a thicker, more durable “Pro” version that is less likely to develop holes or tears. There are also other brands of snow socks on Amazon.

 

My tires are Pirelli Winter Scorpion 2. I am certain they are 235/55 R19. I switch out to a square winter setup from my stock 265/45 R20 fonts and 295/40 R20 rears as the narrow winter tiers perform better in snow conditions. This also means I have plenty of space in the wheel well as the poke of my tires is reduced by 19mm in the front and 34mm in the rear. So chains should go on with less concern about causing body damage (unless they come off).

I am only considering the chains, in abundance of caution, and for 6"+ snow days when going to resorts like Mammoth, CA where having 4WD and snow tiers might not be enough.

 

235, got it. The best traction for ice and snow would be the snow cables, but they take longer to put on and takeoff then snow socks. In the past, when using snow cables, I have had very good luck with the ShurGrip brand.