Just had a weekend away in the SL. ( to the Tewkesbury Golf and Country Club for some R&R - hotels a bit grubby but great course and very good food and wine).

Woke up to a very heavy frost and the first time to check out cold starting and the seat heaters. The SL started first turn, defrosted everthing in a few minutes, the seat heaters were just great, and the car was safe and secure on ungritted roads.

Guess many of you are having winter experiences, especially in the USA, but its our first one here. Hows it in the snow?

 

in the usa we have other cars for the bad cold weather and leave the sl's in the garage.

 

It's a bad winter here if we have more than a couple of days of snow, and I don't think an SL is the ideal choice for such weather. If my SL600 is anything to go by, won't even get up my driveway to start with, which kind of limits things. The 4WD Subaru skampers up it like a mountain goat though.

Agree with you about the frosty weather performance, the SL is a comfortable and secure place to be.

 

Reporting from Texas, I still haven't had to turn on the heater yet...

 

I use my 2003 Launch Edition SL 500 every day of the year for driving in snow, sleet, slush, ice, in all weather, and do find I have no problems. I do use 4 real "snow tread tires" from Mid-November thru Mid-April here in the North Central Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania. "All season" treads would not be adequate here. I do use the "W" position on the tranny in the winter season.

Also, I use the seat heater (low position) whenever I start on a trip in the Winter---it is a very useful feature. The windshield washers and the window defrosters- front and rear-- work fine! I have no problem keeping warm in the cabin in ZERO deg F. type weather, as long as I do not put the top down!

It is a great car for all year round driving in Northern Pennsylvania, USA! GIFF Albright

 

Smart ****!

It's clear that tyres are key if snow os a seroius part of your winter.

 

How nice would that be. Must remember to emigrate sometime soon.

We don't see snow here in Cornwall, UK. Its just wet, gloomy and bloody miserable most of the winter, so a clear frosty day excites us!! Sad.....

 

What do you mean by real snow tread tyres? Are they studded?
Do you not have traction problems? - after all the SL is a heavy car and not all wheel driven.

 

Hi Mustard,

Live outside Glasgow and know what you mean - 2" of snow and everything stops! Got a CLK at the moment and like our previous C-class is hopeless in snow and ice. Don't think the fat AMG tyres help. Dashboard lights up like a Christmas tree which is fitting. :o) Can't imagine an SL would be any better but hope I'm proved wrong.
Got a Jeep Grand Cherokee which is great fun in the snow and use it to pull the CLK up the slight incline to our house!
Used to buy studded winter tyres for our Volvo estates but the winters are so unpredictable here as you know, you could buy them and never need them like last year.
Hope to pick up our SL from Bremen in June so time to enjoy it before the winter comes!

 

LOL

Glad you decided to go get it from Bremen. Thought about trailering it with the Jeep to keep the miles down? Defeats the purpose of the trip I guess..

 

Yeah, clocking up the miles is the only downside but it'll give a good shakedown! Like the CLK it'll be low mileage use so long-term it'll be nothing much.
Still feel a bit wary about driving on the right. Never used to bother me but now feel uncomfortable and relief when it's over. Got a few months to decide. Can't wait though!

 

I can imagine the look on the faces of the Bremen staff. Those British are barmy. But at least you'd be trailering it back with a DaimlerChrysler product...

 

IN USA we have tread designs used in winter by some persons commonly called "All-season tires" and others use tread designs commonly called "Winter Tires".----(in addition to regular Summer performance tires, and of course, studded tires)

By "real snow tread tires" I was referring to WINTER tires, and use specifically 4- PIRELLI WINTER 240 SnowSport Tires- Which feature a 100 % silica winter compound molded into speed rating-specific, asymmetric tread design. These are not studed tires.

I do have traction problems with the SL 500 unless I use tires as I have indicated above. Mercedes recommends 4 snow tires even though the SL 500 is rear wheel drive--but overall performance and safe braking are achieved better by 4 snow tires.

I hope that answer your questions -- Giff Albright of Northern Pennsylvania, USA

 

I have a 2004 SL and try not to use it when snow is present. I looked into getting "all season" tires for the car and it turned out to be a dead end as there are very few manufacturers that produce tires that would fit on the staggered rear wheels. The only choice was getting snow tires, which I did not want to keep on my car. The car does GREAT in the cold weather; all heat producing systems are a go within seconds of start, but I have no experience with snow driving.

 

I used to drive my R129 through the winter with winter tires. These worked well and the car felt stable most of the time. The exception came one February when I was going too fast up a highway ramp in the dark at five in the morning and hit a patch of ice which caused me to spin and crash. There was a sub-freezing fog, ice was condensing and I doubt anyone had been up that ramp for a while. The car just gradually yawed with no effect from my steering input whatever, so the problem with winter here in the Boston area is that if you hit a slick patch of ice you’re simply out of luck, winter tires or none.

I never put winter tires on my SL55 and haven’t decided whether to do so for its replacement, an SL600 which arrives in February. The other issue around here is the condition of the roads, which is horrible. I commute 25 miles into Boston every day, driving my S500 with Michelin Pilot Alpins the majority of the time. The car is stable and secure, but several times each trip I hit deep potholes that leave me glad to have high-profile tires on relatively small 16 inch wheels. During the summer I have 18 inch sport package wheels on that car. The problem with the SL600 and SL55 is that the large brakes require 18 inch wheels, and the tires for those wheels have lower profiles than the S500’s summer tires. My advice is to use smaller 17 inch wheels if you have an SL500 that can take them.

The final problem with winter around here is the sand used on the roads. Because the stuff isn’t particularly well graded you are occasionally hit with pebbles large enough to chip the paint.

I will probably use the SL600 on only those few days with good conditions between December first and April first. However I am leaning toward investing in a set of winter tires because the weather in New England is so changeable that what begins as a good day can turn into an unexpected snow storm.

 

I quite enjoy driving top down with full heaters on at 0C on a clear day/evening. Call me strange but the heaters work well in the R230! Nice fresh air.