Thanks!

This is what I was looking for. Great feedback.

Wayne

 

I could never figure out why the rear wheels on the CLS63 and E63 are different in width.

 

Had winter tires put on my new E63 today. Read a lot of posts on this thread and ended up running a square setup of 255/35/19 all around. Went with Dunlop Winter Sports. They 9.5 back wheels sucked the tires in a little more than I expected... you can see the lip of the wheel a little more than my liking, but over all not too bad in appearance. I will let you know how they perform soon. Looks like we will be getting a little snow this weekend.

 

Did you put 9.5 up front too?

 

Owly... No, I kept the stock AMG wheels all the way around, so 9" up front and 9.5" in back. I considered buying winter wheels, but I leased the car and figured 4 or 5 tire changeovers over the course of the lease would only be about $500... less expensive than buying wheels. If I purchased the car I would have definitely bought new wheels for the convenience factor.

 

Thanks for the info...I'm in the market for winter wheels. I am thinking 9.5 all around to avoid what happened to another member.

 

Well after my Bremmer Kraft BR09 debacle, I went with my original plan and ordered TSW Nurburgring wheels in Gun Metal, 19x8.5's all around and Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds in 255x35s. I followed 335X-ray's lead and ordered them from Frank at Wheels Boutique in FL. $2800 delivered, now I just have to return my current setup to Tire Rack for a refund. Just waiting on the shipping packaging to arrive. I think ETA on my new setup is about 2 weeks, so I'm back to driving my supercharged Tacoma while this nasty winter weather rolls through Colorado.

 

Those look awesome! I'm looking at something similar but in black and 19x9.5 all around.

 

I would be really hesitant about attempting to run 19x9.5" up front, it's super tight in there. The stock 19x9.0" barely fit as-is. Have you confirmed this will work?

 

What he said! I have 19x9.0" up front like stock and wouldn't try and go any wider.

Be very careful.

X

 

Nope...no confirmation. The viable options I've seen are 19x8.5 or 19x9.5...might have to risk the 19x8.5 all around now.

 

+1 on 9.5" being a questionable fit. Especially without knowing the offset.

 

Not trying to hijack an E thread but I put some Pirelli SotoZero's on my CLS55 in a 255/285 (20") setup and have to say these tires are AWESOME. Great traction and braking!!!

 

I was looking at 19x9.5 with an offset of 40. Maybe I should consider 19x8.5 with an offset of 40 instead.

 

Those 9.5's will only be 3mm closer to the suspension, but I don't know what the stock clearance looks like.

 

like 2mm of clearance They may work, but I would definitely find a way to 'try' them first.

 

We've got a nice early-winter snowfall coming down right now. 3" of granular powder as of an hour ago.

Yesterday, I pulled the Hakkas down from the rack and installed them on our G wagen. That vehicle serves as our primary bad weather rig.

I took it out on some gravel roads and then out on our untreated, unplowed paved roads. Very hilly area. The truck is just awesome in this weather. Stops. Starts. Turns. No problems.

Then I went back and tried the '14 E63S with Pirelli Sotto IIs. I thought it'd be nice to have some direct back to back experience.

Firstly, let me say that driving a low AWD car in bad conditions is a new thing to me. We've always got SUVs or trucks for that role. Ground clearance is going to be a big issue. Also, not having the commanding view of the road is a bit off-putting. It's great being low in the dry, but I didn't find it so comforting in the snow.

The car accelerates quite well. Really, really well. Rolling onto the throttle triggered some nanny intervention, but it's really not noticeable, save for the tiny yellow idiot light on the instruments. A really gentle touch on the skinny pedal is all that is needed to get rolling.

Turning and braking were generally good. I'm big on using the flappy paddles, and found that to help a bit with getting the car set up for a maneuver or coming to a stop.

The roadway beneath the snow was dry, so these are pretty optimal conditions.

Obviously, there's no comparison between the Hakkas and the Pirellis. But the Pirellis are going to be good enough to get the job done. As long as the snow isn't too deep.

TBD on nasty icy roads. I really try to avoid them at all costs. Nobody runs studded tires here, and once you get toward the city, you find that people really don't understand why a summer tire is 100% worthless in the winter.

Best of luck to everyone.

 

It is really tight. I don't see how anyone is going to run traction aids. Even those super-low profile one.

 

Great choice. I've been running the TSW Nurburgring with the Pirelli SZ winters for a few weeks now, and they look stunning! I got the same sizes as stock though, which is great because these look so much better than the stock wheels that I want to eventually switch these to summer use.

And I'm extremely happy with the Pirelli SottoZero winter tires. Couldn't ask for anything more, although I haven't driven through snow yet. Certainly handles low temps, sleet, rain, and dry very well and not too noisy.

 

Oh Pictures are definitely in order! I would love to see them on the E63

 

As do I. I've had the car on the pirellis in the bad stuff. You can 'get there' but I would take our ML350 on blizzaks or our C350 on pirellis over the E63 for sure.

The tires are good enough to get you home if you get caught in a storm, but if you have the option of a G wagen really no sense in jeopardizing a brand new E63.

 

Had to take the E63 to the office today. We got 6" of snow on Sunday followed by Ice. Then 5" of snow yesterday. Everything is a dense, crunchy mess.

The height of this car is a serious disadvantage in this type of weather. My front end took a beating going down my lane. There was a nice set of tracks from all the truck and suv traffic, but this car just couldn't clear the accumulation. No damage, but it was sickening to hear the crunching and surfing.

I'm gonna have to be better about running the tractor down the lane after it snows.

 

But how did it do in the snow and ice?

 

TheOtherEric - please post pics of your wheels/tires. Using stock wheels for winter, so needto get some summer wheels. I like that style and price is appealing.
Jim

 

It is too bad that no companies make some kind of snow plow attachment to be attached to the front lower apron area.