car still won't go up 30-degree driveway after putting on Nokia Hakka 2 studded tires
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car still won't go up 30-degree driveway after putting on Nokia Hakka 2 studded tires
I had Nokia Hakka 2 studded tires installed on my RWD
C-class this weekend. A few hours earlier, my area got
about 1/8" to 1/4" of ice on the roads. I got into the car
and drove around the neighborhood. The ride was decent
and I had almost no problems stopping and turning at
speed. In fact, it handled better than my 4WD SUV with
all-season Bridgestone H/L tires.
Unfortuantly, coming back up the driveway was another story.
My curvy driveway is about 300 to 400 feet long.
As I enter the drive way, I must come to a near-complete
stop for a turn, then it's a near-40-degree climb for about
50-feet, and the rest of the way is 30-degrees up all the
way to the garage door.
I gently drove up the hill and then only 30 feet later,
the rear wheels starting spinning and the ASR kicked in.
(yellow triangle flashed like crazy inside the speedometer.
This basically stopped the car. I shifted into reverse and
backed down the hill.
2nd try. I pressed the ASR button to switch it off and the
yellow triangle remained lit. (but in reality, MB's ASR
system cannot be completely switched off.....) The
transmission is in the W mode for 2nd gear start. This
time, the car only made it up 10 more feet before the
computers started braking the rear wheels. At this point,
there was some hot brake smell so I decided to give up and
just parked the car next to the mailbox.
It's just too cold and dark outside tonight... (around 10 to
15 degrees) perhaps I'll try again tomorrow...
C-class this weekend. A few hours earlier, my area got
about 1/8" to 1/4" of ice on the roads. I got into the car
and drove around the neighborhood. The ride was decent
and I had almost no problems stopping and turning at
speed. In fact, it handled better than my 4WD SUV with
all-season Bridgestone H/L tires.
Unfortuantly, coming back up the driveway was another story.
My curvy driveway is about 300 to 400 feet long.
As I enter the drive way, I must come to a near-complete
stop for a turn, then it's a near-40-degree climb for about
50-feet, and the rest of the way is 30-degrees up all the
way to the garage door.
I gently drove up the hill and then only 30 feet later,
the rear wheels starting spinning and the ASR kicked in.
(yellow triangle flashed like crazy inside the speedometer.
This basically stopped the car. I shifted into reverse and
backed down the hill.
2nd try. I pressed the ASR button to switch it off and the
yellow triangle remained lit. (but in reality, MB's ASR
system cannot be completely switched off.....) The
transmission is in the W mode for 2nd gear start. This
time, the car only made it up 10 more feet before the
computers started braking the rear wheels. At this point,
there was some hot brake smell so I decided to give up and
just parked the car next to the mailbox.
It's just too cold and dark outside tonight... (around 10 to
15 degrees) perhaps I'll try again tomorrow...
Last edited by creamypanda; Dec 20, 2004 at 12:12 AM.
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Joined: Jan 2004
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From: Seattle WA
99 E320
Oh I don't know. GIven the conditions you described, there isn't much shy of chains with those little ice traction bars welded on which would do the trick. Heck, around here we're amused by folks driving up to the pass to ski and surprised that their SUV-4wd slides on snow. Decent layer of ice will thwart the best of the snow tires and studs.
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From: New York City
Chevrolet Chevette, Ford Pinto, Pontiac Aztek, Trabant, Yugo GV (and all the worst cars ever built)
Originally Posted by creamypanda
... I must come to a near-complete
stop for a turn, then it's a near-40-degree climb for about
50-feet, and the rest of the way is 30-degrees up all the
way to the garage door....
stop for a turn, then it's a near-40-degree climb for about
50-feet, and the rest of the way is 30-degrees up all the
way to the garage door....
Thread Starter
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Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 38
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I had a few minutes before I had to leave this morning
so I walked down the driveway and drove the car up.
The ice was still just as thick(near 1/4 inch) and has no
salt/sand on top. My driveway is almost as steep as
the famous Lombard Street in San Francisco.
This time, I made my 130-lb dog, Bernie, sit in the trunk
(with the lid open) and the car drove up the hill without
absolutely no problems. The ASR didn't even kick in once.
Bernie is useless as a guard dog because he's friendly
to EVERYONE, even strangers, but at least his weight was
useful today.(at 130 lbs, he's actually quite skinny for
a St. Bernard)
I guess the weight in the rear really made a big difference.
Don't think Bernie would enjoy sitting in the trunk all the
time, so I took a two 55-pound bags of potting soil and
put then in a cardboard box inside the trunk. Drove down
the hill and came back up again. No problemo.
By the way, should snow tires(studded or not) be kept
at the same MB recommended tire pressure of 28 front and
32 rear? Just wondering...
so I walked down the driveway and drove the car up.
The ice was still just as thick(near 1/4 inch) and has no
salt/sand on top. My driveway is almost as steep as
the famous Lombard Street in San Francisco.
This time, I made my 130-lb dog, Bernie, sit in the trunk
(with the lid open) and the car drove up the hill without
absolutely no problems. The ASR didn't even kick in once.
Bernie is useless as a guard dog because he's friendly
to EVERYONE, even strangers, but at least his weight was
useful today.(at 130 lbs, he's actually quite skinny for
a St. Bernard)
I guess the weight in the rear really made a big difference.
Don't think Bernie would enjoy sitting in the trunk all the
time, so I took a two 55-pound bags of potting soil and
put then in a cardboard box inside the trunk. Drove down
the hill and came back up again. No problemo.
By the way, should snow tires(studded or not) be kept
at the same MB recommended tire pressure of 28 front and
32 rear? Just wondering...
Last edited by creamypanda; Dec 20, 2004 at 09:54 AM.
Junior Member
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 23
Likes: 0
From: Canada
If you had a shorter climb I would have said to spread kitty litter...dries up the water film that builds up under the tire.
Labbatt's used to use lead weights for SL's years ago....our own '75 SL used to get stuck on 2 snow flakes with 4 snow tires on. but that's ancient history.
Another trick used to be to pull up on the handbrake (on a sports car) just enough to slow the spinning tire.
Must be fun walking on that driveway!
Dave L
Mississauga
(ski instructor for 35 years)
Labbatt's used to use lead weights for SL's years ago....our own '75 SL used to get stuck on 2 snow flakes with 4 snow tires on. but that's ancient history.
Another trick used to be to pull up on the handbrake (on a sports car) just enough to slow the spinning tire.
Must be fun walking on that driveway!
Dave L
Mississauga
(ski instructor for 35 years)
