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talons40 12-06-2002 11:09 AM

300e snow traction
 
I'm new to Mercedes Benz Ownership. I have a 91 MB 300E. We recently had a snow storm. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. Any insight to eliminate the slipping and getting more traction.

taaboo 12-06-2002 11:25 AM

May not be the answer you want to hear, but there is absolutely *no* substitute for dedicated snow tires on a rear wheel drive car. You will find the car handles/starts/stops better than most front wheel drive cars if you go with real snow tires.

Some weight in back will help depending on what kind of tires you are currently running.

HTH

Brian

need2speed 12-06-2002 11:44 AM

Did you previously own a front-drive vehicle? The cross-over can be alarming in slippery weather since the driving characteristics are so different. Absolutely, you must have proper snow tires if you expect winter driving conditions. All-season just won't cut it!

Just imagine after another decade or so when rear-wheel drive is just a memory - all the kids that will never know the joy of spinning donuts in empty snow-covered parking lots! :D

jsmith 12-06-2002 11:49 AM

if you have wide, low profile tires it's a lot worse. i just switched to snows before thanksgiving - they're great! gonna go look for some empty parking lots later...

peterhardie 12-06-2002 12:03 PM

get snows
 
I have a 400E, v-8, and I just put on Arctic Alpins. They had their first test in New Jersey yesterday and they performed very well. I could break traction if I tried, but the tires would grab eventually. I could count on the car to keep moving, hills, curves.

This all assumes reasonable winter driving habits on packed snow or ice: moderate throttle, prepare to stop in advance. My wife had no problems (it's her car) and I was worried that all that power she likes would be a problem in the winter.

I have all-seasons on my wagon, and have no problems (more weight obviously, and I am VERY careful braking), but my mechanic says he needs snows on his 124 wagon. They are lighter vehicles.

I also dropped the width from 215's to 195's, smaller contact means more weight per sq. in.

Try it, you'll like it.

robi99 12-06-2002 03:06 PM

I have a 1989 300E...bought it 5 years ago and I live in Vermont. I had 4 snows in the garage when we got hit with an early storm the first winter. In brief, with summer or half worn all season tires, a Benz is the worst car there is on snow. With snows, it is among the best. Don't cheap out and do just 2 snows...do all 4. It has great traction and tracks beautifully in heavy wet snow, ice etc.

peterhardie 12-06-2002 03:27 PM

me too on snows all around
 
You really need four snows on a rear-drive car.

I should say in the interest of full disclosure that I have a 90# bag of sand in the trunk, as far forward as I could put it. The 6-cyl 124's may not need it. Like I said, I have been nervous about a light chassis V-8 in the snow!

bstreep 12-06-2002 06:18 PM

I live in Texas, but grew up in NJ. I CAN tell you that our 300E in Colorado 2 years ago for skiing performed like an ice cube in a hot skillet! I've NEVER driven something that performed so poorly in snow! Of course... The tires were the original Perelli's that came with the car! 9 years old, but still had decent tread. My brother had an E320 124, and went 2 weeks in NJ without snows - and then said that it went from horrible to OUTSTANDING.

talons40 12-06-2002 06:41 PM

Thanks for all your answers. My thinking was prettymuch the same as what everyone is saying, Snow Tires and more wait in the back. It's just good to know that snows will make a difference.

400E 12-06-2002 11:16 PM

Check out the Oct. issue (I think) of Consumer Reports. They rated Q- and H-rated snow tires. There is always a compromise. The best tires for snow traction tended not to do well on wet pavement, for example.

PaulC 12-06-2002 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bstreep
I live in Texas, but grew up in NJ. I CAN tell you that our 300E in Colorado 2 years ago for skiing performed like an ice cube in a hot skillet! I've NEVER driven something that performed so poorly in snow! Of course... The tires were the original Perelli's that came with the car! 9 years old, but still had decent tread. My brother had an E320 124, and went 2 weeks in NJ without snows - and then said that it went from horrible to OUTSTANDING.
Rubber compounds are as important to snow performance as tread pattern. 9 year-old tires are petrified.

732002 12-07-2002 09:11 AM

A LSD diff should help also. Our 190e 2.6 can spin the
back wheels in rain I can only imagine that snow would
be a disaster to drive in. IMHO MB's are a high end car
and LSD diff should have been standard feature.

A Subaru AWD is a better snow car than you MB will be
with snow tires+ LSD.

Dave
91 190E 2.6
73 bmw 2002
96 Subaru Outback

John Plut 12-07-2002 09:36 AM

300e Traction
 
I agree that snow tires are the only way to go with a Mercedes. I bought a set of 15 hole rims for $50 on ebay and keep a mounted set of snow tires for winter.

Another BIG factor for snow traction is tread depth. All season tires will slip like crazy if they have less than 6/32" tread. Same goes for snow tires. Be aware if buying used snow tires that some of the best names like Blizzak and Graspic have a special tread compound that is capped on the tread. A tire with 8/32" or 9/32" tread may only be good for one more season. New snow tires have approximately 12/32" of tread.

ILUVMILS 12-07-2002 09:49 AM

Get an ML.


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