In case you don't go to the W&T forum, Kumho experience...

[blackmercedes]

Put a set of KW-11's on the 626, and have a set to be studded for the C230. The 626 stays in town, so it got them "plain."

We got 25cm of snow the last few days, and there are some icy streets/parking lots out there.

1. They are ugly. No "designer" sidewalls here, folks.

2. They are Q-rated for the 626 and T-rated for the C230, so they're not handling tires when the road is bare and dry.

3. They are CHEAP. $650 for EIGHT in Canuck bucks.

4. They work very well on ice on the FWD Mazda. No problems on glare ice in a hilly parking lot.

5. On dry pavement, they are QUIET for a snow tire. Heck, they're not any noiser that the BFG summers that came off the 626. Nice.

Now, I'm way pickier about install on the C230, so I won't have them on until next week, so stay tuned. If they perform as well onthe MB as they do on the Mazda, I'll be pretty impressed. The main difference will in that the MB's tires will be studded. I'm willing to lose a little dry pavement capability as we'll be in the mountains lots this winter with the MB. (Not the Subie you ask?) Well, nope. The C230 is coming out of warranty, and so the odo readings matter much less now. The Subaru is still under warranty and I want to reach the end of the time before we run out of km's.