I'm considering purchasing studded snow tires for the rear wheels only on my 400e (E Class W124). Will I be creating any safety hazards? I would only use the tires during inclimate weather driving only slow speeds - not normal winter driving.

I'm aware with front wheel drive cars, there are safety issues with only placing snow tires on the front only.

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Russell McMahon
Tulsa, OK
2001 CLK 320
1992 400se
1993 400e
2000 320ML

Rears tires make you go, front tires make you stop and turn. (something like 75% of brake force is from the front).

You really really need to have the same tires on all four for balanced handling - otherwise you'll totally defeat the purpose of having good snow tires on.

So "Yes, you'll be creating a safety hazard".

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Dave

1995 S320

good answer ....

agreed

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Please, call me to place orders or for more info
use my name for on-line orders

Thanks for the help. In the Midwest we normally get sporadic occurrences of snow and ice which usually don't last long, but our S Class W140 and E class w124 do horrible on the snow and ice. It seems hard to justify the expense of 4 new snow tires and rims for each car when I wouldn't need the tires very often. I thought I might get by with 2 rear tires for each to use during the bad weather.

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Russell McMahon
Tulsa, OK
2001 CLK 320
1992 400se
1993 400e
2000 320ML

You can find a used set of rims on ebay for around 200. With the savings can you now afford set of four tires?

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1939 170 - till I was 3, still turns heads
1989 300TE - daily driver has 263k
1987 300E - purrs happily with 120k
1983 300SD - keeps my friend happy

If I were you, I'd skip the studs on the front wheels and go with a studless winter tire-I had studs on the front of a car once(Civic) and they would slide on dry pavement on turns and didn't last. I have a set of Semperits for my wife's Vibe and they did excellent last year(I don't drive my 300D in the snow/salt)

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1982 300DT 190K (Diesel Purge + synthetic oil=smoothness at last!!!)
2004 Ford E-350 6.0 L PSD 227K
2006 Dodge Ram 3500 SRW HO Cummins 4X4 48RE 42K (brute force tow vehicle)
2005 Scion xB wife's rolling pop can
1993 GMC Sierra C3500 6.2 142K

I Had 2 snow studded snow tires on my sdl and it was night and never had a problem going or stopping anywhere. Since im selling the SDL I will sell the studded snows if your interested. I only used them for one season so they are still in good cond. I bought them new, not sure if they will fit your car or not.
Bob

what size are the snow tires?

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Russell McMahon
Tulsa, OK
2001 CLK 320
1992 400se
1993 400e
2000 320ML

I think they are 205-65-16 and im not sure about the brand, I will verify size and brand tomrow for you thanks
bob

rsmcmahon,

I bought my 1994 E420 in Dec. 2002. The car came with Michelin MXV4(?) all season tires and they did well those first two winters. I do have traction control, so without that I could have been in trouble because it got used a lot, but it worked great and I never got stuck.

I just bought a set of Nokian RSi snow tires. I can't wait for the snow to fly and see how they do. I had them put on this early because the Michelins were getting bald and I could not wait any longer to replace them.

I've always heard to use snow tires on all 4 wheels.

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