Snow/Ice Report - 1996 E300D - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

thorsen · #1 12-02-2006, 05:59 PM

I drove my E300D to work yesterday in the snow/ice. I have Goodyear TripleTred tires that are about 250 miles old. About half of the roads were plowed/salted, but the other half (including part of the interstate) hadn't seen a plow in about 6-8" of snowfall. The result was snow packed down to a thick layer of ice, very choppy, and pretty slick.

I limited my driving speed to 20-25mph (ie - no faster than I would want to slam into something) and just took my time. As usual, my biggest fear was not me, but the other boneheads around me. I got passed by a limo (Towncar) doing ~45mph; when he got 50 ft in front of me he looped and backed into the center divider. I had no issue with traction, even on the slick ice.

The traction control was interesting. When pulling away from a stop, if I over-powered the rear wheels, you could feel what I assumed were the brakes punting the spinning wheel. I can't really say that I felt the rpm's drop, but even in 8" of slush I was able to go. The system doesn't work as well as my wife's ML, but that has the advantage of AWD and higher ground clearance.

Snow tires would have been ideal, but I don't think they would live long. 99.9% of the time the roads are plowed/salted, so I am under the impression they would wear down PDQ.

Ken300D · #2 12-02-2006, 06:22 PM

Did you say (ulp) "salt"?

Ken300D

thorsen · #3 12-02-2006, 06:23 PM

Oh yeah, lots of it. They don't use salt in NoVa?

Matt L · #4 12-02-2006, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thorsen

The traction control was interesting. When pulling away from a stop, if I over-powered the rear wheels, you could feel what I assumed were the brakes punting the spinning wheel. I can't really say that I felt the rpm's drop, but even in 8" of slush I was able to go.

I didn't drive mine after the storm, but I had it in the snow last winter. The system seems adequate.

There's no engine intervention to the traction control on this car, so the RPM won't drop. You only get rear brake actuation.

Ken300D · #5 12-02-2006, 10:05 PM

The VA Dept of Transportation uses a LOT of salt on the roads in N. VA.

When they do, none of my MBs go on the road.

I know its tougher for city folk to have spare vehicles, but country folks tend to keep something less dissolvable than a Mercedes to use on salted roads.

Ken300D

babymog · #6 12-02-2006, 10:36 PM

Your 124 is pretty solid against rust, but I agree, my good cars stay in whenever there is salt on the roads. Just not worth it to see the aluminum get ugly and shorten the life of the body and exhaust.