I don't know if you ever used REAL snow tires before, but a snow tire is not built to handle like a summer tire. The rubber compound is much softer and subject to much more bending and flexing than a summer or 4-season tire.
Blizzacs are a very good snow tire , but like any other snow tire, they will ruin your handling on solid asphalt.
I personally use Michelin Arctic Alpine with extremely good results in snow, but I take it slower on bare asphalt.

Dunlop Winter Sport M3.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Winter+Sport+M3

Not the ultimate in snow, but certainly great, and also great in dry and wet. I have and love the M2's on my '92 300TE as the M3's were not yet avaialble in this country at the time.

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David
1986 300E Anthracite + ECodes + MB Mileage Award

I personnaly use Michelin Artic Alpins and I have no complaints

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Tony

1993 300SL
2005 SLK350
1999 SLK230 (SOLD)

might want to post also in the Wheels and Tires section :

i have two friends who have switched to the Nokians as winter tire and they love it and swear by it

they live out in Rochester, NY (way way upstate NY) so they know all about snow

Here are several posts to another list regarding Nokian WR's on my '92 W124 Sportline. I've now run about 3,000 miles all over the mid-west in the recent snow and ice. These are 205/60 HR 15 on the 7" rims. They also offer an XL version which has stiffer sidewall.

Took my new tires to dealer for mounting on wheels I saved last year when I bought 4 of the 8 hole replicas at Tire Rack.

I promptly left on a trip from northeast Tennessee to just south of Nashville. First, I immediately discovered that it was difficult
to adapt to the soft sidewall of the H rated tire. This is probably aggravated by the tread design of the tire. There are a lot of siped rubber
blocks. When you take a sweeping turn on the interstate they don't track like my V rated Dunlops do. The tire response is delayed and then
they sort of start turning on their own. They require correction in sweeping turns.

They are also a little noisy. This is probably to be expected in this type of tire.

On a positive note, the dealer charged a grand total of $24.95 to mount and balance all 4 tires! I asked if that was a mistake and was told
that this was the correct price.

So now I am debating whether I can stand these tires for the next 3 or 4 winter months. I may be better off going back to the V rated tires.

Next post.

What I didn't say in my last post was that there was this slight vibration that felt like it was coming from the rear. I mean slight , but irritating. Time prevented taking it back to the dealer. Checked the internet and found a local tire shop that had the fancy Hunter Balancer.

Took all four tires to them for analysis and rebalance, as applicable. They found one wheel with a slight deformity. I took them the brand new spare for the parked '93, never driven on. We tossed the 12 year old Michelin Z tire. They re-balanced all 4 tires. They provide a computer print out on each wheel. They had the correct plastic coated weights. I put the wheels back on this evening and went for a spin.

Dead solid perfect! Zero vibration up to 80 mph.

Looks like forecast is for Sleet, Freezing rain, snow in Chicago tommorrow, so I will get to test them out.

Just arrived in Grand Rapids, MI after an evening run from Chicago. Heavy snow from Benton Harbor north. I have been a little critical of the new Nokian WR's, but now I am changing my tune.

These tires are amazing. the left hand lane was covered over. Sometimes just slightly slushy. These things just seem to slice through the snow. The car isn't knocked off course when changing lanes in the snow. Averaged probably 65 safely , with the Euros and PIAA fogs going strong.

Supposed get 4 to 8 tonight.

Next Post 12/22/05 about 3,000 miles later (long business trip )

The Nokian WR's have seated , if that's the word for the slight wearing in process. They are vibration free at 80 MPH, and briefly at 100 MPH just to see. I could easily see myself with these year-round, but they are not as stable as the V-Rated tires in sweeping interstate curves .
I will go back to the summer V rated tires in a couple of months.


Steve White
Johnson City, TN
1992 300E Sportline 217K Anthracite Grey
1993 300E Sportline 252K Black Pearl

Blizzaks work great for me in Boston and Vermont. I don't worry too much about handling because after all, they're snow tires...

This is the second winter season for my Nokian WRs. I really like them, and in fact their handling really impresses me, to the point that if I had bought them first, I probably wouldn't have bought my Nokian NRVs but just kept the WRs on year round.

To me their snow traction is comparable to the Michelin Arctic Alpins I had used for the previous 4 winters. The WRs, on the other hand, have a much longer tread life.

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Steve
'93 400E

I have used both the Blizzak and Michelin Arctic Alpines in the Colorado Rockies and NW Montana Mountains. Both seem to work well but have different characteristics.

The Blizzaks are dynamite on ice, and they are called the "ice tire" for good reason. They are also very good in snow because of their knobby block tread. Their weak point is wet weather and warm spells. A warm day in winter will grind the rubber off faster than you can tell about it. Once you wear the tread down to the harder compound below the soft ice compound, well, then you just have knobby all-season tires that aren't really very good in the rain. I have used them on a big V8 Mercury Cougar and also a FWD Toyota. Very solid on ice with both applications.

The Arctic Alpines are also pretty good, not giant killers, but pretty good. They are OK in snow and OK in ice. Better in ice than snow. On balance they are not too bad a selection for the price. The latest model is their X-Ice series which has a more aggressive tread and should be better in snow and wet. The surprise is their durability. I run them year-round in NW Montana and they have lasted 2 1/2 seasons with two very hot summers between the winters. They have held up extremely well and are now about half worn. I'll replace them next fall with something new. They are noisy in the wet, singing a bit at around 50-55 mph. And in the dry weather they rumble with a bunch of tire noise all summer. Also, they seem to wear in a scallop at the outside edge which I believe is the cause of the road noise. But they have been good tires with good quality for the price. Oh, they are on a Subaru, so some of the wear characteristics may be due to the AWD.

The latest MBCA STAR magazine has a very favorable review of the Nokian tires. Ritter indicated very good results on his 320E so I may try them next year.

230/8

Let me add my vote for the Artic Alpine. I got my set at Costco, though I don't remember what I paid, I know it was about the best deal around. I wasn't expecting much from them, as I have a 4x4 for winter driving with All Season Mud & Snow rated tires, and I generally put my 300E away in the winter and only drive it when absolutely necessary in the snow. Well, this season is different, and I drove the benz a lot more when we had snow earlier this month.

The Artic Alpines impressed me with their traction on snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain conditions I've had so far this season. Of course the freezing rain was the worst, and I drive very cautiously, conservatively and slowly whenever the traction is limited.

Mostly the snow tires (on the stock 15" wheels) get put on just before thanksgiving, and off in the spring, with about half to 3/4 the miles put on them on dry or wet pavement and 30-50 degree temperatures. Drove on them down to SOCAL last christmas and was very pleased with their on road manors. They are a pretty good road tire, and handled high-speed highway travel very well. They haven't really worn down much either.

Bottom line is for a 'studless' design, I am very happy with them. In March they will probably come off and my 16" 3-season tires will go back on, but maybe not, as they don't have to come off even after the studded snow tire removal deadline that my state has on April 1st. No hurry.

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On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who at the dawn of victory, sat down to wait, and waiting -- died