Are mercs better in winter than bmw's?

andysat

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Hi all-as above really-all the bmw's I have owned have been real rear end twitchy in ice/snow-are the c classes (14 plate on) any better?-thanks
 

Wighty

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Not if they are rear wheel drive !! They will be pants without winters or all season tyres :)
 

bob 6600

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Out of interest, have you asked the same question on a BMW forum?

I can guess the answers you would get there :)
 
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A

andysat

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No Bob 6600 I have not.
 

AMGeed

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S204 C180K
I've not driven either a 2014 C Class or a BMW in snow or icy conditions, but both my previous E280 and my current E55 don't like it.
If you are worried about road conditions I'd invest in a cheap spare set of rims and some winter tyres. You'll be laughing as you sail by those on normal tyres in whatever brand of car.
 

Rory

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2005 C270CDi Avantgarde Estate. Bought 2005, sold 2022.
Colleague had a 520 and had no issues. Then switched to a E220 - first bit of snow he had to abandon his car.

C Estates seem to be regarded as particularly useless on summer tyres. I've run All Seasons year round but since fitting them a few years ago not had the weather to test them.
 

sonic

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E350CDI, SLC250d, FJR 1300
Eight years ago I had a CLK wouldn't go anywhere in snow, so I bought a set of wheels on Ebay & some winter tyres. Never had any problems at all in winter since, including going to Scotland twice in the snowy winter of 2009.
Totally sold on winter tyres, have them for my E350 & my wife's SLK.
 

GlosRichCLK

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2019 W177 A180 SE auto, 2012 W212 E350 CDi Sport saloon, 2001 CLK 230 K Cabriolet A208
Winter tyres or all seasons like Michelin cross climate
 

sonic

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E350CDI, SLC250d, FJR 1300
Full winter, on separate rims. I put them on in Oct until Apr, & do the same millage on the winter tyres as I do on my summer tyres.
Summers are 18", winter are 17" & a narrower profile.
 

John Laidlaw

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Land Rover Discovery 4
Both equally hopeless on summer rubber in the winter
Both transformed by winter rubber
Personally I keep the same rims but change the rubber to winters early November until April
If Michelin did cross climates in my size I’d run them or at least try
 

silestanix

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97' C250TD Sport
Winter tyres can make the difference between twitchy, no grip ridiculous and almost normal road condition like grip. Have winter wheel sets for mine, mums and sister's motors. They're worth the money.
 

anglaslt

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LHD B63S Brabus (CL63 AMG) and RHD BMW X3 M40i
Both equally hopeless on summer rubber in the winter
Both transformed by winter rubber
Personally I keep the same rims but change the rubber to winters early November until April
If Michelin did cross climates in my size I’d run them or at least try

I agree with this.

The only obsevation I would make is that I prefer to change wheels and tyres. Changing tyres will over time stretch or damage the beading and could lead to failure.
 

Ductman

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Hampshire
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C350 CDI Estate/R171 200 SLK/Lotus Exige V6/Lotus Evora GT410 Sport
My MBs have all been utterly hopeless on snow whilst on normal summer tyres. The combination of rear wheel drive and relatively wide tyres making any car so equipped perform poorly, regardless of manufacturer.

Apart from proper winter tyres, the best solution I found at the time was to use the wife's Ford KA rather than either of my cars. Front wheel drive and skinny tyres made it a hoot to drive on snow and it went anywhere, never once getting stuck. I'll have to invest in some all weather tyres if it snows this winter though as her KA was sold some time ago in favour of an SLK which I fear will also be utterly hopeless on snow.
 

daveenty

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Your Mercedes
2019 AMG S Class Coupe
My new E Class is four wheel drive but still going to be pretty dire I should imagine, mainly due to the width of the tyres which will just act like little snow boards.

You could always fit chains: - :D :D :D

BMW in chains.jpg
 

kid-jensen

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Ml320CDI 2007
As said above, both pretty hopeless without winter tyres, but this applies to all cars really.

My old Auidi Allroad could accelerate almost as fast on snow as on tarmac, you just couldn't stop it!

I'm assuming the ML will be similar. We've not had snow since I bought it...
 

John Laidlaw

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Land Rover Discovery 4
I agree with this.

The only obsevation I would make is that I prefer to change wheels and tyres. Changing tyres will over time stretch or damage the beading and could lead to failure.

In an ideal world, then yes two sets of rims would be nice. The comment on stretching or damaging the beading on the tyres is perpetuated by MB themselves, however I am in the rubber/Thermoplatics/Fluoropolymer/elastomer industry and can assure you that it would take a considerably higher force than that required during fitting to damage tyres, certainly a score of changes and more. Most winters will last 3-4 seasons so only a few changes which would be extremely unlikely to cause damage.
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
My new E Class is four wheel drive but still going to be pretty dire I should imagine, mainly due to the width of the tyres which will just act like little snow boards.

You could always fit chains: - :D :D :D

View attachment 39587
You might be pleasantly surprised.
Defenders run 265 wide tyres with no issues and my A8 Quattro sport ran on 245s with no issues.
I noticed the A8 was a bit tail happy one day in some snow and when I checked the rear tyres they were down to the markers but it still drove in snow without any issues as long as I didn't put the foot down.

Icelandic 4x4s run massively wide tryes.....
IsakBilar-7.jpg
 

flowrider

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SL500 (R230)
I agree with this.

The only obsevation I would make is that I prefer to change wheels and tyres. Changing tyres will over time stretch or damage the beading and could lead to failure.
Johns tyres probably wont last a season anyway! ;)
 

Wighty

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W211/E320cdi/2009 and CLK200k 2009
My new E Class is four wheel drive but still going to be pretty dire I should imagine, mainly due to the width of the tyres which will just act like little snow boards.

You could always fit chains: - :D :D :D

View attachment 39587
I reckon your four wheel drive E class will be fine in the snow , probably not as good as winters on a rear wheel drive , but better than a front wheel drive with no winters .....sounds like a brain teaser :)
 


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