Winter Traction

[shj]

Any thoughts please,what sort of behavior can I expect on slippery roads in my E320 Coupe,big lump in the front nothing in the back, no limited slip diff or traction control,this will be it's first winter withy me.
Simon

 

[kth286]

Limited slip diff is badly needed for these cars.

 

[jberks]

it will slide a lot!
That said, winter in the UK is rarely that bad so it's a minor issue really. If in doubt, tyre socks and poss winter tyres are good but to be honest, I've never really had a problem. Just be sensible and you should be fine, just don't expect to climb hills with the fwd crew.

 

[Blobcat]

As per above take it easy, some nice narrow tyred steel wheels would suit the season well.

 

[Apial]

My advice is to buy a set of snow tyres or a set of new underwear. My 300CE-24 is now tucked away in the garage hibernating until next spring.

 

[mioba]

ok, this is the worst thing with mercs, driving on ice nd snow.
they are terrible

my w124 is really bad and i never never use it in such conditions. this will be the first winter with the w220 and i wont risk that either.

if you really feel inclined, your best bet is snow chains, but remeber you have to take them off as soon as there is no snow. i have read about thse slip n-off socks, maybe someone has experience with these.

 

[daveenty]

Suppose I'll be having a laugh this winter then....

The CLK wasn't too bad, but caution and a delicate right foot was the order of the day.

E55 should be hilarious..I may just park it up and replace it with an old van or something

 

[television]

Suppose I'll be having a laugh this winter then....

The CLK wasn't too bad, but caution and a delicate right foot was the order of the day.

E55 should be hilarious..I may just park it up and replace it with an old van or something

Not a bad idea, you always have the un known factor, someone else who cant control their car. I heard tonight that Sweden is snowed up.


malcolm

 

[TiffX19]

I ran my 230E right through last winter,on standard Michelins.Even venturing up to Aberdeen a couple of times,when the snowdrifts were as high as a house.If you know RWD and can be VERY gentle with the throttle and brakes,then there's no reason to have problems.The ABS is superb in these conditions too.

 

[turnipsock]

Get some snow tyres, I did last year and was impressed by the silly amounts of grip I had compared to other people.

 

[Chazchuzzlewitt]

I'm hoping we get some snow this year so i can see what my 124 + 116 are like... the 300E I had in the states had ASR and was fine in proper heavy snow- I actually couldn't get the ****** thing to skid on the ice like my wife's front-wheel drive Dodge, which was so light it just flew around the place and didn't put any traction down.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

The first week I bought my TVR, I had to drive it to Silverstone in torrents of snow.

A nice awakening I thought

 

[hawk20]

The problem is hugely exagerated. Volvo's with rear wheel drive coped admirably in Sweden long before 4x4's arrived and were reckoned by many experts to be far better and more predictable than FWD cars (with them you need to accelerate in a corner even when you are losing control -hardly natural or safe but it is the way to stop losing the back end. On rear drive you lift your foot and slow down and that controls the back end).

I drove a lot in the Peak District in the days when snow still fell in Britain and found both Mercedes and Volvos excellent in snow. Just stick it in 'W' for Winter' or 'C' and you start in second and get far less tendency to wheelspin. With ABS and ESP providing excellent help, it is hard to get into much trouble in our now very mild winters.

And by the way, if we really do get a cold snap and lots of snow, either the roads are cleared and OK or there is so much traffic nowadays that once one car grinds to a halt, you just get a huge tailback and no chance of getting past even if you do have traction.

 

[jberks]

my w124 is really bad and i never never use it in such conditions. this will be the first winter with the w220 and i wont risk that either.

W124s would be tricky as were the old volvos from memory but a lot can be achieved if you're just sensible.
On the 220, you've got a 2nd gear start and esp is fantastic in slippery conditions so it should be a doddle.
One thing I do tend to do though is, whilst I change tyres near the limit in summer, I raise the bar depending on the likely weather conditions. If snow is due, I may change a couple of mm earlier.

 

[shj]

Any thoughts please,what sort of behavior can I expect on slippery roads in my E320 Coupe,big lump in the front nothing in the back, no limited slip diff or traction control,this will be it's first winter withy me.
Simon

Thank you all, fortunately or unfortunately this is my only car,so laying it up for winter is not an option,would adding some weight to the back be a good or bad thing, my tyres are 215/55/16

 

[hawk20]

Thank you all, fortunately or unfortunately this is my only car,so laying it up for winter is not an option,would adding some weight to the back be a good or bad thing, my tyres are 215/55/16

Simon, most on this thread are telling you it is no problem. With ABS and ESP and tyres in good condition, and the auto in W or C you will have no trouble. You are in Gloucestershire not Greenland. In the unlikely event that snow settles and nobody clears it, enjoy learning the technique to cope with it. Just do everything gently and good progress is almost always possible.

 

[kth286]

hawk20

You are not listening - he does NOT have the luxury of traction control that you have on your car.

The E320 coupe is around 94 vintage and has an engine with good low down torque AND also the slight problem of a 'heavy' throttle action which has an immediate on/off take-up of drive, and this causes the rear wheels to easily spin in damp conditions.

So at a roundabout waiting for a gap in the traffic coming from the right, when it is fine to move off, inevitable the natural reaction is to put the foot down to take advantage of the gap in traffic. Often you can sit there for what seems ages (probably 2 secs) with the rear wheels just spinning.

Very frustrating, and if ever a car needed a limited slip diff or traction control as standard this car is it.

 

[hawk20]

hawk20

You are not listening - he does NOT have the luxury of traction control that you have on your car.

The E320 coupe is around 94 vintage .

The last time in my memory that we had a winter worthy of the name was in the eighties and that is when I was referring to driving Volvos and Mercedes in the Peak District throughout the winter. None of them were equipped with the latest aids.

Modern aids are useful, of course, but lots of enthusiasts switch them off for the pleasure of learning the techniques to drive safely and well in slippery conditions. All I am saying is that in the UK it is easy to exagerate the problem, where main roads are usually salted and cleared swiftly and where cold spells are usually now very short and pretty mild by past standards.

I agree when you have loads of torque you have to be gentle with the right boot.

 

[jberks]

The E320 coupe is around 94 vintage and has an engine with good low down torque AND also the slight problem of a 'heavy' throttle action which has an immediate on/off take-up of drive, and this causes the rear wheels to easily spin in damp conditions.

Get the throttle inkages lubricated as a first step and poss change the cable if it's bad. As you say, an agressive (sticky) throttle will cause you all sorts of problems on dry tarmac, let alone snow and ice. If it does get bad, a set of winter or snow tyres on the back may help too. It isn't going to be as good as my dads old diesel cavalier (that thing climbed steep hills on sheet ice with no problem) but we've had W123, W202, W210 and W211s in all weathers over the years and aside from a couple of occasions in the 80's we've always got where we were going.

 

[mioba]

w.r.t to volvo they were really bad too,
i remeber once we had a 760gle, g reg. amazing car, with steering as light as anything.

it once done 180 spin in the snow, that was scary, luckily noting around and no damage.