E63 AMG Winter/All season tyres

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Fudger

Active Member
Joined
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643
Location
Woking
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Folks, my summer tyres are down to 2.5mm and I was considering, bearing in mind the time of year, whether to fit all season/winter tyres rather than a new set of summer tyres.

I live in the south (Woking) where we get very little snow but I do some travel in Normandy (Northern France) where I do come across a little snow from time to time.

I do not particularly want to buy a set of wheels for winter use, as I do not have much storage space, so I was wondering what your thoughts where on the merits of all season v winter tyres or other options?

Summer tyre sizes are as follows which, we limit tyre choice as well.

255/35/19
285/30/19

Many thanks.

Jonathan
 
Go for it. I only ever used all seasons and they are good all year round. Look at Continental.
 
All seasons are probably better than winters where I live but I am struggling to find any at the correct sizes!

Perhaps another set of summer tyres with snow socks, for emergency use only, is the best option; I don't think I can fit chains on an E63?
 
I've just gone through a similar search as I'm fed up slip sliding all over the place on my part worn P Zeros now the temperature has dropped. Your options on tyre size for winter fitment are either the same as the summers, or 255/35 R19 all round.

I gave up trying to find an all season tyre in the right size, so have ordered a set of a Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's. I've got away with running summer tyres through the winter on my E63 the last couple of years, but as we only have a choice of an E63 or an SLK55 on the drive, I figured my wife and I would be going nowhere if we do get snow this winter unless one of the cars has winter tyres.

If you do go for a set of summer tyres, I'd suggest ContiSport 5P's which perform much better than the P Zeros in cold weather.
 
I've just gone through a similar search as I'm fed up slip sliding all over the place on my part worn P Zeros now the temperature has dropped. Your options on tyre size for winter fitment are either the same as the summers, or 255/35 R19 all round.

I gave up trying to find an all season tyre in the right size, so have ordered a set of a Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's.

Did you plump for 255/35 all round then? I'd also be interested to know where you sourced them from, if you don't mind.

Many thanks.
 
Yes, I've gone for 255/35 R19 96 V XL MO on all four corners, which is Michelin's recommendation.

I sourced mine through Wheels in Motion as I use them for fitting too, but one of the keenest online prices I found was Oponeo who currently have the PA4 MO version available for £200 a pop + free delivery.
 
Thanks Phil, once fitted, it will be interesting to hear your thoughts!

Cheers.
 
I'll update this thread once they've been fitted and I have some miles on them.
 
Phil, I just had a chat with Michelin too. They told me that their cross climates (all season's) will be available in more 18" sizes but it could be a while and very unlikely for 19's. As you have found out, winters are the only option on 19" wheels.

Just one more general question to the forum.

I may move from p-zeros, to SportContact 5P's. However, I would like to change the rears now and the fronts in 3/4 months time, as they have more tread depth remaining, than the rear's.

Anyone think that is a really bad idea? If so, why?

Many thanks.
 
I may move from p-zeros, to SportContact 5P's. However, I would like to change the rears now and the fronts in 3/4 months time, as they have more tread depth remaining, than the rear's.
I'd be quite happy to do that. The general recommendation is to fit the newest, grippiest, tyres on the rear axle so you win on two counts: more tread, and the Conti's grip better in cold temperatures than the Pirelli's.

One thing I would advise is that you carefully check the condition of the inner edge of the front tyres before deciding whether they will last another 3 or 4 months. E63's seem to wear the fronts on the inside shoulder, so they may have less life in them than a cursory check of the centre and outer shoulder suggests.
 
One thing I would advise is that you carefully check the condition of the inner edge of the front tyres before deciding whether they will last another 3 or 4 months. E63's seem to wear the fronts on the inside shoulder, so they may have less life in them than a cursory check of the centre and outer shoulder suggests.

Thanks Phil, I did not know that :thumb:
 
OK, so as promised here are my initial thoughts on the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's which I have fitted in 255/35 R19 size on all four corners.

I've now covered around 550 miles on them and, just like carrying an umbrella will guarantee it won't rain, since having them fitted the weather has been uncharacteristically mild for the time of year :doh: That said, I have had a couple of days when the temperature was hovering around zero for my morning commute and the warmer spell has allowed me to find out how they feel in ambient temperatures up to around 15c.

The first thing to say is that they are much, much, quieter than either the P Zeros or Conti 5P's. The difference really is huge and has made me seriously consider trying out the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3's when I revert to summer tyres in the spring as these are labelled as being a further 1 or 2 dB quieter than the Michelin PA4's, as opposed to my current favourite summer tyre on the E63, the Conti 5P, which is 4dB noisier.

The second thing is that on cold, wet, roads the car is absolutely transformed. There's lots of grip and I can now pull out of T-junctions fairly briskly without the embarrassment of just sitting there with the wheels spinning and the traction control light illuminating the instruments. They're not physics defying though and you can still light up the rear tyres if you're over enthusiastic with the loud pedal, but unlike the Pirelli's that would either just spin incessantly or go into a violent slip/grip/slip cycle they're really progressive as they lose traction. On dry roads there's definitely not as much traction as the wider 285-section summer tyres, but you would only notice this if you're stamping on the throttle. Grip at the front is strong and turn-in feels positive, and I can now run round a cold, wet, roundabout at normal speeds (and even quite high speeds) with ease instead of tip-toeing around slowly, wondering when I was going to make an unplanned exit.

In higher temperatures (14 -15c) on dry roads they feel slightly "loose" by comparison to the Conti 5 P's but that's to be expected. Don't get me wrong, they still grip well, but you can't push as hard as you can on a summer tyre. Once again though, they are really progressive on the limit which makes it very easy to balance the car and maintain solid control. My only other experience of winter tyres was Conti TS-830P's which I ran for a couple of winters on my E350CDI and I'd say that the performance of the PA4's drops off less as the temperature rises than the TS-830P's did.

Obviously I haven't had a chance to try them out on snow as yet, but I'm rather hoping we'll get a good dose of the stuff in the New Year :bannana:

Overall then, a very strong recommendation based on experience to date.
 
OK, so as promised here are my initial thoughts on the Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4's which I have fitted in 255/35 R19 size on all four corners.

I've now covered around 550 miles on them and, just like carrying an umbrella will guarantee it won't rain, since having them fitted the weather has been uncharacteristically mild for the time of year :doh: That said, I have had a couple of days when the temperature was hovering around zero for my morning commute and the warmer spell has allowed me to find out how they feel in ambient temperatures up to around 15c.

The first thing to say is that they are much, much, quieter than either the P Zeros or Conti 5P's. The difference really is huge and has made me seriously consider trying out the Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3's when I revert to summer tyres in the spring as these are labelled as being a further 1 or 2 dB quieter than the Michelin PA4's, as opposed to my current favourite summer tyre on the E63, the Conti 5P, which is 4dB noisier.

The second thing is that on cold, wet, roads the car is absolutely transformed. There's lots of grip and I can now pull out of T-junctions fairly briskly without the embarrassment of just sitting there with the wheels spinning and the traction control light illuminating the instruments. They're not physics defying though and you can still light up the rear tyres if you're over enthusiastic with the loud pedal, but unlike the Pirelli's that would either just spin incessantly or go into a violent slip/grip/slip cycle they're really progressive as they lose traction. On dry roads there's definitely not as much traction as the wider 285-section summer tyres, but you would only notice this if you're stamping on the throttle. Grip at the front is strong and turn-in feels positive, and I can now run round a cold, wet, roundabout at normal speeds (and even quite high speeds) with ease instead of tip-toeing around slowly, wondering when I was going to make an unplanned exit.

In higher temperatures (14 -15c) on dry roads they feel slightly "loose" by comparison to the Conti 5 P's but that's to be expected. Don't get me wrong, they still grip well, but you can't push as hard as you can on a summer tyre. Once again though, they are really progressive on the limit which makes it very easy to balance the car and maintain solid control. My only other experience of winter tyres was Conti TS-830P's which I ran for a couple of winters on my E350CDI and I'd say that the performance of the PA4's drops off less as the temperature rises than the TS-830P's did.

Obviously I haven't had a chance to try them out on snow as yet, but I'm rather hoping we'll get a good dose of the stuff in the New Year :bannana:

Overall then, a very strong recommendation based on experience to date.

For a while, I ran Alpin 4 all year round on my C32 AMG, and they were great, lasted ages.
 
Phil, many thanks for the report, it is really good/important to get real life feedback on winters. I'll be ordering some myself now.

Once again, thanks for taking the time to give us this feedback.

Kr

Jonathan
 
I've had winters on my E63 for a week now and appreciate first hand what Phil outlined above. My P-Zero's were rock hard when compared to the winters so it is no wonder the winters give a more compliant and quieter ride.

My winters are Uniroyals, as the Michelins were not available.
 
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