S2000 1, E63 nil....

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S2000Paul

Active Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2017
Messages
197
Location
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Car
E63 AMG
After plenty of prep work so the Merc got off the drive and up the virgin snow but it failed at an up slip road half a mile away on churned up slush on ice...short story got it back down and managed to get up a modest but long incline in Sport Traction mode... a BMW Z4 was stranded behind me...

Thought I'd try the S2000 with its Pirelli SottoZero's..

Flipping heck..felt like I could pull Land Rovers out of ditches...

I think I'll look at Rims and winter tyres for next winter for the Merc...
 
Thought I'd try the S2000 with its Pirelli SottoZero's..

Flipping heck..felt like I could pull Land Rovers out of ditches...

I think I'll look at Rims and winter tyres for next winter for the Merc...
It's at times like this that winter tyres are worth their weight in gold if you absolutely have to get somewhere. Well, they would be if it wasn't for the other unprepared twits blocking the road...

Seriously, don't forget you can run the same size winters front and rear on an E63. A bit cheaper (ha-ha) but at least you can even the wear by swapping front to rear each winter.
 
I used the daughters Pug 107 today as i was the "taxi" taking everyone , everywhere.

Skinny tyres and it weighs as much as a helium filled ballerina showed a clean pair of heals to almost all other road users . it never felt as though it struggled even in 10" of the white stuff on the side roads.

Big :thumb: to the wee motor.

Kenny
 
Absolutely. Light overall weight, skinny tyres and most of the weight you do have over the front, driven, axle is a recipe for easy travelling in snow.
 
4wd and winter tyres here so zero problems with the e class today.
 
It's at times like this that winter tyres are worth their weight in gold if you absolutely have to get somewhere. Well, they would be if it wasn't for the other unprepared twits blocking the road...

Seriously, don't forget you can run the same size winters front and rear on an E63. A bit cheaper (ha-ha) but at least you can even the wear by swapping front to rear each winter.

Indeed. Prefer winter rims rather than regularly risking my gorgeous wheels.... :)
 
I saw a brave guy in a C63s putting his foot down in the snow yesterday. You could see him giving loads of gas and having to let off virtually immediately as the car constantly lost traction
 
The marvellous irony, given the S2k's propensity for jumping to ditches with minimal provocation. :D

only if you lift off when the rear end starts...keep it in, plenty of opposite lock and you're a drift hero...;)

Plenty do lift off...myself included in the 99 version I had...

Proper hands....not me....could embarrass some real exotics on track...
 
Until you run out of lock ;) A friend did that hanging onto the coat tails of my FD2 in Wales.

Was a Honda man from my teens to my early 30s, so very familiar with them.
 
I have this argument with my work colleague every year. He drives an Audi S4 quattro and puts winter tyres on religiously in november.
My argument is - it's not worth forking out in excess of a £1000 for 4 winter tyres plus fitting for the sake of a couple of dodgy days, is it?
Winter tyres are for people who live in predominently wintery climates or those in GB who have a spare grand lying around every so often.
PR stunt if you ask me.
 
I have this argument with my work colleague every year. He drives an Audi S4 quattro and puts winter tyres on religiously in november.
My argument is - it's not worth forking out in excess of a £1000 for 4 winter tyres plus fitting for the sake of a couple of dodgy days, is it?
Winter tyres are for people who live in predominently wintery climates or those in GB who have a spare grand lying around every so often.
PR stunt if you ask me.

It depends if you want to spend a night in the car when it's -10c or not. I have winter wheels for both SLK55 and S2000 and in the case of the latter, have had the same set for about 6 years now, so gentle is the wear rate during the 3 or 4 months when they're fitted. Way better in anything under about 5c or 6c as you will have heard many times, so what's not to like. In fact I reckon that if all new cars were fitted with something like Michelin Cross Climate all-season tyres, the country would not do precisely what it is doing right now. Non-car people would just notice that they had not got stuck, they would NEVER notice any difference in limit handling in the summer (not that there's much on the MCCs) and those enthusiasts who properly get driving could simply request OEM summer spec tyres as usual. Unless we try to address the driving ability in these conditions of the 90% of the public who just don't care about cars, the 10% enthusiasts of the world will be forever stuck solid. /RANT=OFF :)
 
It depends if you want to spend a night in the car when it's -10c or not. I have winter wheels for both SLK55 and S2000 and in the case of the latter, have had the same set for about 6 years now, so gentle is the wear rate during the 3 or 4 months when they're fitted. Way better in anything under about 5c or 6c as you will have heard many times, so what's not to like. In fact I reckon that if all new cars were fitted with something like Michelin Cross Climate all-season tyres, the country would not do precisely what it is doing right now. Non-car people would just notice that they had not got stuck, they would NEVER notice any difference in limit handling in the summer (not that there's much on the MCCs) and those enthusiasts who properly get driving could simply request OEM summer spec tyres as usual. Unless we try to address the driving ability in these conditions of the 90% of the public who just don't care about cars, the 10% enthusiasts of the world will be forever stuck solid. /RANT=OFF :)
I think it also depends where you live too. Down here on the South Coast I haven't put winters on my daily Phaeton now for three winters. Of course I could do with them now but I've found the best solution is to stay at home once you've bought your vital provisions a day or so earlier.
 
I used the daughters Pug 107 today as i was the "taxi" taking everyone , everywhere.

Skinny tyres and it weighs as much as a helium filled ballerina showed a clean pair of heals to almost all other road users . it never felt as though it struggled even in 10" of the white stuff on the side roads.

Big :thumb: to the wee motor.

Kenny

I had to attend a hospital OP appointment today and took my little Kia Picanto - very much the same sort of thing as your Pug 107. Light weight, FWD and skinny tyres. No problem at all even on the side roads with deep snow. I had similar experience during the last bout of heavy snow a few years ago where even the big rufty-tufty 4x4's were slithering about all over the place on their 'fashion statement' wide wheels and my little car just zoomed off....and was able to stop too!
 
I have this argument with my work colleague every year. He drives an Audi S4 quattro and puts winter tyres on religiously in november.
My argument is - it's not worth forking out in excess of a £1000 for 4 winter tyres plus fitting for the sake of a couple of dodgy days, is it?
Winter tyres are for people who live in predominently wintery climates or those in GB who have a spare grand lying around every so often.
PR stunt if you ask me.
Does it really cost more though? I have to buy new tyres, and when I sell then car there will be some tread left whether I run two sets or one. There's also a strong market for selling second hand tyres, even those with surprisingly little tread.

It's not just in snow, they perform better in cold conditions full stop. Cars with wide performance tyres benefit from winter tyres even more than a regular car, as they're engineered for performance in summer, not winter - I realised how poorly they perform in winter when once I drove the same car in the same conditions on winter tyres.
 
i bought a set of x4 dunlop winters with 7mm of tread for £200 and I have been very grateful for them. I disagree that they aren't necessary. No way i'd even attempt to drive in icy or snow covered roads in summers in a 550bhp rear wheel drive car, especially with my young children.
 
I had to attend a hospital OP appointment today and took my little Kia Picanto - very much the same sort of thing as your Pug 107. Light weight, FWD and skinny tyres. No problem at all even on the side roads with deep snow. I had similar experience during the last bout of heavy snow a few years ago where even the big rufty-tufty 4x4's were slithering about all over the place on their 'fashion statement' wide wheels and my little car just zoomed off....and was able to stop too!

My last car , VW Allatrack was FWD , lots of ground clearance , but the limiting factor was usually the tyres , OEM Conti Sport 3s. I could get out of places a lot of folks couldn't but without winter tyres with tread pattern designed for the dealing with snow it was no better than a diesel fiesta I had 30 years ago. Secret there was heavy engine up front and skinny tyres with some decent tread on them.
 
I have this argument with my work colleague every year. He drives an Audi S4 quattro and puts winter tyres on religiously in november.
My argument is - it's not worth forking out in excess of a £1000 for 4 winter tyres plus fitting for the sake of a couple of dodgy days, is it?
Winter tyres are for people who live in predominently wintery climates or those in GB who have a spare grand lying around every so often.
PR stunt if you ask me.
Having winter tyres doesn't need to cost any more than not having them. I bought a 2nd hand set of alloys for our Touran and SL at the time. Got a set of Michelin Alpin part worn tyres fitted for 400 per set all in.

I changed them myself each year in little more than an hour a set. You are only wearing one set of tyres at a time so the running costs are the same. It is just the initial outlay. The alloys for the Touran I sold to the buyer for 400 so got back what I paid back for them.

I agree if you didn't do it that way it would cost more but it is possible to do for less.

From experience in most cars I can say it makes a massive difference to stress levels and safety having winters in these conditions. It is not just snow but cold conditions & below 6 degrees that winters mainly outperform summers.

We used to have them on for about 2-3 months.
 
I have this argument with my work colleague every year. He drives an Audi S4 quattro and puts winter tyres on religiously in november.
My argument is - it's not worth forking out in excess of a £1000 for 4 winter tyres plus fitting for the sake of a couple of dodgy days, is it?
Winter tyres are for people who live in predominently wintery climates or those in GB who have a spare grand lying around every so often.
PR stunt if you ask me.

I agree with this. Buying a second hand pair of crappy alloys for winter tyres just makes your car look rubbish for 4 months of the year - not an option for me. Buying a new set of 19s just for winter tyres would be silly money. Swapping tyres on and off my one set of 19s would be a huge ballache. So I've kept my usual wheels and tyres on for storm "Emmageddon" and apart from having to drive at 10mph in Comfort on a few journeys the C63 has been fine. If the road is snowclogged or totally iced up winter tyres wouldn't help anyway (you'd have been stranded on the M62 or M80 this week even if you'd had chains on). I think it has become one of things that people convince themselves they "need" and once they've convinced themselves of that then they do truly need it. Like Fitbits and aftershave. A marketing man's dream and a PR stunt as you say.
 

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