Michelin Alpins ... is it me??
Discussion
Have had winter tyres on various cars over the last few years and other than the ride feeling softer I can't say I have noticed much difference over my summer tyres. I have had some Michelin Alpins fitted to the C63 on 19" wheels and I am struggling to keep the car out of the ditches, they seem absolutely awful in the current temps around 5 - 8 degrees mark. Any pulling away on an incline induces wheelspin and I regularly feel both the front and back end let go at very slow speeds, sub 15mph!!
Anybody else suffering this??
Anybody else suffering this??
Different car (CLS diesel), different tyres (Continental TS810) but yes - losing traction on moving off and doesn't feel as planted as summer tyres on greasy roads at about 7 deg C plus. First winter on this tyre - wife's E class on Pirelli Snow Sports last year convinced me of the merits of winter tyres, but hoping it gets colder so I can see how the Continentals perform in the cold. I think I may delay fitting them so early next year. We've got an old Passat I treated to TS850 tyres (supposedly amongst the best winters) and that feels no different at similar temperatures than the summer Michelins, and the E class again does not show any change over summer tyres.
Just put new Vredstein on my E Class and no problems. If the are brand new they probably need a couple of hundred miles on them to scrub them in and wear off the release agent used in manufacturing. I had a scary moment in my Porsche on brand new Contis but they were fine after a bit of wear.
As of this morning, we've got Nokians on the Merc. Initial impressions very favourable.
Will be interesting to see how they compare to the winters on our other boring car if we see any snow.
Instead of buying one of Merc's packages with smaller wheels and thinner tyres (and being hit for 2x £20/year in "admin" fees by the insurance company) ended up paying a couple of quid more for another original set of wheels to match those with the summers on. Think it was a good choice as, being used to what's on there at present, the smaller wheels would have looked a bit odd.
Will be interesting to see how they compare to the winters on our other boring car if we see any snow.
Instead of buying one of Merc's packages with smaller wheels and thinner tyres (and being hit for 2x £20/year in "admin" fees by the insurance company) ended up paying a couple of quid more for another original set of wheels to match those with the summers on. Think it was a good choice as, being used to what's on there at present, the smaller wheels would have looked a bit odd.
Fitted Alpins to the E63 last week. Thought they had significantly better grip driving away from fitters than the P Zeros I drove in on.
They will still lose traction when pushed hard, but summer tyres would have given up the ghost way before.
Really it's only once there is I've and snow on the road that you notice the huge differential in performance though.
They will still lose traction when pushed hard, but summer tyres would have given up the ghost way before.
Really it's only once there is I've and snow on the road that you notice the huge differential in performance though.
Andy, we bought the C63 winter wheel and tyre package which comes with Michelin Alpins. It's the other half's daily driver so doesn't get thrashed and to put it in perspective the rear Yoko summer rubber has lasted 7,000 miles.
I took the C63 out last weekend on the Alpins and agree that pulling away uphill did provoke wheelspin and ours is not fitted with the LSD. I've not had any loss of traction on normal driving though and since fitting the temperature has rarely been below 7 degrees.
One thing I have noticed is how hard the tyres are, I've not checked the pressures since they were delivered by Mercedes but the ride is significantly harsher on the 18s with the winters than the 19s with the summers.
I took the C63 out last weekend on the Alpins and agree that pulling away uphill did provoke wheelspin and ours is not fitted with the LSD. I've not had any loss of traction on normal driving though and since fitting the temperature has rarely been below 7 degrees.
One thing I have noticed is how hard the tyres are, I've not checked the pressures since they were delivered by Mercedes but the ride is significantly harsher on the 18s with the winters than the 19s with the summers.
I'm on Pirelli Sotto Zero Winter tyres and find they grip so exceptionally better than on the summers this time of year. However I can wheelspin fairly easily on the current greasy roads but it would be the same if not worse on summers.
Maybe if they are new tyres they just need to be scrubbed in by using them for a few miles?
Maybe if they are new tyres they just need to be scrubbed in by using them for a few miles?
Andy,
We have Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds on our Merc. This is the third year we have run them, firstly on our previous C320 CDI, currently on our C220 CDI ED 125.
It is a fantastic cold weather tyre, I also ran Vredestein's on my 993 turbo last winter and purposefully took the turbo out on untreated snowy inclines, no break of traction.
On the Dunlop's you do notice a more compliant ride and recall a Jeep following us a couple of years ago in the C320, it was only when he under steered over a speed hump and almost smashed into a wall that he realised we must be on winters
Can't recommend them or the Vredestein's highly enough.
We have Dunlop Winter Sport 3Ds on our Merc. This is the third year we have run them, firstly on our previous C320 CDI, currently on our C220 CDI ED 125.
It is a fantastic cold weather tyre, I also ran Vredestein's on my 993 turbo last winter and purposefully took the turbo out on untreated snowy inclines, no break of traction.
On the Dunlop's you do notice a more compliant ride and recall a Jeep following us a couple of years ago in the C320, it was only when he under steered over a speed hump and almost smashed into a wall that he realised we must be on winters
Can't recommend them or the Vredestein's highly enough.
Thanks for the constructive replies guys, I can't say I am overly happy with them, but as said I am beginning to wonder whether I am just going faster than I realise in comparison to my Audi A6 TDi on Dunlops Winter Sports which kind of makes sense!
On the up side there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the rolling resistance!!
On the up side there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the rolling resistance!!
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