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SLK and winter ...

9K views 34 replies 17 participants last post by  Firm 
#1 ·
Anyone have experiences driving one of these in winter ... good or bad? I'm debating snow tires or storage.

The PO said he tried with weight in the trunk and all seasons and forget-about-it ... no go.
 
#4 ·
Drove mine in Rochester NY all year round put on my snow tires as soon as it got below 50 and drove from Buffalo to Syracuse weekly was a couple time i had issues but for the most part had fun driving on a nice winter day with the top down heat scarf on and people looking at me like i was crazy!
 
#9 ·
A load of weight in the back no doubt does wonders for traction (I guess ?), but not exactly a handling upgrade. Ask a 911 driver..:)

We've driven our SLK year-round since we've had it, sunshine, rain, wind, snow and ice... Just be very gentle on the pedals and keep the speed sensible for the conditions.

So far I would say that it's massively better in snow and ice than my boss's BMW 1 series. Now that's a car that is useless in the snow, can't turn of the ESP system and the computer simply takes the throttle off you at the first sign of the wheels spinning.
 
#24 ·
Amen ... I avoid the city at all costs if I can. This car is a country boy :)

I always put snows on the Accord and it drives through anything. The porsche had Toyo snows but still a bit squirrely and too low ... more like a plow than a car :) I'm leaning to saving the benz for clear days only ... don't like the stone chips in front either.
 
#17 ·
Are you kidding me!!!!!!!!????????????
LOL
I drove my old 1998 yellow SLK230 from Minneapolis to Dulth MN in 3" of fresh slush with 6" of fresh powder snow on top at 50 - 55 MPH the traction control was on for hours straight but I made it.I / we park the SLK55 for the winter.Why waste a good car???We drive the trucks and the c230 and the beater BMW 325i with winter tires on them.The wife drove the C350 last winter on all but the worst of days.
Winter tires are the gift that keeps giving.......longer life via shorter stopping distances and MUCH BETTER WINTER HANDLING!!!!!! IF YOU LOVE SOMEONE OR YOUR SELF BUY WINTER TIRES OR PARK IT!!! WE WILL ALL BE SAFER ON THE ROAD.........
 
#13 ·
I drive mine year round as a daily driver. I do not have to drive the MB when the snow gets to be an issue as I have a back-up, but generally there is no problem. The SLK is comfortable in light snow (not ice - but nothing is). One thing I have discovered is that I can start off in 2nd or even 3rd gear to reduce wheel spin.
 
#20 ·
SLK Snowplow

Last winter I had 30% tread left on all 4 winter tires.

I made it just fine.

SLK should be driven all year round :)

Nice pic :) ... is that the snow plow for the shopping mall? hehe

Thanks for the input! ... I've got some kind of new Sumitomo tires on the car from the PO that I never heard of but they seem to stick even in 0 degree wet. I'll see how they do in the snow before making a decision. I was considering a E320 4matic or something but don't want to maintain yet another car for 4 months.

I just hate the salt and much that accumulates on a car in winter ... and the low temps keep it wet all the time ... almost never dries. Our rotting Accord is a testament to that.
 
#16 ·
I have kind of mixed feelings about the car in the winter. With the traction control on, sometimes it's a real handful to actually get it to go forward because the throttle keeps backing off (this is super annoying). On the other hand, when I turned the traction control off, I managed to spin it within a block of home – in the rain.

This is probably the point I should say that I don't, as a matter of principle, run any sort of winter or all-season rubber. I wear summer, "R" rubber, all year round. The reason for this is basically thus: I've always found that backing off the throttle was way easier in terms of getting better traction than buying some wonky tire that's supposed to magically work. Years ago I had a 400-ish-hp turbo Z, and that car had ludicrous problems hooking up in snow and rain with winter tires. So I just figured it wasn't worth the hassle.

I guess what I'm getting at is you're going to have trouble with any rear-wheel-drive vehicle in the snow and rain. Having a stick helps because you can feather the clutch and start in 2 or 3 (or 4 or 5, depending on the car) if you're having trouble getting it moving.

It's probably best to just avoid driving in sub-freezing temperatures (tires do funny things when they get real cold) and excess precipitation. I live in Virginia, so we don't get all-winter snow, but we get our share, and tons of cold, miserable rain (like right now, actually :p). Luckily, I can generally work from home if I need to.

Also, this (discoduck):

SLK should be driven all year round :)

Awesome. My wife thinks you're nuts. I wholeheartedly approve.
 
#18 ·
I drove my 2001 SLK 320 through the north Buffalo winters (entirely different than SOUTH Buffalo winters) as well as my 2006 SLK 350. Only thing is I switch to winter wheels and tires. Those summer ones aren't supposed to be run below 45 degrees. I've only had trouble one time. In a parking lot. While in the store, we had about 6 inches of snow come and it drifted around the wheels. Could not get ANY traction to push against that snow. Finally had a stranger and my wife help push out. Always good to carry the wife in the passenger seat ;-)

What amazes me is how good that paint looks on the 350. Would never guess it was through a winter.
 
#26 ·
I've only had trouble one time. In a parking lot. While in the store, we had about 6 inches of snow come and it drifted around the wheels. Could not get ANY traction to push against that snow. Finally had a stranger and my wife help push out. Always good to carry the wife in the passenger seat ;-)
I got stuck at the beach because I stopped too quick and created a pile up of sand in front of the front tires .... rears kept spinning digging me into a deeper hole (either fwd or reverse) ... finally had someone come help give it a push. I used my wife for balast. lol
 
#19 ·
Years ago I had a 1986 Porsche 944 N/A and put Blizzak snow tires on it.
It drove like a 4x4 through the snow with those tires on it.
The weight and balance was 50 / 50 so it had that going for it.
I think you can drive just about any car in winter.
But if you have only one car to drive year round should it be a SLK?
There are many better choices to go with for a year round car.
Just saying that with so few of these out there why destroy such a nice car??
You can buy 944's for just a few thousand dollars and save the SLK's for summer use!
And now let the Porsche guys open up on me for that comment.............LOL
 
#27 ·
OOOO I was considering doing just that. But it just seems to ridiculous to drive a porsche in winter "with so few of these out there why destroy such a nice car?? " :p

I used the 944 turbo ... I wish I had skinnier tires ... but it really hurt me to see it coated in salt. It's been repainted now and no more winters for him unless the roads are nice and clear. It did ok though. The Doc I bought it from used it as a daily driver all year, so I figured I'd try it too. The Benz was supposed to be the beater ... lol ..oops.
 

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#28 ·
I used the Honda S2000 for a couple of winters man if you want to see a snow plow front end that was the car for it!!!! LOL it is even shaped like a snow plow!!!HAHAHA
I will see if i can find a couple of winter pictures of it when I get home from work tonight and post em up for a few laughs.
 
#29 ·
I used the Honda S2000 for a couple of winters man if you want to see a snow plow front end that was the car for it!!!! LOL it is even shaped like a snow plow!!!HAHAHA
How did the S2000 do driving wise? Actually I've never driven one, I found the interior too plastic-y and the exterior too bland. How did you find it compared to the 944?
 
#30 ·
I'll admit upfront- yes I am a female driver and fairly new behind the wheel.

Looking at buying a first car after college and really love the SLK230.
I'm also in MN and driving 50 miles per day (all highway miles) in the Twin Cities area and wondering if the SLK is a smart choice.

Winter tires are an absolute no matter what car I choose, and I figured I would toss some sandbags in the trunk as well, but just trying to guess if a rear wheel drive car is a poor choice or not. Love to say I could pick up a winter beater, but there's just not enough bucks in the bank for that.

Thoughts? Anything is appreciated
 
#32 ·
I'll admit upfront- yes I am a female driver and fairly new behind the wheel.

Looking at buying a first car after college and really love the SLK230.
I'm also in MN and driving 50 miles per day (all highway miles) in the Twin Cities area and wondering if the SLK is a smart choice.

Thoughts? Anything is appreciated
Hi hornet, if it's going to be your main car, there are a few other considerations as well, such as cargo space and space for passengers. It's a great car for commuting or 2 people day trips, but I wouldn't choose it as my only car.

As for winter, with new all seasons i had to go VERY slow to get it to move in just a few mm of snow. Folks seem to say its ok with snows, but it can't touch 4wd or front drive for snow. The PO sold it bc he didn't want to give it to his daughter for winter. He considered it too unsafe.

I've had Honda accords and preludes for 20 years as year round cars and I've never been stuck once in my life with the fwd and snows. Roads don't even need to be plowed and no sand bags. My wife loves her accord. Older ones can be had for almost nothing.
 
#33 ·
hornet...if you do use it in the winter, I recommend you go to an open parking lot (ie no poles or curbs) and test the car at limit the first time it gets slippery. Better to find out when it breaks loose in a benign environment. Living in MN, I'd highly recommend snows - the all seasons aren't (ie don't work in all seasons) when it's that cold. As Stephan says, you may find it cheaper to buy a beater ($500 civic) for the winter than buying four more tires and rims (get steel rims, not your "good" ones).

PS being a lady has nothing to do with your abilities - it's training and experience.
 
#34 ·
PS being a lady has nothing to do with your abilities - it's training and experience.
good point! ... The lady race driver at the last Amg event I went to can attest to that :)

It's usually not the cost of the winter beater that gets you, it's the repairs. Besides its nice to have a nice car in winter too :)

I'd recommend a c class 4matic for hornet year round, but then you lose the cabrio. But you gain a year round sunroof.

Anyone know if their is a cabrio 4matic?

Firm had his slk out all winter, mind you we barely got snow.
 
#35 ·
Yes, I did drive mine all year last year. I have about a 50km commute (one way) from the outskirts of suburbia into the downtown area. Mostly highway, but HEAVY traffic.
I do have to admit that I have a beater (firebird) that I used whenever my better half wasn't using it, so that saved the SLK from some of the abuse.
We did have very little snow this year, but I did get out in a few storms, with good snow tires the car handled beautifully, hardly any wheel spin and cornered confidently. I never got close to being stuck. My one worry is that deep heavy snow can push against the bottom of the car and litterly "lift" the wheels off the ground...then you're screwed. I seen that happen a couple times, but it hasn't been a problem yet.
Car seems to handle the cold temps well, no issues that way, top remains tight, heat works well. Being so low sucks on the salty/wet highways because you catch tons of spray when passing trucks, which can really limit your visibility.

I plan to use it again this winter, I have the car oil sprayed annually, which has prevented any rust at all. Hopefully after this winter I'll be moved and will have space to park the SLK during the winter, so I can buy a proper beater.

 
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