[W126 Coupe] SEC vs SNOW

Tue Mar 22 13:17:16 EST 2005

Put on a set of 4 Blizzaks, load the trunk with 100 pounds of ballast, keep a full tank and drive through any kind of snow. Of course, its best putting her away for the winter and driving a beater till summer.
J.Chip

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From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com on behalf of Vedat Iplikci
Sent: Tue 3/22/2005 3:19 AM
To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists
Subject: Re: [W126 Coupe] SEC vs SNOW

Having always been enthusiastic for a chance to drive on snow (at least until the SEC), I kept a set of snow tires on wheels for my car-at-the-time ready in the garage for maybe 15 years. The last were Bridgestone Blizzaks for my Volvo S40 T4, which have proven to be very valuable. When I bought the SEC though, I went for Pirelli Snowsports, because of price advantage over the Blizzaks. Two winters later, I'm now unsure which is lousy; the Snowsports or the SEC?!?... NO, it's not ME, for I am a very good driver on all sorts of terrain on all sorts of vehicles. My guess would be that it is 60 SEC/40 Snowsports. I have been in situations where there were reasonable linear stability, but there were also cases when I kept cursing trying to start the car moving on the slightest of slopes. Therefore, my next choice on snow tires -for the SEC-  would certainly be one which promises extreme grip at the expense of comfort, rather than the general winter tires which promise traction and comfort on multi-surface conditions. Additionally I think it would be best to keep a set of Spikes-Spiders in the trunk.

Nevertheless, it is for sure that a 2-ton RWD is not the best of choices to drive on low-traction surfaces.

Vedat Iplikci
1987 560SEC Euro

	----- Original Message ----- 
	From: Sam Sisic <mailto:ssisic at Antunovich.com>  
	To: mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com 
	Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 4:38 AM
	Subject: [W126 Coupe] SEC vs SNOW

	Hallo group...

	I just experienced an extremely nerve racking experience on a road trip from Chicago to Kohler Wisconsin, about an hour north of Milwaukee.
	I was looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend at The American Club resort in Kohler, WI with my favorite lady friend celebrating our B-days in our P-j's... So far so good. HA!

	Well it's mid March near lake Michigan. I checked the weather since I never drive the SEC in the snow. Not so much for the snow, but the stupid salt they dump on the roads around here.
	The weather report indicated only a slight 20% chance of snow Friday evening. I figured, big deal, a little snow dusting won't even stick... I took the SEC and left the Jeep at home... Big mistake!!

	We had just passed Milwaukee heading North when snow flurries began. As we drove further it began to get heavier. At this point it was beginning to stick to the road. Nothing serious... I was just hoping they didn't bring the salt trucks out at that point.

	Anyway, it started to really dump now... It's called "The Lake Effect"! At this point we are riding on 2"-3" of snow in less than 15 minutes. The tires on my SEC are Bridgestone SO-3 Pole Positions, 275's rear, 245's front, strictly summer/rain tires... I didn't think it would be a big deal as I've driven my 91, 5.0 Mustang with V rated Good Year Eagles year-around for 7 years in much worse conditions and never left me stranded... 

	Well, the SEC is no Mustang, let me tell you... The first slight turn in the road and this thing just wanted to keep going straight... Surprised the S____ out of me! I'm going about 40 MPH, just keeping up with all the mini vans and SUV's who are cooking the speed limit at 65MPH... SEC now crawling at 30-40 MPH. If I tried to speed up the wheels would just spin and the rear fish-tail out of control. If I tried to slow down the ABS even quit because there was hardly any traction whatsoever. After three occasions of running down the road sideways, literally, and almost going off the road,  I was now white knuckles on the wheel with my hart rate in the red line driving like a grandma, no offence to grandmas, looking for the nearest exit with services near the highway. 

	We were approaching en exit to a small town of Port Washington, which is about 7 miles to the East of the highway... May as well been 700 miles... As we approached the exit the road took a slight left turn while the exit ramp kept straight with a slight incline. I didn't know weather to stay on the highway where there are more vehicles making tracks or take this remote exit unpopulated for miles. Turns out, I didn't have a choice! The cars momentum just took it straight into the exit ramp. By now there 4"-5" of snow and no sign of letting up. We're sliding all over the place about half way up the ramp and the car looses traction and won't go anywhere. Other vehicles are just going right by me. To add to the excitement, one of the only things not working on my car is the emergency flasher switch which had recently decided to retire and I couldn't even turn that on to warn people behind me. I never felt so crippled in a car before. If someone came by with a front wheel drive Honda Civic and offered to trade me for the SEC at that point, I would have done it!!
	Anyway, there we are stuck on the ramp in the middle of snowhere when Jean noticed a man was trying to push us up the hill! Amazing I thought... I told Jean to go help him push. Just kidding! HA! I asked Jean to drive while I went out and helped the nice man trying to help us. We tried, but there simply wasn't enough traction. I finally asked him to push us with his van up to the crown of the hill. As he's looking at the mint black SEC, he asked, are you sure? I said, absolutely!! Our bumpers lined up well enough and he pushed me up the hill until I could gain some momentum. He honked and went on his way. I didn't even have a chance to thank him... What an incredible thing, I thought. That's why we're still here, so long as there is good folk like that around!
	There we are barely going down the road of rolling Wisconsin hills in a blizzard 7 miles from anywhere... The SEC is sliding all over the road, barely making it up to the crown of each hill. I didn't know which was worse, not making it to the crown of a hill or picking up too much speed on the down side and not being able to stop if I had to.
	Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we start to see some lights and signs of civilization. Seeing a Holiday Inn sign was like a beacon in the night!! I literally slid into a parking spot on the road in front of the Inn... As I sat there in silence with Jean looking at each other taking deep breaths of incredible relief, I felt like I just aged 10 years in 3 hours.
	We were so fortunate and thankful to arrive there with no incident, thanks mostly to the kind man... We were so hungry and exhausted, we checked in and went and had dinner at this nearby restaurant/fishery/pub called Smith Brothers. I've never enjoyed all you can eat, beer batter fish fry with $2 Spaten on draught like then!! Highly recommend it! 

	The next morning, the roads were plowed and salted... We were able to finish our trip to Kohler and back to Chicago without incident. All is well that ends well! 
	BTW... Highly recommend The American Club Resort in Kohler too!

	I don't know how the SEC is in the snow with all season standard size tires... I can't imagine it being much better. One thing for sure is that thing will absolutely not be driven in the snow again. It was downright dangerous!!! And I consider myself a good driver. I usually have fun in the snow... This was no fun!

	Sam
	Alive in Chicago, 560 SEC

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