Winter Tire Option

[South Hills]

I have been, like many others, looking for a winter tire set-up for the MM. I believe I have located an option that will work well with the stock wheels.

F) 245/45VR18 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 $215.00 Ea.
R) 245/50HR18 Dunlop Winter Sport M3 $179.00 Ea.

Prices are per the Tire Rack, and they have outstanding reviews from many users that drive high-performance RWD and AWD vehicles. I did a search through MM.net and did not find this set-up mention specifically. From reviewing the posts on this subject here, it appears the specs on this configuration will work with out any problem for all MM owners interested in using the stock rims. Has anyone tried these on their MM, or does anyone have any feedback on this fitment? I plan to try this set-up this winter and will offer comments back to the group as appropriate.

Thanks,

Phil

[STLR FN]

Phil,
I don't think any has tried this setup, most are looking for a cheap alternative for winter hence the popularity of the 16" sizes.

[SergntMac]

Yes, I have tried these sizes and they will work on a Marauder without complications to the ABS, or, Traction control.

You don't say where you're from, so, I have no idea how snow-challenged you are. However, I don't expect the tires you have selected to provide you with much performance in getting through snow greater than 3" deep.

What you have picked is wider than the OEM tires, and what you need to get through snow are smaller tires, not as wide at the OEM sizes. I think you going to have problems with snow plowing up in front of the front tires, and once that happens, the traction of the rear tires will fail, and you won't go anywhere. Moreover, if you're in an area that develops "ruts" on side streets, you'll really get stuck. Here's what I found...

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/showimage.php?i=763&c=3&userid=392

The key to a good winter tire is not compound, but tread depth and the ability to cut through snow. Hence, wider is not better, it's just going to make it worse. I found a set of 225/60-17 Michelin Pilots and a set of 17" Lincoln wheels. The fit is perfect, but you'll neeed regular acorn nuts to use the center caps. Check e-bay?

While I haven't tested this combination in deep snow yet, my gut feeling is that I'll be okay.

[merc6]

I have the 225/60/16 Goodyears and the are great as long as you don't atempt to drive aggresively in any weather. Xcal2 was uses to obtain the rpm of tire to correct speedo. also notice the comb ake me lower to the ground :)

[Dragcity]

Not exactly sure why you want to keep the forged 18" on in the crappy winter. The things I considered when making my decision was:
1) Assured traction in snow, slush & ice in Bufalo winter
2) Save my factory wheels from salt and scrapes
3) Pick up some added height
4) Save wear & tare on transferring tires from rims
5) do it as ecinomically as possible.
6) not be too narrow and sacrifice wet & dry handeling capabilities.

I went with the 16" steel wheels and Firestone Winter tires. Front = 235/70-16, Rear = 265/70-16.

They are tall, but they fit. No ABS or T/C problems. Speedo is off as of now, but I can fix that with my XCal II if I want. Kinda like fewer miles showing on the odometer.

I did my entire package for UNDER 600 clams.

Car rides quite a bit higher and is very sure footed in all conditions encountered thus far.

Only problem is EVERYONE thinks I'm a copper. I'm waiting for there to be trouble and someone is going to try and flag me down.

Got waived at the drive through carwash the other day, they must'v thought I was a copper. The dryer guy got a good tip !!!

Anyway, consider the savings and convenience with 16" wheels/tires.

[CRUZTAKER]

Yes, I have tried these sizes and they will work on a Marauder without complications to the ABS, or, Traction control.

I see this fellow has an early build 300a. Traction control isn't gonna pose any problems for him as he doesn't have it.

The only part of this suggestion in buying these tires that is hard to swallow is un-needed added cost. In reality, there is no need to spend this kind of money on snow tires*, and spend money to have the tires removed and re-mounted onto the rims twice a year. There is no need to risk damage to the wheels from all of this remounting of tires so often. Even if one was to buy an extra set of 18" MM wheels for these snow tires, that's another un-needed expense.
*Particularly a Dunlop, which is well down the ladder in performance snow tires.

Perhaps this fellow has the money, the time, and the patience to go this route. That's very good for him.;)

In reality, most of us are going to reply the same. Buy a set of 16" CV steelies and put a set of Blizzacks on them. Problem solved for $600 or less.

And Mac is right on as well regarding width. One of the most notable characteristics of a quality snow tire aside from a very soft to the touch compound and unique treads, is the WIDTH of the tire. Snow tires for any application will ALWAYS be narrow to focus the weight of the vehicle on a smaller print.

The tires above might work well on a 16,000lb bus, but not so on a 4500lb. car.

[rayjay]

Coming from the "snowbelt" I agree with all above. The MM is actually quite good in snow with the proper winter shoes on. Drag City, the copper effect is nice for running the T-Way :D

[merc6]

as for the speed I got it close to but not exact cause I like the illusuion of me speeding too :)

[Dragcity]

My illusion is opposite yours I think. My speedo shows 70MPH, but I'm probably at 75... All my tires are 2" taller than OEM.

Yeah Ray Jay, Everyone backs down on the T-way, until I pass them and they see the DRAGCITY plates. Busted!

Been a pretty mild winter thus far. Hope it stays this way. $90 wintertime gas bills is just my speed.

[South Hills]

Thanks gentlemen, I really appreciate the informed comments. After looking at the fitment again, and the guidance put forward here, I went with a 235/45/18 upfront. This, as you might guess, keeps the relationship between front and back on the snows almost identical to the stock BFG set-up while losing just under an inch (proportionally) in overall height:

S/W Ht +.66 vs. .68
Section W Same @ .40
Diam. +1.32 vs. + 1.36
Circ. +4.14 vs. +4.27
Rev/Mile -37.71 vs. -36.28

I am going to run the 295/45 Nitto's on the back-end with the extended 9.5" stk. rim during the "pleasant" months (that I'm looking forward to as the stock rears just sit and spin even in ideal conditions).

You know, this site is great. Many thanks to all who make this forum possible; just a wonderful source of information sharing for those who feel the same way about a truly unique vehicle!

Thanks,

Phil

[SergntMac]

Once again...No advice on where you are driving = no advice on snow challenge.

[South Hills]

Once again...No advice on where you are driving = no advice on snow challenge.

SergntMac:

I'm in the Pittsburgh-metro area, South Hills to be more exact. We don't get a lot of snow here, but we do have something the weather guys and gals euphemistically call a "wintery-mix". Lot's of freezing rain, icy-patches, and general low-traction conditions.

Thanks,

Phil

[Skiordie53]

i have the wintersports on 17" towncar rims. the wintersport m3's upfront i think 225/55/17 iirc and 255/6017 rear int he wintersport m2

so far they are great int he snow very very happy with them.

[MarauderBZ]

South Hills,

I'm from Monroeville here, and I work, well, in the South Hills (Whitehall).
This was the first winter I had to drive my Marauder, and being ill-prepared, I drove on the factory tire\rim setup. We've had a pretty mild winter this year for the most part and I was surprised how well the Marauder went in the snow. I only had trouble on 3 occasions when the roads were unplowed and icy. I did suffer a few scratches and a ding in the rims due to road conditions, which sucked. Next year I'm definatly going to try a winter tire\rim setup, mainly to save the excess wear on my original rims.