getting ready for first snow

[draze]

Hey MB community, I have a few questions today. I'm getting ready for my first winter with my 2002 coupe, 6 speed. It's already very 'fun' to skid on wet leaves, so I'm a little worried for winter. I want to get ready and put my winter wheels and tires on, that I never used, because I bought the car this summer. The lady that I bought the car from said the 16inch wheels and tires were used only the previous winter, they are in pretty good condition. They are Mercedes 5 spoke wheels, I'm not sure about the width but I think all four of them are the same. Anyways, when I put the wheels on, do I have to balance and allign them, or do something to suspension. Can I put the new wheels myself. If not what is the price for service in Canada, Ontario, approximately so I atleast know if my mechanic is giving me a deal. Thank you.

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[laneshift]

When putting them on yourself, make sure you use an 80 pound torque wrench.

[jcnash]

If youre changing tires on the rim, (as opposed to changing the entire rim/tire combo) you will have to get each wheel re-balanced. Crappy tire charges $20 or so per wheel to remove wheel, remove summer tires from rim, put winter tire on rim, reinstall wheel. If its just a matter of removing the entire wheel and putting on new ones, they charge $10 per wheel.

You will be able to find 'corner' wheel shops which charge much less...but BEWARE if you need balancing, stick to a reputed shop. These tiny 'corner' mechanics dont calibrate their wheel balancing machines for years on end, so chances are your wheel balancing wont be spot on and might cause vibration when driving on the highway. Also, they might not use the exact type of wheel weights which may fall off while driving. Ive found crappy tire to be the best so far. They have the MB type wheel weights too.

You don't have to align/do any suspension work unless you notice some problem like uneven wear on tires, tires rubbing in the wheel well etc. but with 16's you rubbing should not even be a concern.

BTW...where in ON are you? Im in O-Town. First winter with my coupe too.

[draze]

K-W, tricity. Thanks for the reply. In summer i use the stock evolution rims with potenza tires. In winter I will be using the whole new rims with new winter tires, so i will not be taking off the rubber, just changing the wheels.