What are your .:Rs like in the snow?

[I wanted a GTi]

This may give you an idea what an Audi S3 on summer tyres is like in the snow if driven in a jovial manner

https://youtu.be/xfGstJlr2uE

Yeah he lives near me, if he had of went down the road a bit he could of had some serious fun down at the Tesco car park.

[Daz Auto]

You obviously think winter tyres are some sort of fantastic thing that can cope with anything.

My last car was a GTD 170bhp FWD automatic. I always believed that was a bad combination for winter driving. So during the winter I fitted Goodyear Ultragrip 7 tyres on 16inch rims. The only time I struggled for traction was going up a really, really steep hill covered in black ice. A van was stuck half way up the hill and I had to go around it. The tyres spun a bit, but the car still made it past the van and up that hill!

From my experience - winter tyres are fantastic and I can not imagine anything they could not cope with.

No wait - those tyres were sh!t in warm weather, but that's what my summer tyres were for. Though the Continental WinterContact TS850 tyres on my wife's A3 are much better.

[Daz Auto]

This may give you an idea what an Audi S3 on summer tyres is like in the snow if driven in a jovial manner

https://youtu.be/xfGstJlr2uE

Well that answers my question about my PS4 tyres snow capability. He said he nearly slid into his own fence.

[Daz Auto]

Michelin alpine's

Were they badly worn?

There are plenty of videos on youtube showing that winter tyres beats 4 wheel drive and summer tyres everytime.

[scanesare]

I'm also a member of an Audi forum. Some people over there just don't get it Though this year they don't seem as bad, maybe that is because of this weather.

They usually revert to saying something like, "the best option is both." Referring to quattro and winter tyres.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me, as I do not understand this: If I have winter tyres on my car, why exactly would I need 4WD?

You obviously think winter tyres are some sort of fantastic thing that can cope with anything.

Friend of mine couldn't get up his road on Sunday or Monday in his A4 with winter tyres. He jumped into his wife's 80 Quattro with summer tyres, locked the diff drove up road.

Winter tires are indeed a fantastic thing as they provide the needed extra grip under all phases of driving (set-off, corner, brake) on all 4 wheels on any car. AWD is just splitting the load (torque) on 4 wheels in an effort to reduce each wheel's spin but also reach a minimum enough grip to get you going but that's pretty much it. It offers minimal benefit in cornering and none in braking on a slippery surface as the last, most important factor which is the friction between road and tire is compromised with a summer tire. If you happen to be just inside that traction range, usually in the case of fresh shallow snow, then you might mistakenly think AWD is a winter tire alternative...

That been said, it's still easy (if you wish so) to provoke wheel-spin on any car even with winters on, 2WD or 4WD, no surprise there. It might seem so but a winter tire is not actual magic so it still has its grip limits. It's just that those limits are raised (compared to a summer tire) to make the car drive-able and safe, you still need to exercise caution when driving in bad conditions.

Your friend's story proves that he probably has little patience and a heavy foot (bad combo for winter), and certainly not any AWD superiority over winter tire compound, that would be insane even to be implied, especially in a car forum. Also, a snowy road might mean many different things from being able to move on summers with enough throttle modulation to even cars with winters sliding off. There are many variables that are over-looked when someone tells an interesting story about what he achieved in snow with summer tires.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me, as I do not understand this: If I have winter tyres on my car, why exactly would I need 4WD?

Setting off at ice or driving up very steep uphills, you would get the benefit of some extra traction. If we are talking a combination of the worst conditions (super slippery surface and significant inclination) it might be just that extra bit of traction you need to get going. However if you are in such a situation that you do need that extra bit of traction, then you'd absolutely need winter tires already to turn and stop no matter what car you're into.

The bottom line here I think should be that AWD is a supplement to winter tires and not the other way round.

[CHB100]

I'm also a member of an Audi forum. Some people over there just don't get it Though this year they don't seem as bad, maybe that is because of this weather.

They usually revert to saying something like, "the best option is both." Referring to quattro and winter tyres.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me, as I do not understand this: If I have winter tyres on my car, why exactly would I need 4WD?

You obviously think winter tyres are some sort of fantastic thing that can cope with anything.

Friend of mine couldn't get up his road on Sunday or Monday in his A4 with winter tyres. He jumped into his wife's 80 Quattro with summer tyres, locked the diff drove up road.

Winter tires are indeed a fantastic thing as they provide the needed extra grip under all phases of driving (set-off, corner, brake) on all 4 wheels on any car. AWD is just splitting the load (torque) on 4 wheels in an effort to reduce each wheel's spin but also reach a minimum enough grip to get you going but that's pretty much it. It offers minimal benefit in cornering and none in braking on a slippery surface as the last, most important factor which is the friction between road and tire is compromised with a summer tire. If you happen to be just inside that traction range, usually in the case of fresh shallow snow, then you might mistakenly think AWD is a winter tire alternative...

That been said, it's still easy (if you wish so) to provoke wheel-spin on any car even with winters on, 2WD or 4WD, no surprise there. It might seem so but a winter tire is not actual magic so it still has its grip limits. It's just that those limits are raised (compared to a summer tire) to make the car drive-able and safe, you still need to exercise caution when driving in bad conditions.

Your friend's story proves that he probably has little patience and a heavy foot (bad combo for winter), and certainly not any AWD superiority over winter tire compound, that would be insane even to be implied, especially in a car forum. Also, a snowy road might mean many different things from being able to move on summers with enough throttle modulation to even cars with winters sliding off. There are many variables that are over-looked when someone tells an interesting story about what he achieved in snow with summer tires.

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me, as I do not understand this: If I have winter tyres on my car, why exactly would I need 4WD?

Setting off at ice or driving up very steep uphills, you would get the benefit of some extra traction. If we are talking a combination of the worst conditions (super slippery surface and significant inclination) it might be just that extra bit of traction you need to get going. However if you are in such a situation that you do need that extra bit of traction, then you'd absolutely need winter tires already to turn and stop no matter what car you're into.

The bottom line here I think should be that AWD is a supplement to winter tires and not the other way round.

Sorry AWD works ALL year round for 100% of owners, winter tyres for most of us maybe the odd day or two a year, factor in cost and storage and basically they are a luxury. Of course, winter tyres are a supplement mainly for 2WD and not required for most folks with AWD.
OP asked does R work in the snow, as in better than FWD answer is yes. DSG in E and soften the pedal box from sport, and ever so gentle on the long pedal (just like swiss Tony would treat a beautiful woman) We're not talking Kielder forest here! Or are we?

[itavaltalainen]

Winters aren't just better in snow.
Mine I can pull off in just cold weather with no wheelspin at all on 205 winters when my 225 summers just spin and make traction control light up like a Christmas tree.

Would want to see the Michelin Alpin tyres that could not make it up a hill that you could get up with 4WD and summer tyres. Bet they were worn to significantly below 4mm or the driver was just as thick as Jeremy Clarkson. Went into a field yesterday (on purpose, well there once was a track) with my Michelin Alpin A4 on front and Nokian WR A4 on the back. No wheelspin and even up a small hill, on grassy field covered by 3-4 inches of snow.
Will take the Michelins off though as one has worn to less than 4mm (which unfortunately makes them illegal when I go over to Austria for Christmas/New Year) and replace with Nokians as well. I'll keep the better as a full size spare though.

When it comes to extra cost.... storage etc. If you use winters your summers get less use and last longer, storage ain't really that much of a problem, mine happily sit in my shed when I don't use them.

[Daz Auto]

Perhaps someone here can enlighten me, as I do not understand this: If I have winter tyres on my car, why exactly would I need 4WD?

Setting off at ice or driving up very steep uphills, you would get the benefit of some extra traction. If we are talking a combination of the worst conditions (super slippery surface and significant inclination) it might be just that extra bit of traction you need to get going. However if you are in such a situation that you do need that extra bit of traction, then you'd absolutely need winter tires already to turn and stop no matter what car you're into.

The bottom line here I think should be that AWD is a supplement to winter tires and not the other way round.

Thanks, that makes sense. Though, I never found a hill that my last FWD car could not climb with winter tyres on. Even in the middle of the mountains.

[scanesare]

Sorry AWD works ALL year round for 100% of owners, winter tyres for most of us maybe the odd day or two a year, factor in cost and storage and basically they are a luxury. Of course, winter tyres are a supplement mainly for 2WD and not required for most folks with AWD.
OP asked does R work in the snow, as in better than FWD answer is yes. DSG in E and soften the pedal box from sport, and ever so gentle on the long pedal (just like swiss Tony would treat a beautiful woman) We're not talking Kielder forest here! Or are we?

No it doesn't. You are confusing setting off on light fresh snow that you do indeed benefit from being AWD, with full driving (set-off, corner, brake) on slippery snowy/icey roads where AWD or throttle modulation plays no part by definition and no matter how much you love your car, and that's fine, it can't give it supernatural abilities. I can accept that not everyone studied or wants to read about and understand mechanical systems but don't provide wrong, and potentially dangerous advice on a public forum. The OP didn't specify what he means by snow so it would be unfair to define it as "the maximum amount that my R seems to be fine". Plenty of entertaining examples with over-confident AWD summer tire cars (a few S3 and R among them also) on YT if the scientific explanation is too heavy...

[Daz Auto]

On anything more serious like dirty roads with accumulated hard snow or ice the AWD offers no benefits at all, you'll realise it the moment you'll need to brake or take a steep corner. Grip, which is the requirement in these cases (and not traction) is not affected by how many wheels are driven but by how much all four wheels stick to the road. I see some (not necessarily in this forum) still have a hard time getting their head round that even though it's pretty simple.

... no, on this forum too!!!

PMSL