Hello all,

We had our first big snow storm here in PA. I thought it was going to be no problem being that my car is front wheel drive. But I was wrong I found out that on snow covered roads that my car did not have the control I thought it would. Perhaps I'm not understanding what traction control, stability assist, and slip differential mean. Although I didn't crash, I always had trouble climbing hills. Yesterday while driving to work, there were 2 Passats behind me. I started to climb the hill but at half way through, the dash indication flashed telling me my wheels were spinning. I had it in manual mode and was in 3rd gear going about 25 mph. So I downshifted to 2nd to try and get more power. The wheels could not get a grip! I ended up slowing down the 2 Passats behind me and they freakin flashed me! I was very steady on the gas and did not over do it. Eventually, I managed to conquer the hill but felt embarrassed because it almost could not do it. I think the only explanation is that my tires are not suited for winter driving even (the brand is Continental). I don't know but it made me wish I were wealthier and could afford the Quattro!


Any thoughts?

Thanks!

A5T

 

A LSD would be a big help, but tires go a very long way in winter driving! Anyone can drive a Quattro in the winter, you, my friend, have a fun car that requires some driving skills. LOL

You could always move to LA. It is 78 degrees at my house on the coast today. I have no problem driving in winter weather.

Cheers!

 

You just needed to have a set of tire traction devices on your front two tires, if the tires were slipping too much. A good set of snow tires would be a alternative.
Audi recommends spider spikes for this situation. Just coming to USA also is autosocks.

 

Brand name doesn't help much... Are they all season tires?

There's nothing wrong with your car... sounds like you need a bit more experience driving in snow. Mine doesn't have a problem climbing brutal hills in snow. Something that could've helped.... turn your traction control OFF when you're going up a snowy hill. You want to keep the wheels moving. Fine clutch and throttle control is required - and if you can manage that, combined with good tires, you'll even put some Jeeps to shame

 

Hey Audi5thou;
You said your A3 came with the Continental's? Guys, please correct me if I'm wrong here - but, weren't the summer tires offered with the A3's Continentals? I have the Pirelli All-Season's and though they're dry performance is not quite up to snuff - I loved the way they handled the recent weather we had here in Maryland. Though for the extremely ugly points of it - I had the wife's monster. It may just be a simple thing as getting used to driving the car in the snow and getting suitable tires as others have stated.

 

Yeah, I agree with you!! I've had no trouble with my A3 in the snow. I've driven through some pretty heavy stuff too. The Pirrelli All-Seasons are fine. I actually turn off the traction control at times because it gets annoying. I would check out what tires you have on Audi5though. I have dedicated track tires on my AWD Evo (Yokohama Advans), and I won't bring that car out in the snow for fear of death.(even with AWD). Proper rubber is essential>

 

Thats good news, I have Pirrelli All Season and was curious how well they would do in the snow.

 

The Pirelli's have worked well for me and like x3 on turning the darn traction control off. With it on fuggedaboudit...ya ain't goin' nowhere, but with it off no problem on snow and hills.

 

Let me Chime in with some points on Winter Driving (I Live in Canada), and the idea that All season tires actually dont mean all season....

For those of you that think that alll season tires will do, forget it.

Winter tires are a must, even if you have front wheel, its more than having traction on the front, you need all four. All season tires are not designed for winter driving (ice,snow,-temperatures is the biggest factor)

As soon as the temp gets close to freezing, all -seasons freeze up, lose traction, and are not designed to provide traction what soever. You lose instant grip with anything on the road. As well, having a car with ESP and TC youi're not going to get anywhere anyways because the tires never grip.

Youre best off owning two sets of tires..All seasons are never an option. Perfermance Tires for the summer, and a set of ice/snow tires for the winter. Again, as soon as the temperature gets near freezing, the compounds in a winter tire are the only one that can handle the cold.

 

Unless you live in the "cool" part of Canada, like I do [8D] Although, this year, we got hit pretty bad too, it was quite unusual for Vancouver.

Anyway, I hear the "revolutionary" all-weather tires are very good - and reduce the need for 2 sets of tires: http://www.nokiantyres.com (especially their WR model). Plenty of reviews on the web if you google it.