When you're sliding or lost control of the car NEVER brake or accelerate to "gain control". It doesnt work. Best thing to do is to let go of both pedals and let the car slow itself down. All you can do is slowly steer it into the best direction, wether it'd be on your proper lane or in between obstacles like posts or trees. Everyone thinks you can drift through corners w/ amateur experience but the fact is once your car is sliding you wont get enough traction/power to steer it in any other direction besides the wrong one. Dont hate snow, just learn from your mistakes

 

yea... i guess i know that now... i think my bald tires had something to do with it too... and the fact that i went from a road with no snow.. to a road with 5 inches of snow... at 10mph.. so once i hit the snow it was all over.

 

No insurance?

 

I'd be pissed to. Sorry that happened, but it could have been a lot worse.

 

I also drove my A4 in the snow for the first time last week around North Lake Tahoe. Although my A4 has Quattro, it didn't seem to compare to the traction/confidence I was able to get from my WRX or STI. Perhaps it was the tires but I'll try again once I get new tires and hope for better results.
But the moral of the story is that AWD doesn't make anyone invincible to snow/ice. Extreme caution should be exerted at all times.

 

you left these small (huge) details out. that is exactly why you spun out

 

You've got to remember too, that in an AWD car, you're putting power to the rear wheels. Yeah it's only half of it and the front is pulling too, but you're still putting power to the rear. On a slick surface that can cause the car to rotate as if it were RWD - power out back will push the rear of the car around. Whatever you do, on slick roads, even with Quattro, don't shift mid-turn - reapplying the power will upset the balance and shove the back end out (ask me how I found this out the hard way last winter...)

 

ok.. how did u find that out?

pictures to prove it?

aledelic42- yes i have collision and liability but i think i have a 1000$ deductible, and this is no way 1000$ so im probly not going through my insurance.

xqwizit- mines quattro too..

 

Heheh, no pics - I was driving. It was last winter and happened just as I described it. It was about -10 or -15 degrees, cold enough that the salt made things worse instead of better. The road was very greasy and I turned left from a standstill, and shifted to second halfway through the turn. Reapplying throttle lightly was all it took and it spun the car out. No way in hell I could save it. I was lucky that I had no damage (stopped in the middle of the road, at least 100 yards distant from oncoming traffic). Kind of embarrassing though to be in an upscale German sedan known for all-weather ability and I spin out, while countless Grand Ams and Cavaliers drive past me.

 

I agree with going to a big parking lot with no polls around and get a good feel. Euro is def wrong though. With quattro if you lose control in the snow you can learn how to give it a little gas and turn away from the turn. It does take ***** and practice at first to learn how to trust it. I had to go to one of our buildings at work to shovel it out today and the driveway had 8" of snow on it and honestly like a 35 degree incline and I didn't spin the wheels once climbing my way out. This was after I watched a toyota matrix go up and down over and over to get out. So...go climb a snowy hill and have fun in a lot and love the quattro again.
Oh, and by the way don't use insurance! You need to think about your rates going up for 6 years.