I was curious to know if there was anyone who owned an A4 quattro that has experience driving in the snow or icy conditions? I was interested in knowing if I should purchase chains and if so how many would I need? Im heading up to Lake Tahoe for New Years and I have never driven an all wheel drive car up there so we usually use chains but I was under the impression that I wouldnt need them since I got the quattro.

Any ideas?

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

 

bahahahaha chains!!?!?! no no no you have a all wheel drive snow driving MACHINE!!!! i just got back from VT (during the storm this weekend) the car handles fine

as for ice? no car will be good on ice...well maybe a zamboni but lets be real

you'll be fine if u drive cautious and let the traction control system do what it does best, and then when ur done running errands go to the nearest empty parking lot turn off the ECS and have fun!!

 

hahaha thanks for the response! the dealer told me that my car came with a zamboni package lol ? My friend has an S4 and he took it up there in a bad storm and was involved in accident so thats why im worried. he did say that the tcs saved his life so im a firm believer in audis quattro system.

Thanks again

 

just get some good winter tires (at LEAST all-season) and if ur really worried get the chains just in case...

 

nahh don;t waste ur money with the chains and pair of snow tires and nice head on your shoulders will prevent accidents

s4's are a different animal then an a4 so i'll just say that

 

Quattro is amazing in the snow but only if you know how to drive it and don't act like you can do anything just because you have it. You still stop like a normal car so don't forget that, if you drive a manual engine breaking helps a lot. Quattro will go through just about anything assuming your wheels stay on the ground and it will also help you steer out of a bad situation.

I've found that unless you are about to hit something a little gas will help keep the car going where you want. The tail might come out a little but you will stay more on course than if it keeps under steering toward a snowbank or tree. Take the car to a parking lot and play around, best way to learn what your doing.

 

+1 on big parking lot. You can learn a lot sliding the car around plus its loads of fun. From my experiance if your in a turn on snow and the front doesnt want to turn just barely give it some gas and the back will slide out a bit and give the front the traction it needs. Practice before you try stuff like that though.

 

Recently, I drove from Yucapai, CA to Big Bear Lake City, CA on snow and ice, a 40 mile long trip. The car performs beyond my dreams when it comes to stability and traction, especially in negotiating the curbs but as always, there are some caveats:
- use an engine break, therefore don't buy an automatic/tiptronic/cvt - see which one is left...
- don't push car limits and don't be overly confident. It's a car, not a magic wand.

When I reached a quarter of the trip, there were the snow chains guys almost blocking the road and strongly suggesting that I should mount chains on my beloved audi or else. Of course theirs services costed $30 dollars, provided that I was having my own chains.
I told them it's an AWD vehicle and after some other pointless discussions I was ready to leave. My friend sitting on my right looked back and overheard them (I didn't though) placing bets if I could start the car off on ice. He told me about it and I offered those guys a splendid view with an AWD vehicle throwing snow and ice and pulling ahead, definitely faster than the previous bigger SUVs dealing with the same conditions. I should have taken some percentages from those bets.

 

you showed their ***! lol ^^^

 

it drives very well in the snow. i'm from canada and the car is impossible to get stuck in deep snow. i have all seasons and it's good enough.