Anything to do or not do in a quattro vs a regualr 2wd in the snow? Never driven an awd car in snow/ice before, only had experiance with FWD. Going to be making a trip up north, hopefully i'll find a couple of icey parking lots on the way .

Obviously it will be much easier in my awd audi than last time in a mercury sable, but i don't want to destroy my drivetrain doing something stupid that i shouldn't be doing. Don't have an owners manual, so if it mentions any no no's in there that'd be helpfull too.
Thanks

 

When in the snow and ice, you can drop your clutch and let the tires take the abuse. The only thing you need to worry about driving in the snow and ice is hitting: curbs, cars, dry patches, plow trucks, and idiots. The idiots are the biggest to watch out for, because they multiply in the snow!

 

people that compare quattro to subaru AWD dont know what their talking about, subarau has 50/50 split so when their going around a turn and mash it its still 50/50, where as when we mash it around that same corner 66% goes to the back wheel and we drift out, the only thing is that when you take off quickly from a stop on ice or snow the center diff with lock and 4 wheel will spin until they grip and you go.

 

Just be careful of the common sense deficient people out there. Throttle position is especially important in bad weather. With AWD you never really want to be full throttle or no throttle, because that can throw off the car's balance. Take into account road conditions and cornering speed and match the throttle accordingly. Also, don't rely too heavily on your new superior quattro abilities, remember its all wheel drive not all wheel stop.

 

yes very good point on awd vs. all wheel stop. Obviously you increase following distance/stopping distance dramatically regardless of awd or not. I'm mainly wondering how to most efficiently use the awd capabilities of the car, i know with fwd going through snow momentum is everything or else your screwed.

So if the wheels start to spin, do i just keep on the throttle and let the awd system do its thing or do i try to regain traction manually via throttle position like you do with a fwd car? Also, will this system suddenly change which wheel has power if i keep on the throttle and thusly put me into a situation that is irrecoverable? Those are the main types of questions, i already know common sense bad weather driving.
Thanks

 

On ice, remember that with quattro you have power going to the rear wheels. Last year I was midway through a turn in 1st, shifted to second, and eased the clutch out. I was on an icy patch and the torque going to the rear wheels pushed the back end around. Be careful of that.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that A4's tend to understeer for the most part, partly becausethe weight of theengine is so far forward (and also the factory suspension is tuned for "safety"). So always be prepared to use the throttle to bring the back end around to counter understeer, and keep your foot OFF the brake when going around icy corners quickly (as in any conditions, you should deccelerate and downshift as necessaryBEFORE entering the turn).

The quattro system will not "suddenly change which wheel has power", it sends power to all wheels at all times through a purely mechanical differential. Depending whichwheels havethe most traction, it can send up to 2/3 of total power to the front or the rear.

 

understeer and oversteer... explain the difference pleeeaaseee!![8D]i kinda know what they are im just not sure which way is which

 

understeer is what front wheel drive tends to do. as you accelerate through the turn the wheels will tend to slip and you will go straight rather than turn.

oversteer is like driftin(we is drifting) happens mostly to rwd cars the back end tends to come around trying to overtake the front wheels

 

a good example.

Imagine your in a parking lot driving in a continous circle. if you understeer the circle will get bigger, if you oversteer the circle will get smaller. and nuetral steer the circle will stay the same