Wow!

"JJ" wrote

Please don't tell me you drove on summer tires. That wasn't very smart.

Cheers,

Pete

I honestly haven't had any problems driving my A4Q on the summer tires. I guess since I grew up where it snows every winter I learned how to drive with rear wheel drive vehicles with old half bald tires, so having

4WD even on summer tires is great. It isn't as if I'd suddenly be able to (or want to) drive really fast in the snow if I had all seasons or snow tires.

It is kind of annoying that if you get the sport package they force the summer tires on you, it would have been nice to have the choice to get some all season tires instead. But given that it'd be $1000 for even fairly cheap rims and tires for the winter, when there's only real quantities of snow on the roads about a dozen days during the winter here in SE Iowa, it just wasn't worth it. If I lived in a place like Buffalo where it snows all the time, or had a long commute to work each day, I'd probably feel differently. Or perhaps if I lived somewhere like Atlanta, where I'd want my car to really handle well to avoid all the idiots who have no idea how to drive on snow since it only happens every few years :)

I've driven my A4 quattro on summer tires every year and have no problems at all, it stops fine, and pulls like its on tarmac, if you have real expensive summer tires then I would imagine it might be different but the amount of snow we get in the UK is minimal so it's not really an issue.

If you drive it like it nutter in the snow you will crash it, it doesnt matter if you use summer/allseason/winter.

"Ronny" wrote

Yeah, I guess it all depends. Out here in Poland, we don't get that much snow either, but all it takes is one snow storm and one accident, and suddenly you realize that not having the proper tires is very expensive, quattro or not. Driving on my summer Bridgestone S-03s during winter wasn't fun. They become very hard (like hockey pucks), and only grip ok in the dry. In the wet or snow they're terrible since they don't have the sipes that help bite into the snow/slush. I can still get going without a problem because of quattro, but stopping and turning becomes very cumbersome.

Cheers,

Pete

If you live in Poland, you should treat yourself to a set of Nokia Hakkapeliitta 4! (not available in the US). They are awesome!

I use the earlier Hak 2's on my A4's (without the studs since I also drive in dry areas) and they are the best winter tires (other than the Hak 4's) I have ever used.

dk

What exactly do you mean by "nutter"?

Driving recklessly? Or simply fast?

dk

"Dan Koren" wrote

Well, they're probably too hardcore for me. :-) We don't get that much snow. Most of the time the roads are clear during winter, and I live in the city - don't hit snow-covered country roads at all. I'll probably get Nokian WR next time though.

Cheers,

Pete

I've had WR's (and the earlier NRW's) and used them year round. Great tires.

dk