Kevin B.

I'm in the same boat; I will take my chances and carry cables to Mammoth this wknd!

Jay Cole

<p>yes, 225s ... wider than stock. as most know, wider tires are not as<br>good in the snow. this was not my concern. I wanted dry pavement<br>performance and only concerned about the 'legalilty' of the M+S<br>rating.<p>also, tread wear factor is 380, that's pretty good.<p>Mammoth this weekend, report next week. tons of snow forecasted!<br>20" in the last 2 days and 2 more feet by Sunday.<p>

Rich

I totally agree with Dale's post above. Best of luck if you hit any real ice or snow--better drive slowly!!<p>As I've posted before, I had to slow down so far in the snow that Buicks and other performance vehicles were passing my A4 "sport" with its z tires. I think that's a real waste of a great car, and of the quattro system.<p>If you're serious about enjoying winter mountain sports in your A4, and why not, then I'd look at the Dunlop Winter sport M2's.. The money spent could be a cheap insurance policy. If you don't want separate wheels, I'd look at the Dunlop Sport 4000's or the Toyo Proxes Z1 as decent compromises. See how the 8000's work if you like--they're awesome in the dry--but please be careful with that sweet new car..<p>Rich<br>'98 2.8Q-sport, winter #2, nokian hak 1's, 2 cross-country trips, mountain drives, etc..

DMoore

<br>The entire stretch (15 miles) between Big Pine and Bishop seems to be the most heavily patrolled stretch anywhere along 395. I set the cruise control for 75 and forget about even trying to make any time on that stretch.

Jay Cole

<br>you said:<p> "I would stay away from the chains. Particularly<br> with the sport package, I think something is <br> very likely to be damaged."<p>pure speculation, not even an educated guess. Houe heard of anyone complaining about damage to their A4 due to proper use of chains? <p><br>what do you mean 'very likely to be damaged'. like what?<p>I've been driving a Porsche 911 for years in the snow with a good set of cables. there's no damage.<p><br>I guess maybe what is not being understood in this thread is that most folks in the California lowlands that go to the snow country are only going to need real snow tires a few days out of a year. The rest of the time it's like summer! What would be a waste of an A4 is to put some hard core snows, just for the purpose of driving a few days in the snow a year. Chains (and only in the event that the CHP insists) are PERFECTLY viable.<p><br>

Andrew C.

Cables vs Chains are two different items that serve the same purpose. I think the metal link chains are to be avoided.

Jay Cole

<br>.

Dale B

It seems to me like you are speculating also - that chains (or cables) WON'T cause any damage. If I'm going to speculate, I'll so so in the direction of my, and my car's, safety. I'm not seeing responses here from sport package owners that have used chains that have experience.<p>Chains break, maybe infrequently. If that happens, you are almost guaranteed damage. Even a plastic wheel well liner wouldn't be cheap to replace. Sometimes chains loosen. It wouldn't take too many whacks against the body, suspension parts, or whatever, to make a mess.<p>My personal choice is to not put chains on ANY car unless absolutely necessary, due to the chance for damage, the rough ride which can't be doing the car any good, etc. There are times and places, though, where they are "required".

Jay Cole

Did I say WON'T cause damage? Well, if that's what you thought I said, then I appologize. What I meant was, a good set of cables properly installed will not likely fail, and therefore not cause damage. That's not to say others will buy quality cables and install them correctly.<p>In general, typical car owners who are forced to put on chains will do so without regard to proper installation. And, should they loosen or break, the driver is so bent on getting there, he/she just keeps on wackin' away at the underside. This is bad, and may cause damage. I don't think you can say that it will "almost guaranteed damage". <p>For me, I have never incurred any damage to a car in 18 yeas of driving in Mammoth due to a chain or cable breaking (course I never had one fail badly). I would not count out a broken chain, and its ability to damage the wheel well. Even then, replacing the plastic wheel well is still a better option (IMO) than running a hefty set of snows when you don't encounter chain up conditions but a few times a year.<p>Also cables (vs. old school chains) are less likely to cause damage should a rung fail simply due the much lower momentum of the loose rung.<p>This forum is about giving advice based on experience. All too often, we jump to conclusions and say things that we have no direct experience with, yet pass it off as if we were experts. This is not a stab at you, Dale. I just wish speculative commentary (and there's a ton of it on this forum) was prefaced as such. i.e.<p> my guess is ...<p>Flames-R-(not)-Us<br>