jprice@CPS

all season defeats the purpose of sport package..

jprice@CPS

Yes!! Everyone should do this. great choice avantadrive!

mkelsey

but I have had 2 Audi's, both with Sports Package, and I have never changed out the tires, and have never had a problem. You just drive cautiously, don't tailgate, and don't speed.

Besides, even if you get winter tires and have AWD or 4x4, it doesn't give you the license to drive like a f*cking maniac in the snow, like most SUV owners seem to think.

Ice is ice, and it doesn't matter what tires you have, you will not be able to stop if you are going to fast.

I hope if you change to winter tires, it doesn't give you a false sense of invincibility.

runlikegump

I was driving on Dunlup 9090s. THEY FREEZE IN THE COLD. If you care about your sister you will urge her to lay down the cash to get some winter tires. It makes a HUGE difference.

RKA

High perf. tires were NOT designed for cold conditions. People who attempt to drive around in these conditions are at a *severe* traction disadvantage compared to the traffic around them. Your solution is to slow down. Believe it or not, you become a rolling road hazard by driving so slow because your tires don't have enough grip...just like that guy driving 45 mph on a dry highway because he can't see that far ahead. Then there is the "unexpected". Sometimes you just can't account for everything that can happen. Say you're driving down a city street, and you begin to pass a car parallel parked on the side of the road...suddenly a door swings open and a 5 year old jumps out. What are you going to do with your sub par tires? Hope to swerve and hit oncoming traffic, rather than plowing into a 5 year old that didn't know any better.

Okay, back to my original point...people that have never ridden on good snow tires make rediculous claims. The fact is, if you really live in an environment with a lot of ice, you CAN purchase a set of tires that are optimized for ice (no studs mind you). You can purchase a set of tires optimized for snow, and you can purchase a set of winter tires optimized for mostly dry conditions. It just depends on what you need. This isn't about driving like a nut case, this is about having as much available traction for conditions as you possibly can...and balancing out that great grip we get with quattro with equivalent stopping and turning power.

Keep taking your lucky pills, and maybe you and/or someone else won't have to pay for your ignorance. Yes, ignorance, because now you've been told, and you know better.

RKA

She should listen to you then. If she chooses not to she's putting lives in danger everything she drives in wintery conditions.

If you live near Philadelphia, call me over during the next snow. I'll be happy to demonstrate the differences between appropriate tires, and "not-appropriate" tires (that later would be on her car, not mine!).

mkelsey

#1> I have been looking and thinking about purchasing another set of tires, BECAUSE I started reading this forum. My dealer never told me that I should change the tires in the winter, and I am on my second Audi, and I was never aware that they needed/should be changed out. I was simply stating that in the 4+ years that I have owned an Audi I have NEVER had a problem with even sliding in the snow, granted I don't live in an area that gets a ton of snow fall (6 inches is a lot for us).
#3> Your scenario about about the kid can happen to anybody, anytime, anywhere regardless of the tire. Lets say you havewinter tires and you feel more secure and safer, you might just be going faster and be less aware of your surroundings then me in that situation and have just as much inability to stop.
#4> JUST BECAUSE you get winter tires and have quatro, DOES NOT mean you can drive like you maniac, or like you normally would in dry conditions. <-- This is what pisses me off most about people in winter conditions, they think they are invincible if they have AWD, 4x4 or whatever they might have done to make their car more drivable in the winter.
#5> I never said for this person NOT to purchase Winter tires.

RKA

You relayed your personal experience, and offered the suggestion of driving slowly. I refuted that, and said it was dangerous anyway you slice it.

My scenario regarding the child...again, it's about having AS MUCH stopping power as you can possibly get for the conditions you drive in. At 15 mph, a differential of 5 feet in stopping power means the difference between stopping before you collide with the child, vs. after. Now substitute every other road hazard and obstacle you might encounter in place of the child.

Your discussion regarding maniacs in wintery conditions has no place in this discussion. It only serves to derail the original discussion, which was the use of high perf. tires in wintery conditions.

Marc Collins

You shouldn't be driving a car two blocks, though. Tell her to do herself and the car a huge favour and walk.

And also remeber the sport tires are bad in the snow because of the tread pattern but they are just as bad in the dry cold because the rubber compound is optimised for warm weather.

Either get winter tires and swap twice a year or go for a compromise all season high performance (what I do). AND don't drive the car two blocks any time of the year

By the way, the two best ultra high performance all seasons are:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S
Dunlop Sport 5000 Asymmetrical