davecw

Hi, all:

I'm new to this board and I'm considering getting an A6 with Quattro. One dumb question I have is whether or not CalTran will stop me to put on snow chain (which is very painful) with the Quattro?

Thanks.<p>- Dave

asics

As long as you have M&S rated tires (mud and snow) you will not have to use chains. Just look for the M&S on the tire sidewall. The stock tires are rated for snow and many high persormace tires are also rated for snow even though they aren't really very good.

Bollinger

Which presents a problem.

There are several stages of CalTrans road advisories:

1. Clear
2. Snow tires or chains required
3. chains or snow tires with AWD required
4. chains AND AWD required
5. Closed

M+S tires (all-season) fulfill the requirements for snow tires. And CalTrans never checks for the M+S logo, so in theory you could drive on summers. I don't recommend it. Get all-seasons or snows.

You can't fulfill stage 4 requirements on an A6, since Audi says no chains on a Quattro A6. But for stages 1-3 you don't even have to stop, just slow down.

Stage 4 is very drastic, and under those conditions, you don't want to be driving anyway. Furthermore, on any road except I80, when it gets to stage 4 (which I80 rarely does anyway), there won't be people out checking your tires anyway. The conditions are too poor for them to hang out there.

So, you are set to go for 99.8% of the time with nothing more than Quattro and all-season tires. If it gets worse than that though, you just have to sit it out.

phred

They are going to be hard to find (since there is so little wheel well clearance), and it's better to get them in the lowlands and have them ready since Murphy's Law is bound to come into play if they're not sitting in the trunk.

Then, upon return, they too shall be returned. I've done this at Pep Boys several times (well, not for my Audis but for my BMW). Since the chains aren't used, it's not hurting PB any.

Bollinger

You are committing theft of service. Not that I expect you to care, but there is a cost to them to unstocking and restocking chains. What happens if you "buy" their last set, so they order more, and then you return them? They have extra chains on hand now.

I hope you are a retailer yourself someday.

I considered buying chains, because I figured if I am in enough trouble, I don't care if the chains damage my car, if it increases my chance of survival. I was in this situation with my Saturn once before. I threw all caution to the wind. Didn't care about my bodywork, my clutch, my engine, nothing. I just had to get back to shelter.

But in the end, I just decided the chances of me actually needing to go out in conditions so severe is too low to warrant them. It's safer to stay inside and wait out the storm anyway.

That's really what I learned last time. If it's that bad, just don't go out. Being late is better than being dead.

phred

Hey, only my wife gets to talk to me like that!

Bollinger

I was only expressing the realism of knowing that you've already made up your mind

Paul2.7T

I have an experience that relates, though this
is practial, so I don't exactly know the
legalities. A bunch of us were going X-country
skiing in Yosemite. A bunch of SUVs and me in
my Subaru Legacy AWD. The trooper at the
bottom of the road up to Badger Pass was
turning around any 4wd that was not carrying
snow tires, as a big storm was expected to
arrive soon. We drove up with no problem, got
to the top and notice one of our friends no longer
behind us...they didn't have chains (and didn't
lie to the trooper). My Subaru is retiring soon
now I have an A6 2.7T, and it never got to
wear it's chains, but I did have them