ZeroFear

Will the sport tires that come with the 2011 S4 Ti package cause the car to be worthless in light snow? Or will the AWD compensate enough to let it burble its way through the winter? It only snows 2 or 3 times per winter here ( sometimes none ).

I'm looking at the 11 S4 over an M3 due the the possible ease of use in nasty winter months. If I have to have two sets of tires that will suck!

rktskicar

those are summer tires. don't drive in the snow in them, hazardous. if you want to only run one set of tires/wheels, run UHPAS tire.

Bruce

redrocker55

If those 2-3 times a year it snows you get an inch, 2 max, and it doesn't turn to ice...melts pretty quickly...then you can probably get by. The Quattro will only help you accelerate...it will not help you brake or steer. Summer tires are NOT meant for cold temperatures or winter snow/slush/ice conditions.

I drove my Corvette, RWD car, thru a snow storm from St Louis to northern Indiana a couple years ago. That was 350 miles of open land with a lot of wind and blowing/drifting snow. The highway was covered with snow/ice about 1/2 the time. I made it...I didn't slide much...but I was extremely careful. It was a highly stressful trip and I really wouldn't do it again. Point is...you can drive the car in snow with summers...but it's not very much fun and your braking and steering and accelerating are going to suffer big time compared with ultra high performance all seasons or winter tires.

If you reliably get more than an inch or 2 and it staying on the ground for a while...like in St Louis...I would at a minimum consider replacing those summer tires with UHPAS tires if you don't want to own 2 sets (1 summer and 1 winter set up).

RedMagma2011S4

While in general I'd agree with Bruce, I do have the 19" high perf summer tires on my S4 and have made it so far through a fairly snowy New Jersey winter. I will not claim they perfrom great, but if you keep your speed down and do not attempt anything over 4 inches unplowed, it can get you to work. I did have some fun swinging the tail out on a turn this week - they lose grip easy. But I have not gotten stuck and I can make it up my snowy sloped driveway better than my last car - '03 Cadillac CTS RWD.

Next year I am thinking winter tires and wheels.

ZeroFear

If I get an extra set of wheels for $750 and some performance winter tires ( like the pilot winter 3D or w/e ) would it beast its way threw the snow and slush?

rktskicar

yes. if you do that, will be fine.

DrGP

I have not put on winter tires this year . BUT, I haven't driven in snow or ice either. Hoping to wear out the OEM tires before next winter and then change to All season tires year round. BUT, the summer tires are even a big compromise in temps under 40 degrees . Traction is significantly reduced as temps get colder. And you can drive in light snow with summer tires. You just can't stop or turn. Even the lightest accumulations can be dangerous . IMHO, you can get by driving in colder temps on clear roads, but not with even light snow accumulations. Its just too risky.

mellow_sparky

the problem with summer tires is the temp rating. summer tires become worthless below 40F. So wet streets and 35F would be dangerous. The rubber becomes very hard at lower temps and you loose traction.

I would never drive this car in any snow with summer tires.

m444

It depends on one's ability & care with driving on hockey pucks. Stopping is extremely difficult with hockey pucks.

Matt427

On summer tires in winter time it doesn't matter whether there's snow or not. It doesn't even matter if you have all-wheel drive. You will notice a significant decrease in both dry and wet traction when the average temperature gets below 40 degrees fahrenheit on summer tires.

There have already been several heart-wrenching threads on various S4 public forums about owners who have found out the hard way that summer tires are bad for your cars health in the winter; and that AWD is not a substitute for choosing the proper tire for the driving conditions.

As far as the case you laid out here, where you say you get little or no snow, I would suggest either using all-season tires year-round, or swapping between those and your summer tires. Again, you do not want to be caught out in cold temperatures on summer rubber.