To Quattro or not to Quattro? - That is the question
Discussion
As the title says really.
Currently running an old (2004) A4 Avant 2.5 tdi. I've been putting winter tyres on for the last few years, and they make an amazing difference when the going gets slippy.
I'm currently looking at speccing an new A4 and was wondering whether to go for S-line Quattro, or 2wd. If I go Quattro, then I'm assuming that winter tyres will be a thing of the past, or am I wrong?
A decent set of winter wheels/tyres, is going to set me back the same amount as upgrading to Quattro anyway.
For clarity, I'm in the South East, so not particularly bad weather, but still some fairly nasty stuff over the last 5 years or so.
Any Quattro experiences in the slippery stuff? Be good to hear views from the Collective.
Many Thanks.
Currently running an old (2004) A4 Avant 2.5 tdi. I've been putting winter tyres on for the last few years, and they make an amazing difference when the going gets slippy.
I'm currently looking at speccing an new A4 and was wondering whether to go for S-line Quattro, or 2wd. If I go Quattro, then I'm assuming that winter tyres will be a thing of the past, or am I wrong?
A decent set of winter wheels/tyres, is going to set me back the same amount as upgrading to Quattro anyway.
For clarity, I'm in the South East, so not particularly bad weather, but still some fairly nasty stuff over the last 5 years or so.
Any Quattro experiences in the slippery stuff? Be good to hear views from the Collective.
Many Thanks.
Yes, get quattro (not Quattro, that's a car).
The B8 chassis is a much nicer steer with four wheel drive.
Yes, get winter tyres. There are traction and stability advantages from quattro but it does nothing for braking and grip on slippery surfaces.
Do you 'need' winter tyres in the UK (and particularly the south east)? No, not really. With a bit of patience and a sensible approach to speed you'll probably be OK.
The B8 chassis is a much nicer steer with four wheel drive.
Yes, get winter tyres. There are traction and stability advantages from quattro but it does nothing for braking and grip on slippery surfaces.
Do you 'need' winter tyres in the UK (and particularly the south east)? No, not really. With a bit of patience and a sensible approach to speed you'll probably be OK.
Get a quattro, I live in a small village on a hill that, despite being near to the local town is quite 'remote'.
When it snows the roads don't get cleared/gritted, I also have a long gravelled, uphill driveway that is very difficult to clear of any snow or ice and I never have any problem getting up it in the snow.
All the other cars I've had; RWD or FWD have struggled, to some degree to get home when it snows. With the RWD models sometimes spending the night in the next village. Yet my A3 never has any problem despite wearing 'summer' tyres and not having 'proper' quattro (for the purists
), obviously braking on snow/ice is still tricky due to the tyres but I have never been stuck anywhere and even managed to tow the Mrs' Galaxy up the snowbound drive a while back.
I've even driven it around the (sloped) garden/paddock in the snow just to see how it coped...
When it snows the roads don't get cleared/gritted, I also have a long gravelled, uphill driveway that is very difficult to clear of any snow or ice and I never have any problem getting up it in the snow.
All the other cars I've had; RWD or FWD have struggled, to some degree to get home when it snows. With the RWD models sometimes spending the night in the next village. Yet my A3 never has any problem despite wearing 'summer' tyres and not having 'proper' quattro (for the purists
), obviously braking on snow/ice is still tricky due to the tyres but I have never been stuck anywhere and even managed to tow the Mrs' Galaxy up the snowbound drive a while back. I've even driven it around the (sloped) garden/paddock in the snow just to see how it coped...
Go Quattro! Once you've driven one on a slippery surface you will be hooked. It's the little things like accelerating up a wet slip road, or launching away from a junction without any wheel spin or drama - just effortless grip and control. I've never fitted winter tyres before either, and my A4 has dealt with ice, snow, rain and floods.
Personally - I think it's not just about snow.
The way you can pour on the power in wet conditions is amazing and when you have a larger output turbodiesel with bags of low down torque, pulling out of junctions can be a hazard in wet conditions with FWD / RWD. With my A3 Quattro, in the pouring rain, at a junction or roundabout; I can put the accelerator into the carpet (to get the revs to 2,500rpm - as that's as much as it'll give you from a standstill) and sidstep the clutch (it's also a company car)!
In the snow you just turn off the stability control and brake / change down gently - but traction is amazing even on "summer tyres". With a bit of practice you don't need to use the brakes except in a straight line - just "scandanavian flicking" it into corners and hitting the throttle to four wheel drift out of corners!
The way you can pour on the power in wet conditions is amazing and when you have a larger output turbodiesel with bags of low down torque, pulling out of junctions can be a hazard in wet conditions with FWD / RWD. With my A3 Quattro, in the pouring rain, at a junction or roundabout; I can put the accelerator into the carpet (to get the revs to 2,500rpm - as that's as much as it'll give you from a standstill) and sidstep the clutch (it's also a company car)!
In the snow you just turn off the stability control and brake / change down gently - but traction is amazing even on "summer tyres". With a bit of practice you don't need to use the brakes except in a straight line - just "scandanavian flicking" it into corners and hitting the throttle to four wheel drift out of corners!
mbutchers said:
As the title says really.
Currently running an old (2004) A4 Avant 2.5 tdi. I've been putting winter tyres on for the last few years, and they make an amazing difference when the going gets slippy.
I'm currently looking at speccing an new A4 and was wondering whether to go for S-line Quattro, or 2wd. If I go Quattro, then I'm assuming that winter tyres will be a thing of the past, or am I wrong?
A decent set of winter wheels/tyres, is going to set me back the same amount as upgrading to Quattro anyway.
For clarity, I'm in the South East, so not particularly bad weather, but still some fairly nasty stuff over the last 5 years or so.
Any Quattro experiences in the slippery stuff? Be good to hear views from the Collective.
Many Thanks.
You buy a quattro if you want to maximize dry/wet grip and enjoy the chassis to it's fullest. Quattro will get you moving in some pretty nasty conditions, but cannot account for the fact that summer tire compounds turn to stone in cold temps and turn your car into a runaway sled on snow or ice. I would never drive in winter temps without snow tires.Currently running an old (2004) A4 Avant 2.5 tdi. I've been putting winter tyres on for the last few years, and they make an amazing difference when the going gets slippy.
I'm currently looking at speccing an new A4 and was wondering whether to go for S-line Quattro, or 2wd. If I go Quattro, then I'm assuming that winter tyres will be a thing of the past, or am I wrong?
A decent set of winter wheels/tyres, is going to set me back the same amount as upgrading to Quattro anyway.
For clarity, I'm in the South East, so not particularly bad weather, but still some fairly nasty stuff over the last 5 years or so.
Any Quattro experiences in the slippery stuff? Be good to hear views from the Collective.
Many Thanks.
Quattro every time for me.
It's true that you only ever 'use' it a fraction of the time you are moving, but it does make a hell of a difference when you do need it, be that in snow, or more commonly, just rubbish weather.
The comments about needing to stop in poor weather are true but often forgotten - I've just shod the A8 with M+S for the season, and whilst not cheap, it's not the expense some people (ok, Mrs Monk) think it is.
Of course it's still annoying if you can start, move and stop, but some poor bugger behind you can't do it quite as quickly on their normal summer rubber. Hey ho.
Quattro. You know you want to...
It's true that you only ever 'use' it a fraction of the time you are moving, but it does make a hell of a difference when you do need it, be that in snow, or more commonly, just rubbish weather.
The comments about needing to stop in poor weather are true but often forgotten - I've just shod the A8 with M+S for the season, and whilst not cheap, it's not the expense some people (ok, Mrs Monk) think it is.
Of course it's still annoying if you can start, move and stop, but some poor bugger behind you can't do it quite as quickly on their normal summer rubber. Hey ho.
Quattro. You know you want to...
I got a Haldex "quattro" system in an Octavia 4x4 18 months ago to replace a fwd car and it shares the garage with a rwd car. I know this isn't the true quattro system as used on the bigger Audis but is is sooooo much better than fwd. I can't see me owning another fwd car again.
With a Haldex system you are talking about an extra £40 every 40k miles for an oil change. Earlier Haldex needed filters too so nearer £80. I can't see a Torsen diff being much different if it needs additional servicing over a fwd car.
With a Haldex system you are talking about an extra £40 every 40k miles for an oil change. Earlier Haldex needed filters too so nearer £80. I can't see a Torsen diff being much different if it needs additional servicing over a fwd car.
nxh66 said:
I got a Haldex "quattro" system in an Octavia 4x4 18 months ago to replace a fwd car and it shares the garage with a rwd car. I know this isn't the true quattro system as used on the bigger Audis but is is sooooo much better than fwd. I can't see me owning another fwd car again.
With a Haldex system you are talking about an extra £40 every 40k miles for an oil change. Earlier Haldex needed filters too so nearer £80. I can't see a Torsen diff being much different if it needs additional servicing over a fwd car.
The newer Haldex implementations (4 and 5) are very good indeed, and perform very similarly to the old Torsen 50/50 system in the real world. Its also worth noting that the Haldex programming is also model specific, so predictive torque transfer on the sportier models will be different than the city runabouts.With a Haldex system you are talking about an extra £40 every 40k miles for an oil change. Earlier Haldex needed filters too so nearer £80. I can't see a Torsen diff being much different if it needs additional servicing over a fwd car.
Gassing Station | Audi, Seat, Skoda & VW | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff