Hi had my first chance this morning to drive on snow, drive setting in comfort, seems to drive very well. If I really want to experience the best handling, traction, in the snow what would our more experienced bad weather drivers suggest as drive settings?
Driving in snow
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Make sure you have the right rubber on all 4-corners would be my one and only recommendation as the RS3 is more than good enough to look after all the remaining traction requirements...
I drive Nokian 235/35-19 WR A3 Friction and its working well and always in dynamic but D instead of S. Yeah I have to hold it back a little when snowing.
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In my impreza I used to overtake the snow dawdlers. The look on their faces as I passed was comical 
TX
TX
In my impreza I used to overtake the snow dawdlers. The look on their faces as I passed was comical
TX
Me too, but, you still have to stop - no amount of awd will help you there!
That's where winter rubber really helps...
Winter tyres have always been a debate in this country.
The requirement for them is marginal / minimal at best, and that requirement is reducing year on year.
I've been through 20 winters and never had winter tyres.
No problems up here in Arctic North East Scotland..........
The requirement for them is marginal / minimal at best, and that requirement is reducing year on year.
I've been through 20 winters and never had winter tyres.
No problems up here in Arctic North East Scotland..........
Yes, they not required but they should be used when weather is bad. The difference they make is un-believable and the extra grip void mean the difference between a crash and near miss !
You may be able to get by but as stated above the difference between winter and summer tyres in the snow is night and day. Not just in the snow but when the temperatures drop below about 5 degrees and it's wet the winter tyres give better traction than a summer tyre.
It is true that in recent years we haven't had a decent winter but I can't see how the requirement for them is reducing year on year.
Why is it that in a lot of European countries winter tyres are mandatory at certain times of the year?.
http://www.rac.co.uk/travel/driving-abroad/driving-abroad-in-winter
Modern cars tend to come with larger wider low profile tyres with tread patterns which have very few edges or blocks on them.
This go's against what is really required in the snow or even in colder wetter conditions. The edges are what give you the grip.
And steering, don't forget the bl**dy steering; trying to steer on snow with summer tyres is soooo risky but with winter tyres it's more like what snow; and once more if only to prove what a fabulous machine on winter rubber an RS3 (and or any Haldex quattro) is...
A memorable day and great fun, however, while we made it to the pub restaurant the chef didn't....
A memorable day and great fun, however, while we made it to the pub restaurant the chef didn't....
Thanks for liking terminator x. How far has the RS3 keyring gone? It was actually in the photo above... 
Winters are getting warmer, hence the reducing requirement.
Global warming is a nail in the coffin for winter tyre sales.
Happy motoring Graigl, keep that "Global warming" thought in mind while I for one am fitting cold weather/winter rubber to my cars
One of my favourite places the Malt Shovel, great food and a nice warm real fire this time of the year. Without the Chef though the food may not have been what it normally is .
Eigdoog
±§~Quadzackular~§±
45bvtc How much do your winters cost? Plus do you have a set of alloys or do you change them over?
I bought a set of OEM rims with Vredestein Wintrac Xtream tyres the day after I'd paid-me-money down for BLUEY; costing £3013 delivered from alloywheelsdirect; so yes, a spare set of rims with cold weather/winter tyres
OK, that's a lot of money but knowing the 8P RS3 was limited I thought a spare set of OEM rims would hold value on their own anyway and a set of winter tyres where I live is a must and generally when selling a car on I've been able to get most of my cash outlay back and safety on today's roads in true winter conditions is priceless anyway. And this is my 5th winter on 'em. Plus, they save wear and tear on my summer MPSS
And I do exactly the same with my Audi TT, Audi A2, and the RS3; each having 2-sets of rims with summer and winter tyres
235/35 19 Vredestein Wintrac Xtreams, and I 100% recommend 'em, are currently £135 each fitted
OK, that's a lot of money but knowing the 8P RS3 was limited I thought a spare set of OEM rims would hold value on their own anyway and a set of winter tyres where I live is a must and generally when selling a car on I've been able to get most of my cash outlay back and safety on today's roads in true winter conditions is priceless anyway. And this is my 5th winter on 'em. Plus, they save wear and tear on my summer MPSS
And I do exactly the same with my Audi TT, Audi A2, and the RS3; each having 2-sets of rims with summer and winter tyres
235/35 19 Vredestein Wintrac Xtreams, and I 100% recommend 'em, are currently £135 each fitted
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Yours is a great looking car fella! Done 2.5k now, so keyring is well travelledThanks for liking terminator x. How far has the RS3 keyring gone? It was actually in the photo above...
TX.
Yours is a great looking car fella! Done 2.5k now, so keyring is well travelled
TX.
Hats off, terminator x, hats off and thank you, that's some well travelled key ring....
Eigdoog
±§~Quadzackular~§±
Not sure i wanna spend 3k on winters since like said its not that bad when the winter is here even though i understand they help a lot in 5c temps. Very rave with snow here anyway. If we get it its not for long.
Also what keyring i can't see it in any picture lol
Also what keyring i can't see it in any picture lol
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If you don't want to send a lot on wheels do what I do. I have a set of scabby 16" wheels, the winter tyres are a lot cheaper than the 18" and if you do hit a curb it doesn't matter
Corrected mistake 16" not 13" that would be just stupid
Corrected mistake 16" not 13" that would be just stupid
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13"? Wow, either you have some crazy profile tyres or are very good as guesstimating your speed
My car normally runs on 18's, for winters I am running 17" with a +10mm compensation on profile.. It calculates online to be a 3mph difference at that, when the car displays 70 I'm actually doing 73.. So not too bad but still plays on your mind.
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13"? Wow, either you have some crazy profile tyres or are very good as guesstimating your speed
My car normally runs on 18's, for winters I am running 17" with a +10mm compensation on profile.. It calculates online to be a 3mph difference at that, when the car displays 70 I'm actually doing 73.. So not too bad but still plays on your mind.
Standard are 18" 225 X 40 changing to 16" 205 X 55 the rolling circumference is the same so the speedo is still correct and I have the extra security that with the higher rubber side wall if the wife hits the curb the tyre hopefully will take the damage.
Sorry, must be a typo in your previous post as I seen 13" haha.
Yes mine normally runs 225/40/18, now on 225/50/17. I do like having the extra rubber, such a nice feeling not having to worry about stupidly expensive diamond cut wheels. Mine have already been refurbished twice, once before I bought it and once when I bought it.. So they are maxed out, no more refurbishments for me
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Sorry, must be a typo in your previous post as I seen 13" haha.
Yes mine normally runs 225/40/18, now on 225/50/17. I do like having the extra rubber, such a nice feeling not having to worry about stupidly expensive diamond cut wheels. Mine have already been refurbished twice, once before I bought it and once when I bought it.. So they are maxed out, no more refurbishments for me
Just corrected the typo
I have some old scabby alloys off a A3 8P. I was given a full set of new Dunlop Winter Sport tyres with the wheels so cost nothing. Plus when I'm running the winters I'm not putting miles on the summer rubber.
I live on a hill and the local council don't grit or clear it, plus the wife has the car during the week so that bit extra grip helps
Just corrected the typo
I have some old scabby alloys off a A3 8P. I was given a full set of new Dunlop Winter Sport tyres with the wheels so cost nothing. Plus when I'm running the winters I'm not putting miles on the summer rubber.
I live on a hill and the local council don't grit or clear it, plus the wife has the car during the week so that bit extra grip helps
I tried that, bought some scabby looking TT wheels and ended up having them refurbished 2 days after I bought them, lmfao. I've made the mistake of having them done in dark grey, ruins the car.. Can't wait to get them done in silver for next winter.
I have Dunlop SP Winter Sports too. So far, I just say I don't rate them whatsoever. Audi seem to use a lot of them, which makes me think it's just me. The traction control seems to endlessly kick in, even on my 120bhp 1.4TFSi. At 1/2 degrees they stick well. In the recent spell of snow / ice we have had, they seemed to struggle for grip although did get me up a very steep icy hill after a lot of spinning. I ran Nexen Winguard Sports on my previous Fiesta, which seemed to be much better but I'm hoping for some proper snow go give them a good test.
Thanks for all of the replies , seem to have started a bit of a debate about tyres. My first post should have included the fact that I have bought a set of winter tyres and rims for the car. I haven’t spent too much on the set up but am more than pleased with it, Rims are RS6 copies off a reasonably well know web site, tyres are a budget winter offering from Nankan.
It’s my first time to try out a winter set up, with my very limited experience on them so far I‘m already a convert as the weather we have had over the last couple of months has been a reasonable wet weather scenario test, the tyres are providing excellent traction, braking and road noise level . Still need to test for a little while longer in cold, ice, snow conditions which we have only just started to see here in the UK. My first experience on snow as I mentioned in my earlier post is a very positive one, not driving sideways everywhere, at a sensible pace there is plenty of traction and it actually stops well which is the most important factor.
My original post was more of a question about the drive settings, which is the best option for ice, snow, conditions I.E comfort, dynamic or an individual tailored mix? Softer suspension and throttle map with traction control on or off etc ?
It’s my first time to try out a winter set up, with my very limited experience on them so far I‘m already a convert as the weather we have had over the last couple of months has been a reasonable wet weather scenario test, the tyres are providing excellent traction, braking and road noise level . Still need to test for a little while longer in cold, ice, snow conditions which we have only just started to see here in the UK. My first experience on snow as I mentioned in my earlier post is a very positive one, not driving sideways everywhere, at a sensible pace there is plenty of traction and it actually stops well which is the most important factor.
My original post was more of a question about the drive settings, which is the best option for ice, snow, conditions I.E comfort, dynamic or an individual tailored mix? Softer suspension and throttle map with traction control on or off etc ?
I can't speak for your local conditions, but today was the sixth consecutive weekday that I awoke to snow on our roads just timed nicely for my morning commute. I have a TT with Quattro and the DSG but not the magnetic ride. With a set of winter rubber on, I just stick it in drive or manual mode and off I go. I haven't tried Sport mode in winter, but I don't really see the point when you're trying to negotiate hilly, rural roads with snow on them.
One other advantage with the winter tyres other than giving the Quattro more grip to get you going is the braking. It's all well and good charging away, but eventually you'll need to stop (we do over here in Canada, at any rate, despite our wide open spaces!). I generally find Audi's brakes to be quite good but the winter tyres give you that extra bit of stability and shorter distances when braking. With my winters on I find I need to work pretty hard to even get the ABS to engage on snowy roads, the traction is that good.
One other advantage with the winter tyres other than giving the Quattro more grip to get you going is the braking. It's all well and good charging away, but eventually you'll need to stop (we do over here in Canada, at any rate, despite our wide open spaces!). I generally find Audi's brakes to be quite good but the winter tyres give you that extra bit of stability and shorter distances when braking. With my winters on I find I need to work pretty hard to even get the ABS to engage on snowy roads, the traction is that good.
The keyring, Eigdoog, was a private purchase and an appreciated one at that...
I understand your reluctance to spend £3k but for me it's a long term purchase as I've no intention of selling my RS3 before 2021 so an investment: all I can say is that on Vredesteins I can push the car as hard as I do in summer conditions (MPSS) without worries: twice last week BLUEY conveyed me on a 60-mile round trip in horrendous late-night sub 7ºC stair-rod rain/wet conditions and for that I was hugely appreciative of my winter rubber, worth every one of my hard-earned pennies for me...
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Hats off Ozmosis 100% correct as 'cold weather tyres' is EXACTLY how they should be referenced...
To one and ALL I've all three of my cars fitted with the same Vredestein Wintrac Xtream tyres as it's my life and those with me depending on them 4-contact rubber patches - I'd make 'em a legal requirement here in the UK....
100% correct as 'cold weather tyres' is EXACTLY how they should be referenced...To one and ALL I've all three of my cars fitted with the same Vredestein Wintrac Xtream tyres as it's my life and those with me depending on them 4-contact rubber patches - I'd make 'em a legal requirement here in the UK....
Eigdoog
±§~Quadzackular~§±
Think I'm going to look into this a lot, i could get tyres put on every year i guess but would worry about one set of alloys.
Mind you I'm still in quality control so I've still got time!
Mind you I'm still in quality control so I've still got time!
You really should. We normally just swap tyres, but this year I bought a separate set of wheels and it's much easier. Otherwise we always have the dilemma of when to change tyres back, knowing that chances are a day after we would have 2ft of snow lmao.
Worst case scenario with separate wheels, you switch them back over at no cost. You keep your summer wheels nice and clean, salt free.
Also mine are 1" smaller and 10mm bigger on the profile, so I have a buffer if I hit a curb in icy conditions.. I got caught out in awful ice a few nights ago and there were a few places where I would of refused to have driven up if my diamond cut wheels were at risk
Worth every penny as they work not just as a winter tyre but also a spare in case of an unforseen issue:
You really should. We normally just swap tyres, but this year I bought a separate set of wheels and it's much easier. Otherwise we always have the dilemma of when to change tyres back, knowing that chances are a day after we would have 2ft of snow lmao.
Worst case scenario with separate wheels, you switch them back over at no cost. You keep your summer wheels nice and clean, salt free.
Also mine are 1" smaller and 10mm bigger on the profile, so I have a buffer if I hit a curb in icy conditions.. I got caught out in awful ice a few nights ago and there were a few places where I would of refused to have driven up if my diamond cut wheels were at risk
Nutta: like you, I've got set of separate wheels which are an inch smaller than the summer wheels (summers are the 19" rotors). They're fairly cheap alloys which, as you say, allows a bit of extra room for the times when your poor car is assaulted by snow-camouflaged kerbs! We're lucky over here in that a set of four tyres (Michelin X-Ice Xi3) with the cheapo alloys only set me back $1800 Cdn.
Soooo TRUE it needs to be said TWICE....
John: I suppose the only other thing to add, and I'm sure the forum lurkers out there already know this, is to make sure your inputs are smooth when driving in winter conditions. No mashing pedals or sudden wrenching of the steering wheel and you'll be tootling along just fine.
Had near 40-years of learning to drive smoothly in Lotus Élans', Damien; with 4-rubber doughnuts in the drive-train get clumsy with an Élans' pedals and you'll be yo-yo-yo-yoing down the road...
