Preparations for Winter

Lund

Lund

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Hello,

I'd like to know what you guys are doing to prepare your cars with regards to winter looming in. In recent previous years we have had heavy snow fall on & off from around November to February (UK) and I expect this will happen again.

This will be my first winter in the Audi (2.0TDi 140) and to say the least I'm not looking forwards to it; wide low profile summer tyres, FWD and a turbo. This is where I largely regret not sourcing myself a Quattro!

What winter tyres are you guys using, also, what other preparations (if any) are on your list of things to do?

Don't forget to check your coolant, tyre pressures & oil levels.

Regards,
Tom
 
Hi Tom

I personally am going to do absolutely nothing.

If it snows like it did last year (abandon car territory) I am going to do my damndest not to drive anywhere unless absolutely necessary.

Even though I have quattro, I am not prepared to take the risk of some bandit rear ending me for the sakes of a 'high five' at the office for turning up to work in adverse weather conditions.

Cheers
 
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Reactions: nally
To be honest, I don't see what all the fuss is about with winter and getting winter wheels/tyres etc.
Maybe its because I'm in London and our winters aren't as extreme as elsewhere in the country but in 17 years of driving I've not once made a change to the car I owned to deal with the winter, and I've never had a problem. (famous last words???)

I gotta be honest though, trying to drive in last year's snow in a DSG, FWD, turbo was.............. interesting!
 
Got my spare set of alloys and winter tyres ready to go on the car. If the recent low temps continue they will be on before the end of the month.

Another alternative is to try these
AutoSock/Auto Sock.The Textile wheel cover for Driving in Ice and Snow.Auto Socks get you Home!

I used them last year before getting my winter tyres. Bit fiddily to fit but did an excellent job in the snow :) You do need to remove them when you get to gritted roads though as they are fabric
 
Look brilliant if your in a country which is covered in snow 6 months of the year but in the UK we get patches of snow so would have to remove them and refit them ever half mile if you cant drive with them on anything other than snow.
 
Agreed - there are too many factors out of your control that will get you before any fancy wheel/tyre combo's come to the rescue. I'm no better at driving in the snow than the next man but I've managed alright in the 10 yrs I have been drving.

That being said I once got caught out by a sneaky bit of black ice that ended badly :whistle2:
 
I'm going to buy a TT for winter and will use the hair dryer in the boot to melt any snow I'm faced with.
 
I'm taking mine off the road when the snow/ice arrives

Back to travelling peasant style, ballin on the bus!
 
I'll be putting a pair of gloves (don't like cold steering wheels) and a scraper in the car and maybe an empty plastic bottle for water incase the washer jets freeze again. That will be all.

I live at the top of some extremely steep, twisty roads on the wintery west coast of Scotland but I've never really had a problem with driving during winter. Not enough to merit pooping several hundred quid on winter wheels and tyres.

I also expect this year to be much easier than last after continuing to drive a 2006 BMW 320d M sport with 18" wheels all through the winter. At times it was like trying to thread a needle with a dead worm.
 
Easier than a live worm, surely?

I'm preparing by taking the extraordinary step of ordering an Audi in August, thereby not being able to get it until March and avoiding the worst of the winter driving by sitting on a bus. They really do think of everything over at Audi HQ...
 
I've picked up some Osram Night Breaker lights as don't find my lights powerful enough, also going to get some snow socks, windscreen washer fluid, ice scraper, maybe small snow shovel and got to check the anti-freeze.
 
I live about 20 miles from London but we always get bad snow here.

I fitted winter tyres last year as the year before my golf was written off in the snow.
that helped loads when i was able to drive but then this happened and i figured no kind of tyre would help

131293_10150327304935508_642255507_16233971_4364977_o.jpg


132519_10150327300695508_642255507_16233907_2220472_o.jpg


so i just stayed in bed and sent the manager those pics :)
 
I had to do a 300 miles night drive in my works van in that snow :( Every monday-friday no matter what the conditions! Great fun for practicing handbraking round corners lol
 
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I don't get the fuss.

I fit winter tyres and they make driving even in the conditions shown, very easy.

The only danger is other road users who don't know what they are doing, but there's something fun about being able to drive without issue when the snow is falling.

I bought a quattro with exactly this type of weather in mind, although with winter tyres, a fwd would have been fine.

I don't have special wheels for it, I just swap the tyres over. It makes no sense to me why people don't want to spend the money. It's a false economy not to. They are better in the conditions, and by not using the summer tyres, you are prolonging the life. Don't think of it as having to buy another set of tyres, think of it as buying your next set of tyres now and doubling the life of both sets.

Winter tyres are simply much better in all cold conditions, damp/wet included. You might as well have them 6 months a year because they are simply better and safer.

If forced I'd be happy to use them all year round, as they are more acceptible in the summer than summer tyres in the winter.
 
If you don't want washer fluid swishing around in the boot and a knackered rear wiper motor next spring make sure you have a washer fluid mixture of at least 50/50. Temperatures at minus 10 for a week or two will freeze most things !
 
Interesting. Alot of people are split as to what to do. I imagine those who fit winter tyres will be managing fine in the snow and those without will be using your car as their brake! Quattro seems to make a massive difference, take a look at Youtube.

You can get snow socks relatively cheaply from Costco, but again as others have said they're not really ideal as I'd hope most of the roads will be gritted!

Adamantium, what winter tyres are you using?
 
check anti-freeze
snow shovel
normal bottle of water for window-screen if nozzle freezes
hi-viz always there

check heating system as today they didnt seem right on drivers side (right side of steering wheel heater seems hotter than left side of steering wheel) not checked passenger side

current settings for heating are, auto with a/c drivers side set at 23 and passenger side 20

any ideas

great fun with the turbo, fwd, low pro summer tyres - cry when in a ditch - hope not though

managed last couple of winters without writting a car off
 
A3 1.2 tfsi said:
check heating system as today they didnt seem right on drivers side (right side of steering wheel heater seems hotter than left side of steering wheel) not checked passenger side

current settings for heating are, auto with a/c drivers side set at 23 and passenger side 20

any ideas
Click to expand...

far right vent and far left vent are always blowing more air then the centres... it has something to do with the pipes on those vents being connected to the windscreen vent pipes where as the centre vents have their own connections...

to see the difference set the heating to different levels on the Climate control to test... try it for a minute on each of the buttons on right side of the climate unit (up to window, then to face, then to feet) and you will notice the window side vents always blow out more than centre.
 
Winter prep involves fitting my winter wheels and making sure the screenwash is stronger.

Also carry a folding entrenching shovel, tow rope and a hand pulling winch. The Quattro is generally good but i've got it beached a couple of times hence the pulling gear
 
For me, it will be changing over to my winter wheel/tyre combo - tyres are Continental WinterContact TS810S.

If there's snow about then will put a snow shovel in the boot
 
What winter tyres are people using? I have Uniroyal Rainsports on mine and wondering if they will be ok for winter. My winter prep will be done next week but its more of a paintwork prep than the car itself because I have no real need to use it when the roads get really bad. It has to be better with the quattro system than my Astra VXR on 35 profile tyres was!
 
Hi

In the past I've used Gummipfledge?? stuff on the door rubbers, I will again this year. Very effective at keeping them from freezing the doors shut plus supple and non-squeaking too!

Had a bonus this year though. I got my new A3 last week and I complained about the poor cleanliness of the interior and the mediocre exterior too. Certainly not showroom condition anyway!

The swanway group who delivered my car were mortified and wanted to do all they could rectify the situation.

Long story short..........I got a full valet and Autoglym Lifeshine as compensation. Excellent customer service throughout our negotiations.

TBH, I've read mixed reviews of it's effectiveness but I'm sure it will help protect the car from all the salt that will be coming it's way soon. Something is better than nothing right??

Never bothered with Winter wheels/tyres. I haven't got the space to store them. Besides, I want to try out the Quattro on LP 18's!! :racer:


Andy
 
I've bought a pair of winter tyres for my old Golf and was amazed. Our road is like the side of a mountain (as is my drive) and I was the only one to get out of my road last year. Even the smug Honda CRV driver next door couldn't get enough grip to get up the road.
My plan was to get some more for the Audi this year, but when I bought the car it had some on it already. So I just bought some normal tyres and took these off so I could save them for the winter.
The thing to note though, is that there is a difference between winter tyres. Some are just good for cold weather and rain, by having a different silica content so they remain soft in very cold conditions and having an aqua tread pattern. Others have a more blocky pattern and the blocks have zig-zag slices in them. These are the ones that handle the snow. They are marked with a little mountain and snowflake emblem to denote that they are approved to be used when driving into areas where snow tyres/chains are a legal requirement. When going up the Alps there are points where you can't go past unless you have tyres with this emblem or chains.

This shows what I mean:
Snow Tyres � Severe Service Emblem

If you have winter tyres it's worth remembering that they give the 10 degree mark as a changeover point. Above 10 degrees then the winter tyres will wear out a bit quicker. Although it works the other way too. Below 10 degrees an all season tyre will harden and start a reduction in grip. I usually swap tyres over in November and then back again in April(ish).
So even if it doesn't chuck down 2 feet of snow, a winter tyre will pay dividends. You won't be spending any extra because the summer tyres you took off won't be wearing out if they're sitting in your garage. You'll only be buying the same amount of tyres in the long run, plus you'll know that you've got a lot more grip than if you use the same tyres all year round.

You can tell I'm a convert!
 
Winter tyres only really wear out if you really abuse them in the warmer weather, especially if you get good ones, I have had winter tyres on my van for nr 2 years now, and still they only 30% worn, rwd, 204 hp van too, so it does not hang around, I ran them on my S3 till may or something and they were like new still form being put on in December last yr. but I cannot stress how good winter tyres are, the stopping distance is just amazing over summer tyres
 
Bought the A3 a few months ago and it needed new tyres all round as only 3mm left. Tried and tried to get All Season Tyres, but no-one wanted to sell me any so finally gave up and got decent summer tyres, which review as not being too awful in the snow. Should do as most of the road I use are fairly major and I managed them fine in the TVR (summer tyres, roof off!), when that was my daily driver.
 
I carried out my full annual winter audit and preparations today by relocating the can of deicer and window scraper from the cupboard below the kitchen sink to the glovebox. Absolutely knackered!
 
page3 said:
Bought the A3 a few months ago and it needed new tyres all round as only 3mm left. Tried and tried to get All Season Tyres, but no-one wanted to sell me any so finally gave up and got decent summer tyres, which review as not being too awful in the snow. Should do as most of the road I use are fairly major and I managed them fine in the TVR (summer tyres, roof off!), when that was my daily driver.
Click to expand...

Should have got them from my tyres .com and then got a local dealer to fit them. I just love winter tyres, just remember though winter tyres are not just about snow, it is all weather below 7c, black ice etc. sheet ice, they just astound you,

Quote" From just 10mph the winter tyre stopped in 6.4 metres, while the summer tyre needed more than twice the distance to stop at over 14 metres. Imagine the difference from 30 mph. "

I actually think in an S3 it is less than 6.4m :) on good tyres, and lets face it down hill you may never stop with summer tyres you do with winter.
 
Just in case there is doubt, if fitting winter tyres you MUST fit four, not just a pair.
 
Brett Butler said:
Should have got them from my tyres .com and then got a local dealer to fit them. I just love winter tyres, just remember though winter tyres are not just about snow, it is all weather below 7c, black ice etc. sheet ice, they just astound you
Click to expand...
I did! Waited days with no contact only to discover they refused to accept my order as it was placed on credit card (verified by visa) and the tyres "cost a lot"! They refused to budge as they "didn't know who I was" and wanted a bank transfer which I was not prepared to do!!

Went to my local indy, but no all season tyres as they are rare. Didn't want winter as do t want the hassle of swapping, but all season would have been perfect.
 
1 coat of carlack and 3 coats of collinite...oh and waxed my walking boots. Thats about it for my winter prep. When you live 800ft above sea level on the edge of the north pennines it's not worth the risk to drive:cold:
 
page3 said:
I did! Waited days with no contact only to discover they refused to accept my order as it was placed on credit card (verified by visa) and the tyres "cost a lot"! They refused to budge as they "didn't know who I was" and wanted a bank transfer which I was not prepared to do!!

Went to my local indy, but no all season tyres as they are rare. Didn't want winter as do t want the hassle of swapping, but all season would have been perfect.
Click to expand...

Odd, I have used them quite a times over the years always been spot on, though not as cheap as they used to be, due to the Euro
 
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