Winter tyres and Quattro

[rich_16]

Ive had winter tyres for my last few cars, 2 RWD BMWs and a Golf GTI.

My current B9 is the first car I've had with 4 wheel drive.

I know winter tyres are better than a 4 wheel drive on summers and winters and 4 wheel drive is best but how does a A4 with Quattro on summer tyres fare in winter conditions?

I live in SE England so don't need to go too mad in prep for winter but I want to enjoy my car's performance to some extent during winter. Does Quattro provide reasonable grip in poor wintry conditions? I'm most concerned about ice as it hardly ever snows down here but it can get icey.

 

[cuke2u]

I also live in the souteast and, with front wheel drive, I have not once felt the need for winter tyres. I know they're not just for snow but we haven't had any white stuff for four years now and in fact last winter there was only a few days where the temperature got low enough for winter tyres to work in...

 

[bluebarchetta]

Winter tyres will be better at stopping than summer - with or without Quattro. Most of my driving is early in the morning or in the evening so the low temperature point is usually valid for me.

I'd rather maximise my grip when the weather is poor...

 

[cuke2u]

I have never had a problem stopping without winter tyres, even when I lived on the Pennines. There we had far worse conditions than the South East you just adapted to the driving conditions, no problem. Quattro makes no difference to front wheel drive when braking anyway..

 

[PhxViper]

There's a guy on here that goes mad about assuming Quattro giving better grip haha.

If you can afford it and want piece of mind, buy them. Your braking WILL be improved with them vs without. A lot of people (including myself) says it's fine, I've adapted to drive in the snow. All well and good until the idiot in front of you does something silly.

Atleast with Quattro, you shouldn't get stuck regardless of tyres!

 

[desertstorm]

As above quattro will get you going but once going it won't help you stop any quicker or get round corners any better. Only the correct tyres will do that. A FWD car with winter tyres on will be better than a quattro with summers on.
We have been lucky the last few years and not had any decent amount of snow or particularly cold winters.



http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/37870/winter-tyres-vs-summer-tyres