nickia

You need to exercise throttle control even fitted with winter tires. However, driving on cleared road is no problem.

olszowa12

I don't understand how you can drive in winter without dedicated winter tires. Maybe it's because winters at my place are often quite harsh.

And BTW I would never abandon my C because it does not handle as well in the snow as a Range or ML

Chocofishez

If you are planning to steer and use the throttle at the same time AWD is night and day better than RWD in snow/ice.

Equipped with winter tires my C350 4matic is basically unstoppable in anything but the heaviest of snowfalls. My M3 with snows is passable but not dependable. If there is a heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures (so the snow doesn't melt when it hits the road) it isn't really safe I suspect when my C63 gets here it will be much the same. Probably worse actually.

mrobinso

Took my C55 for a spin out around the neighborhood last night (we got about 1 1/2" of snow in Fairfax last night) to test out the tires. I know that 1 1/2 inches of snow is not much to brag about. I am running dedicated snows all the way around (Dunlop WinterSports). I would say that the outcome of this little test drive resulted in confirmation of what I already knew: snow tires don't make you invincible to spin outs, but they still perform a hell of a lot better than all seasons and summers .

So long as I kept the transmission in Manual mode and kept spastic throttle inputs to a minimum, the car did just fine driving between 15 - 25 mph through my neighborhood. My stopping distance wasn't too bad either, at 15 mph, I had to just about put my foot down to the floor (maximum break application) to kick in the ABS and break into a slide. Starting from a stop is where these tires really prove their worth IMHO. I had no problem starting from 0 mph on a 30 degree incline so long as I eased onto the throttle. However, as quoted above, the winter tires seemed to create very little improvement in turning. Modest throttle inputs while turning quickly caused the rear to begin to spin out. Ultimately, I never really felt that the traction I needed to make me comfortable driving was really there, regardless of the snow tires.

Overall, am I glad I have dedicated snow tires? Yes. Do I think they are the answer to your winter driving problems? Certainly not. Would their be any way in which I could improve confidence while driving my C55 in the snow? Not unless I installed snow chains (I did this on my Chrysler Crossfire and the chains are amazing, however, you run the risk of cutting your brake lines if the chains break or you don't mount them properly).

austinholloman

Because owning an audi beater is not the same as owning one you want to spend money on. The 1.8t will nickle and dime you do death, if you buy one for less than 5k it really will. The 2.8 is a cheaper engine to own and keep running for just snow days. That is why. Ultrasport 1.8t is a great car, I drove one for a little while (stock) it just didnt have the power I was looking for but man do they ever look amazing, inside and out.