Problems with Audi A4 2009 driving in snow?

ruselinthebush

Hi

I have an Audi A4 S-line 2009 143bhp, I'm finding it really hard to cope with hills and moving off in general. The tyres seem fine, I'm using second and third gear to get moving but no joy. The car was fine in the last down pour of snow but this time it doen't seem so good at all. Has anyone had the same issues or has any suggestions why this is happening and how to resolve it?
Cheers in advance guys I only bought the car this year and I'm hoping there is a simple answer.

-Corkie-

Join the winter tyre brigade!!!:D

sentient_6

Sure it must the car thats the problem alright.

Anan1

As -Corkie- said, you need winter tyres.

ruselinthebush wrote: »

I'm using second and third gear to get moving but no joy.

Be careful of this. It'll destroy your clutch, and first will do just as well if you've a sensitive left foot.

Vanbis

ruselinthebush wrote: »

Cheers in advance guys I only bought the car this year and I'm hoping there is a simple answer.

The simple answer is, the driver and not the car. You should look at getting winter tyres.

ltdslipdiff

Deflating your tyres by a fraction can help with traction....(I'm a poet)

ruselinthebush

Thanks for all the help guys, any ideas on the price of winter tyres for the Audi?

Just to clarify I was driving a golf to work yesterday and had no issues so that is why I was wondering if there was issues with the A4 in the snow.


Thanks for the head up about breaking the clutch in 2nd & 3rd its not to cheap to fix.

bf

SLine also has low profile tyres which wouldn't help for grip in the snow!

Atlantic Dawn

Do you have Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres? Couple of people reported similar problems last week on here. This style of tyre seems to be the problem, useless in snow, great in the dry though...

ruselinthebush

Normally they are standard for the Audi's but I have the Bridgestone Potenza can't see any info on the net for the being bad in snow!

Andrew42

Different type of snow this time.

Avns1s

I have to say that I am coming to the opinion that Bridgestone are useless in the snow. I have four brand new Bridgestone turanza's on my car and it pathetic in the snow and ice, compared to my wifes car that has cheap 3/4 worn Kormorans.

Bridgestones are better in normal conditions alright but useless in the snow and ice.

GTE

There is a clear distinction between the good Summer (and allegedly All Weather) Bridgestones that are usually pushed by tyre dealers and car manufactures here like the Turanzas and Potenzas and their Winter tyres like the Blizzaks.

Put simply, the Summers dont work in the snow or really that well in the Winter in terms of temp.

Id say if you had to drive in conditions like this a set of Winters, like Hankook Ice Bears, would be a good investment to get you going and give you grip. I think these Hankooks are reasonably cheap compared to the bigger named brands and I believe they are quite fine in the snow.

A consideration to make but in the mean time a set of those snow socks may be good to use to get you out of the really impossible situations.

GTE

Avns1s wrote: »

I have to say that I am coming to the opinion that Bridgestone are useless in the snow. I have four brand new Bridgestone turanza's on my car and it pathetic in the snow and ice, compared to my wifes car that has cheap 3/4 worn Kormorans.

Bridgestones are better in normal conditions alright but useless in the snow and ice.

Turanza (ER300?) are Summer tyres as far as I could find out. Not designed for the snow or even the Winter for that matter. In the Bridgestone range the Blizzaks are their Winter tyres. I believe they have a few models. One of them would be more a motorway tyre that could take some snow but mainly its for the cold tarmac of winter and others are more chunky and lean towards snow performance.

I was considering getting the Turanzas during the Summer but I opted for some Hankook All Seasons that could work in the Snow as well as the Summer.
Im bloody glad I did! They have really proven their worth in the snow.

245

ruselinthebush wrote: »

Normally they are standard for the Audi's but I have the Bridgestone Potenza can't see any info on the net for the being bad in snow!

I had Potenza RE050A 215/45 17 tyres as original equipment on my current car and found them worse than useless in last year's snow. They pack with snow/ice and become slicks effectively

There's one report for you

bf

I have Bridgestone Potenzas on the front of my A6 & have had no problems (so far ) in the snow

Yarra

Had the exact same problem in my Dads A4- in the previous snow we got in was ok but he had to park it up this time- Winter tyres are the only way forward, stuck 2 on the rear of my old merc and it has not let me down yet-

Vic_Mackey

I'd try snow socks. I used them on my (RWD) car and the difference was wheel spinning before and being able to drive almost normally with them on. The only problem is having to take them back off when you reach a gritted road and no faster then 50km but it's a better alternative for me then having to have another set of tires (despite having to jack up the car to get them on because it's so low slung)

pburns

245 wrote: »

I had Potenza RE050A 215/45 17 tyres as original equipment on my current car and found them worse than useless in last year's snow. They pack with snow/ice and become slicks effectively

There's one report for you

Well you should try Goodyear F1s. Potenzas I had last year were definitely more versatile...

245

pburns wrote: »

Well you should try Goodyear F1s. Potenzas I had last year were definitely more versatile...

Might be to do with tread depth - my Potenzas had the guts to 30,000 km up on them and were getting near enough to 3mm tread depth - yours probably had a bit more meat on them than mine. I found a big improvement moving to Rainsports but they had huge tread depth - not as impressive this year after 20,000 km wear but I haven't spun yet on them (unlike the Potenzas).

From what I've read, the classic V groove directional tyres aren't a good idea on snow as the grooves are longer and harder to clear but I guess anything other than a decent winter tyre is going to be a compromise.

R.O.R

ruselinthebush wrote: »

Thanks for all the help guys, any ideas on the price of winter tyres for the Audi?

Ordered a set of 245/40/R18 for an A4 S-Line during the last lot of snow. Arrived and were fitted yesterday. We got them (discounted price) for just under €200 + VAT per corner.

Contiwinter contact (think it's these).

You might still be able to order some because it's a big tyre size. Found out today that Europe is out of stock of whatever tyre size goes on an 08 9-3 Linear Sport.

Driver called me to say they've made a huge difference, although he wasn't having that much trouble before because he forked out the extra for a very nice quattro 170 bhp.

ottostreet

I've been very lucky recently.

Driving a crappy Seat Cordoba at the moment, with terrible tyres (its a loan car from the garage while waiting for my own back) and I'm not driving anywhere but on the motorway, and I've had no hills or too much snow to deal with, because otherwise, I'd be going nowhere...awful, awful tyres.