Specisback

Does anyone know if there are different settings/tuning that a dealer does for cars in colder weather versus warmer weather? I purchased my A4 Ultra Sport from a dealership in Florida, but am wondering if I need to take it in and have it assessed for weather here in Denver. My ABS seems to be pretty sensitive on snow here, and am wondering if it is a setting or if I am losing more traction than I think.

Thank you

HyperS4

No tuning or changes are made. Cars are designed to be driven in any type of weather conditions. Are you new to driving on snow? If not, it could be the crappy tires they put on these cars or that the ABS is just that sensitive. Otherwise, theres nothing you would have changed.

Specisback

Gotcha. Looking again now at the spec sheet, they plopped summer tires on the Ultra Sport - I thought they were all seasons. Wondering now if it is worth swapping to all seasons, or if I should go with a Winter tire and swap between winter/summer tires when the seasons change.

HyperS4

Ahhh, the age old dilemma. Are you going to do winters on factory wheels(cost to swap tires each season) or get another set of wheels to swap back and forth with(additional cost on top of tires)? Or is it worth more to spend less and put all-seasons on factory wheels and use them all year round? Do you get enough snow to where it makes it necessary to have dedicated snow tires, or is it cleared pretty quickly where you could get away with using all-seasons only?

mplsbrian

That is your call but for your specific situation (A4 Ultra Sport in Denver), I would go for a dedicated winter/summer package only if you plan to drive into the mountains e.g. to go skiing, and a High Performance all-season e.g. Conti DWS06 or similar if you don't.

My rationale here is that Denver gets 300+ days of sunshine a year with temps of up to 60F in winter, and snow is rarely on the ground for more than a day in the city, so that might be a bit too warm for proper winter tires which would feel rather greasy and wear quickly in those conditions -- vs. HPAS tires which would be quite perfect for them from a temperature perspective alone. On the other hand, you will 100% want snow tires to go up Vail Pass during any storm to chase fresh pow so if winter sports are on your list then I would spec what is sometimes called a "performance winter" e.g. Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 or similar.

Specisback

Awesome. Thank you both for the replies. Just called the Audi Dealership near me and got some good advice from them as well. I think I am just going to swap out the tires for some all seasons, since conditions here aren't as bad as I was thinking. Coming from SC, all of this is pretty new to me! Definitely unfortunate, since these summer tires only have ~1200 miles on them, but it is what it is I suppose.

dbias

My daughter has lived in Denver for 15 years and yes the weather there is a bit flaky. It can snow a foot there one day and be 70 degrees the next.
weather from the north west brings snow and weather from the southwest, the desert, is much warmer.

Group B

majestictiger

HyperS4

If you are a Costco member, I believe its $15/tire to have mounted and balanced.