random512

Hi, I was in Boston last year and spoke with a Boston native who told me he drove an A4 and that it worked great for winter driving in Boston. I wanted to see if anyone here was able to report A6 winter driving fails or near fails. Audi is famous and respected for its quattro but hearing about real life fails or near fails will help me understand the A6's limits and how well it lives up to the hype.

snagitseven

It's all about the tires. If you are planning to do a lot of winter driving in snow, dedicated snow tires are the only way to go. Quattro won't help much otherwise.

gk1

Listen to snagit...he is wise.
Having mainly owned S model or sport package cars with summer tires I have always had a set of winter tires for winter and they really help you go, but remember stopping and turning can still be compromised. I've heard others have no issues with all seasons too.

Now for my single fail scenario, more an operator issue than anything else. Driving to work in heavy snow 20-30 mph with snow tires and at some point the ESP decided it had had enough and disabled itself. I should have pulled over and shut the car off to reset the ESP but I did not and kept going. I ended up going up on a ridge of snow and the car got sideways. Luckily plenty of space and no one around at that time in the early AM. Anyway I pulled to the side of the road and reset the ESP and made it the rest of the way without issue. BTW this was not in my current car but my previous S4.

snagitseven

I don't know about wise. Old, broken in and carefully weathered might be a better description.

random512

I'm guessing that all A6's come with all-season tires by default. Has anyone here had any fails on the stock all-season tires? I understand that this is pushing the limit. After all, Audi's probably aren't designed to drive through 1 foot of snow on all-season tires.

snagitseven

Ony some come with A/S tires. Those with the sport package usually come with summer tires which wouldn't work well in even one inch of snow.

When you ask about "fails", are you talking about accidents? If so, driving beyond the limits of either A/S or dedicated snow tires in winter conditions can certainly cause a "fail". It's a matter of degree - some all season tires are suited and rated for light snow application and dedicated winter tires will always trump in the deeper stuff. But over drive either of their capabilities and you will find yourself stuck, in a ditch on the side of the road or worse.

I live in the NE where get our share of snow. Fortunately, I'm retired and don't have to drive in the worst weather. Therefore, I don't have the need for a second set of dedicated snows and the hassle of changing them twice a year. I have the Conti DWS 06 UHP All Season tire, which replaced the older DWS that have always tested well for light snow traction.

NightCrawler

I put Michelin X-Ice 3's on in winter. First year on them (2013-14) we had non stop snow and the car was amazing plowing right through everything. Last winter I had to get to the airport during the one decent snow. It started with ice and from a stoplight turning left just a bit to much on the gas caused me to hit the curb and snow bank. $3k in underbody damage. Totally my fault, every car and tire has its limits, especially on ice.

A6 Session

Want to say hi and give a big + to the quattro system. Also a big thanks to the forum as it's been very informative to me. I've had a 2012 Prestige Quattro 3.0T for the past 10 months and can say that with the 18” M&S Conti tires, it got me through last winter's snow in NY without a problem, not that that was an extraordinary winter. Love the power and comfort compared to my last Audi.

But the real story is about my last Audi – a 2003, also 3.0, with 17” M&S tires (forget whose they were) that seemed to be infallible. My driveway is rather steep and during one snow storm a few years back I began to question the superiority of that car's quattro system. My place of employment closed early due to the snow storm in progress – and that was extremely unusual as the plant operates 24/7. Although the drive home was only 13 miles, it took almost 2 hours, due to road conditions and other cars stuck along the way. I made it to my street and turned into my driveway only to have the front left tire start to lose traction, spitting up snow and ultimately causing the car to come to a halt. I allowed the car to roll back a few feet and attempted to get further up the driveway, unwilling to have the snow defeat me after getting so close to home. Besides, it would be quite a chore to attempt to clear the driveway with the car stuck in the middle of it. I made slow progress up the driveway, a few feet at a time, repeating the spinning tire, halting all forward motion, rolling back a bit and attempting forward motion again. I finally crested the 120 foot long driveway and didn't stop till I made the tight left hand turn into the garage. Wondering what caused me so much trouble, I walked back to the driveway and was surprised at what I saw.

The front air dam had essentially acted as a raised snowplow blade, leaving a wide, flat depression up the center of the entire driveway, with the snow on either side of the car being untouched and slightly higher. Along with that was a narrow depression, only an inch or so deep, showing up along the center of this wide, level depression left behind by the air dam. Something under the car had hung down and put a groove into the snow – possibly the differential? The car had essentially plowed, or at least lowered the level of the snow, up the entire length of my steep driveway. I don't think I could ask anything more of the car. All I can say is that my questions about the quattro system were unfounded.

atlanta A6

I feel the quattro system is pretty amazing. A couple years ago we had two unprecendented ice and snow storms in Atlanta one of which left 5 inches of snow where I live. Keep in mind we have no mitigation plan for snow or at least what there is in most places. I had my summer tires on and made it home safely and had only one issue when I decided to test the limits and almost couldn't stop for a light. This was at 2am with no cars on the road otherwise i wouldnt have pushed it.
I don't recommend summer tires for snow but was amazed that I was able to get around without issue. As a comparison, my wife's car with rear wheel drive (and all season tires) couldn't event get up my driveway.

Fithian

You could always put on studded Hakkas.... Great on ice. Great on snow. Noisy on the road.