2003 A6 allwheel drive alignment issue -maybe
 

I just got my car aligned and now that we have ice and snow on the roads when driving the car on slippery roads the ass end wants to come around and it seems like the car is going all over the place. I would have though these cars are tanks on ice and snow. Tires might be on the way out, but I own a 96 A4 that is doing the same thing, tires are good on that. Aligned at the same place. I'm wondering if the alignmant would make these cars wonder in slippery conditions?? any ideas what to check. Is most of the power on the front or rear wheels?? drives great on dry and snow covered. only have problems on icy slippery roads. On both cars on icy conditions you have to move the steering wheel back an forth to keep control of the car, not sure what's going on. Can the all wheel feel the slip and pull the other way as you are driving down the road??
never had a problem last year with the 2003 onoly the 96 A4. Tires maybe??

Probably not.
 

First, alignment is not rocket science.
Second, if its drives well on dry roads, it should be fine on icy roads.

Now, there's a big misunderstanding abotu AWD on ice and snow. Every car has two wheel steering. Every car has 4 wheel braking. Every car has 4 wheels in contact with the ground.

4WD or AWD simply gives you more forward traction, and splits that traction more evenly.

The mroe traction means you can get into bigger trouble faster ( it still has the same braking and turning).

The splits traction more evenly is the major benefit - it means that if you are careful, neither the front nor the rear wheel;s need to apply enough power to "spin" - whcih would cause a slide at the front ( fwd) or read (rwd).

On ice, the traction is so limited that:

1 it may not really matter anyway
2. both the front AND rear may spin a bit.

With quattro, torque is split 50/50 F:R until a loss of traction, then it is diverted up to 75/25 to the end with mroe traction.

What you need is 4 good snow tires. Period. End of story.

Grant

Also a major adjustment of expectations is required.
 

Sounds like you bought Quattro cars and now think that will allow you to hurtle around on roads with no grip, in defiance of the laws of physics.

In any car, snow tires or not, 2 wheel or 4 wheel drive, in icy conditions you need to drive very, very, carefully.

Ice is slippery in any car. Quattro shines in snow IMO, I've never lost control in the snow
 

with any sort of forward motion in my Audis. Ice is a different story, and sucks in any vehicle.

Agree with most of that except the alignment. I'd want that rechecked at a different shop.

2nd, and although nothing is rocket science except for rocket science, there is a lot of
 

possibilities for error and neglected areas in the suspension that should otherwise be addressed with alignments.

yea, but BOTH cars....? chaces are slim

i've spun my 3.0q with dunlop M3's...playing around
 

going into a 90 deg. turn, i really goosed it and spun.

of course you can spin anything given the right surface--the snow was extremely slushy lake effect snow.

Agreed, but still worth checking. Oversteer in a Quattro?
 

Maybe he could post the alignment settings and tire types so we can all set our cars up like that - lol

Ice and tires are not friends regardless of how many deliver the power.
 

Make sure your ESP is engaged, your dash's ESP light whould be pulsing and engine power should be cut automatically when you give it gas and the wheels slip.