[s-cars] V8 Torsen Diffs

[Chad Clark]

Taka,
I've a friend at work with an '03 STI equipped with Michelin Pilot Sports 
225/45/17 on the stock gold wheels. While he claims his car does "ok" in the 
snow/ice, he is simply amazed at what my 2 ton pig with Hakka RSI's sized 
195/65/15 is capable of in the snow. Grip like no other, very predictable at 
the limit, controlled sideways drifting at any speed and with the available 
anti-lock shutoff, stops are accomplished without any drama. Torsen or no 
torsen, quattro rules.

I realize the two above mentioned snow tires are quite different in their 
design and performance. Like you, he is going to downsize or -1 size for 
next year and buy the RSI's. Yes, IMO, a 225 section width is too wide for 
decent snow traction but great for dry roads which I'm sure most of us drive 
90% of the time anyway. I will admit that I swap back and forth from my 15" 
snows and put the 17" all-season back on for most of the winter months.

Come on, be like Pizzo and drive across the country to join us at the 
Steamboat Winter Driving School. You'll learn more about your car in two 
days than you will in 2 years of dry road driving.

Chad, 11 year Steamboat junkie,  Clark


>From: Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com>
>Reply-To: Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com>
>To: Igor Kessel <KBATPO at comcast.net>
>CC: s-cars <s-car-list at audifans.com>
>Subject: Re: [s-cars] V8 Torsen Diffs
>Date: Sun, 23 Jan 2005 12:00:44 -0500
>
>Maybe it's just me, 'cos I have never taken a winter driving course,
>but to me it's interesting that a car that can be quite benign and
>boring pushed hard at the track/autox can be loads of fun and quite
>unstoppable in the snow. I'm experiencing the exact opposite- the car
>that is fun in dry/wet conditions has become a real handful in the
>snow.
>
>I know that I need to conduct further testing next season with
>properly sized snows, but the STi is a really loose, unstable car in
>this snow, running with the factory-spec'd 225/45R17 tires. I'm
>downsizing to 205/50 next year, possibly going to Hakka2 (unstudded)
>otherwise WR-H. I'm pretty sure Subaru doesn't understand how to spec
>snow tires properly- these tires are way too wide for snow, I'm
>floating on top of a thick layer of loose snow.
>
>Igor-
>What size and model snow tires are you running on your S6?
>
>Pizzo-
>What size and model tire are you running on your Evo?
>
>Taka
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