WAS...Re: [s-cars] RE: 255/40 17 Snow Tires now WTF...

[Mark Strangways]

Hey

How come you and Tony are not part of the SOS-list on Yahoo.
(Southern Ontario S-Car List)..

Ottawa is still part of southern Ontario in my books, just like Quebec is 
still part of Canada (for now)

Anyways, the link is

http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SOS-cars/

So join up already  ;-)

Mark S
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dave Ellis" <UrS4 at sympatico.ca>
To: <S-CAR-List at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2005 4:50 PM
Subject: Re: [s-cars] RE: 255/40 17 Snow Tires


>
> > Mark Strangetamed:
> >
> > I often have a hard time taming down after the snows go on. This
> > results in a lot of ugly turns and front tire wear.
> >
> > YMMV ofcourse
> >
> > Mark
>
>
> How true!  Going from a 245 summer down to a 215 winter tire like I do you 
> really notice the loss of lateral traction in the dry/wet, and just how 
> mushy an aggressive winter tire feels and how poor the turn-in becomes.
>
> Here in Ottawa, Canada we get a fair amount of snow, and in more recent 
> years a lot of ice too as the winters have become slightly warmer.  On the 
> S4 I run 215/55-16 winters and find that size a good compromise for 
> handling and traction on dry, wet, or slushy pavement, while maintaining 
> enough bite to dig through the deep stuff and keep the car speeding around 
> wallowing SUVs.
>
> I've tried several different snow tire widths over the last few years to 
> try and find the optimal tread width for the climate here, both for the 
> UrS4 and our B5 A4.  Last winter I was even able to get together with a 
> few other Audi owners for a small winter tire "swap-a-thon".  For the 
> Ottawa area winter weather, 215 is definitely the "sweet spot" when it 
> comes to a winter tire for our S-cars (205 is the sweet size for the B5 A4 
> and S4 it turns out).  But then I favour maximum traction over all-out 
> handling for the winter time.  YMMV.
>
> If I lived in an area with more snow and less ice and slush, or in a rural 
> area without the kind of snow removal found in the city, then I'd either 
> stick with a really aggressive full-out 215 winter tire, or maybe even go 
> down to a 205/55-16 for added bite and stability in deeper snow.
>
> If I lived in a warmer area with less snowfall and more ice/slush, then 
> I'd use a wider 225 winter tire for better lateral grip in the dry/wet and 
> better traction and stopping power on icy surfaces.
>
> I've found through testing over the last few winters that on our cars 
> anything over 215 (even only a 225) will cause the car to loose a 
> surprising amount of forward stability when in anything over an inch or 
> two of snow.  When switching back to back from a 215 to a 225, and then to 
> a 235 snow tire (swapped among some local A4 and neuS4 owners for an 
> afternoon last winter) I was amazed to discover just how much traction and 
> driveline stability was lost when driving in any build-up of snow on the 
> road, and how unstable the car became.
>
> Switching back down from 215 to 205 width tires (temporarily swapped from 
> our A4) had a markedly lower impact upon handling and stability than going 
> to a wider tire, with an only a slightly pronounced degree of improved 
> forward stability in deeper snow over the 215s, but also with a noticeable 
> loss of traction in wet corners and on ice.
>
> So IMO, if you expect you may have to regularly drive in more than a 
> couple of inches of snow, I'd definitely suggest going no wider than a 215 
> width winter tire.  225 was unstable, and 235 was a little scary in deeper 
> snow (though the 225 did have slightly improved stopping power on icy 
> surfaces over the 215).  I can only imagine how poor a 255 width tire 
> would be in the winter on our cars, and how fast that car would end up in 
> the ditch unless it lives somewhere where winter does not involve much in 
> the way of white stuff falling from the sky.
>
> -Dave
> '93 S4
> '99.5 A4 1.8t
>
>
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