Re: driving on snow

[cmice@mfg.mke.ab.com (Christopher Ice)]

>1. Audi 90q has full time quattro system.  How do I disengage the
>   quattro system ?

Maybe "AUDIONLY@aol.com" was mixing terms:

>> I have found (by driving 200 miles once a week from Denver to Vail) that the
>> Audi corners better on snow and ice WITHOUT the quattro system being engaged.

Did he perhaps mean "locked diffs" instead?  To the best of my knowledge,
you can't "turn off the quattro system" on any of the quattro models.
However, you CAN lock and unlock the differentials.

Locking the diffs forces the left and right wheels to turn at the same rate
when turning.  This could severely impact cornering ability.

All quattro does is "transfer the power from the wheels that slip to the
wheels that grip" (borrowing a phrase from a Japanese-quattro poser)....of
course, this statement is only true for the Torsen quattros ('88+ model
years).

>2. If the "q" is not great for cornering in snow/ice, then what is it
>good for ?

My 90Q plows like a cow, wet or dry, snow or ice.  Of course, it handles
about as well as any 4000lb family sedan can.  However, in dry, I can go
power-down through some off-ramps that would send rwd cars into the ditch.

In addition, I never want for "go power".  Have driven in 10+ inches of
fresh snow and never got stuck.  I take side streets home after heavy snows
because even tho they're not plowed, they're not used either (cause they're
not plowed).  That's 90% of the benefit I get from my 90Q.  When snow makes
it a 2 hr. drive for most, it's 45min for me.

In my experience, only under severe conditions and agressive driving does
one see the benifits of cornering a quattro in snow and ice.  I have found
that the key to getting the quattro to corner in snow is to get the tail
out.  This means you have to set up the turn, hang the tail out, and
modulate the throttle through the corner (professional driver on closed
course...drive responsibly and wear your seatbelts).  Most rwd's would spin
out, most fwd's would plow.

Chris

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   | Chris Ice, Software Engineer | \`o_O' | Rockwell Automation          |
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