Re: Advice for Snow driving

[David Bovee <dbovee@du.edu>]

Scott from NC,

        First of all, if you DON'T want to break loose, you should probably
consider staying in a HIGHER gear.  Taking a turn at 20 mph in first gear
means that any change in acceleration will cause your driving wheels (all
four in a quattro) to slide across snow.

        The strategy that I use on turns (I suppose this would be classified
as offensive driving), which usually works, it to simply start into the turn
cautiously, but then gas her up on the way out so that I break loose a bit.
The quattro is capable of regaining its composure within 30-50 feet, after a
bit of excitement.

        One of my favorite tests, which I perform after every turn I take on
a snowy road, is to accelerate as quickly as possible after coming out of a
turn and seeing whether she will hold the road.  Let's just say that here in
Denver, Colorado, when it snows, you had better make the driving fun because
the others on the road (non-quattro owners) are so slow, that its maddening
to have to go anywhere!

        To be defensive, stay in a higher gear and don't lay into the gas;
you'll maintain traction as well as you can.
					Yours truly,
					David Bovee
					Dept. of Chemistry
					University of Denver