re: winter tires

[glenahan@notes951.cc.bellcore.com]

>>Ron sez:
>>Well, I made the move for the first time and bought a set of dedicated
>>winter tires. I purchases a set of Yokohama Guardex for our 83 Ur Q!
 >>I have to say I am totally underwhelmed! In fact I am really
>>disappointed. They handle very poorly! Doesn't feel at all like the same
>>car.

--> Bingo.  Snow tires have to be a very soft compound to do their job.
In addition, they have a high void ratio -- also to do their job -- its a
trade off.
Rest assured that it won't  fishtail/spin/slide like it will on summer
tires either.

>> I even stayed with the 205/60/15 size to try to maintain the cars
>>handling. Oh well.

--> generally not a great move.  Narrower will work better on fluffy stuff.
and as you noted, the handling won't be great even if you stay wide.


>>I specifically asked the sales person at Discount direct and they said
>>the Guardex handled better than the Bilzzaks! If that's the case they
must
>>really "suck"!

--> dunno about the Guardex, but the Blizzak's are among the worst
handling of the lot, IMO.  I run P210s (P7 carcass), and even they are iffy
handling.
I, personally, accept the trade off happily when I'm heading for the slopes
on slick roads.  Remember, your quattro, with driven rear wheels and
wide, HP tires, can be very tail-happy under slick conditions -- more so
than
a FWD buick on 80-series all-season radials.

--> Grant