RE: Deep snow in the quattro

["Sysko, Dustin" <dsysko@ball.com>]

Well, it all depends on the snow itself. I've driven my 85 4ksq through
2.5 feet of champagne powder without any problems, though I know that I
am risking getting water in my distributor. I have also almost got the
car stuck in 8 inches of _heavy_ mashed potatoes-type snow. You need to
think about how much weight the snow will support, and with only a few
inches of clearance that snow will have much less room to compress, and
therefore will support more weight. Once the snow is almost completely
supporting the car, one of two things may happen. (a) the car no longer
has enough traction to overcome the friction of the snow underneath, or
(b) refer to (a) plus the added resistance of pushing all of that snow
in front. Either way, you're stuck. Since I grew up in Maine driving on
a road impassible to 2wd cars even in the summer, I just can't shake the
habit of carrying a shovel. Also, the harder the snow is the more likely
it is to cause damage to spoiler, grill, lights, etc. Powder shouldn't
hurt, but watch out the second day. I wouldn't worry about the
undercarriage, but ice chunks can do nasty things. Watch out for hidden
obstacles! HTH!

Dustin Sysko
Boulder, CO
85 4ksq

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	David M Sugerman [SMTP:dsugerma@runet.edu]
	Sent:	Tuesday, February 03, 1998 10:38 AM
	To:	quattro@coimbra.ans.net
	Subject:	Deep snow in the quattro

	 	Am curious to find out the deepest snow that my fellow
quattro pilots have 
	driven (played) in. I have used mine in up to a foot, but never
anything more unless 
	you count having to break through piles from plowed to unplowed
streets that concist 
	of chunks up to 20 or so inches high. Am I endangering the
undercarriage and  
	differential when I do this? We're now expecting around two
feet, and since I have 
	nice new treads, I'd really like to go out and play in the
semi-plowed areas, unless 
	it's gonna end up costing me more than a front spoiler or front
end 
	allignment.(Damn student budget!!) 
	Life's too short to leave the quattro parked in the snow, even
when there's no 
	particular place to go. 

	David S '89 80q 133k w/ a dab of Marvel Mystery from time to
time.