Drove up Mt. Rainier today, well at least to Paradise which is pretty high up. So high that one point had 25 feet of snow banks on each side of the road that the plow made. The road was icy and snowy in spots and very curvy. I have never been in the ice and snow with an Audi before and also wanted to test out the Dunlop SP9000 tires. Both were great. The Dunlops did a much better than I expected them to in accelerating, handling, and braking. The A8 was just magnificent. Best cold weather vehicle I have ever been in. In fact, a guy in a Jeep Wagoneer was kind of sticking to my butt to show he could keep up but with a little effort I left in far in the distance. (Of course if we ever went off road he would kick my butt but on icy pavement he did not stand a chance.) I like the car even better now because I drove it like it was designed to be driven. BMWhat?

On a side note Linda and I spent the night in a cabin with an outdoor hot-tub. Drinking champagne in the tub during sub-freezing temperatures, snow all about, and admiring a star filled, crystal clear sky broken only by the outline of gigantic Mt. Ranier was really a fantastic treat. Thanks Audi for getting us up there and back safely.

Anyhow it sounds like it was a great trip.

They are great at wet, low noise, long life, cool looks.

They are good at dry pavement, hard packed dirt.

They are adequate at snow, ice, mud. (Better here at accelerating and turning than they are at stopping.)

They suck at getting mounted. The tire guy was having a fit.

In the end though, anything is better than the lousy Goodyear all seasons. I think I could make a better tire at home.