Hello all,
I went to the mountain again last weekend. It was so embarrassed that the A8 slip and slid to the side of the road. All wheels were spining and the car didn't even move.
I didn't have chains so a few people helped me to push the car out to get it moving. That was totally scary. The brake pedal didn't pulsate at all while the wheels locked and slid away. This is the first time I experienced the totally icy road.
I hope nothing is wrong with the ABS or the trannie. The car is still solid with snow covered roads and wet surface. I drive extremely slowly now down hill on snowy road. What's the best speed on down hill and icy road? 20, 15, 10?
I'm doing 10-15 now, not 20-30 any more. I'm totally scared... :-)
Darn, truly, Californian can't drive in the snow even with the A8.... hahahahahaha.

The last time we had snow in Chicago, I was going 55-60 mph on 5" snow enjoying my new tires and a 740 BMW was behind me all the time. You can go safely if you have good tires even with 2 wheel drive.

If you frequent areas with snow/ice conditions, such as going to the mountains on occasion, it is well worthwhile to spring for a set of Blizzak's, etc. Even here in Wisconsin, I realistically only rely on the Blizzaks a handful of days through the 5 months of wintery weather we have here. BUT - it's those 5-10 days when they are worth their weight in gold. Good Luck!

Scott in WI

I'm driving with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S. My concern is that when you brake in emergency, do good tires got locked up on the icy road? Was it my ABS or my tires fault or me, the driver who didn't pump the brake pedal many times? I can drive in the snow with no problem, just at this panic down hill brake.

Thanks guys, I need to practice more. I'm going again in February.

but your question is more about the ABS right? I noticed mine lock up "late" compared to my other Audi's and to other manufactuers.

Next time your in a good snow covered parking lot with plenty of room give it a test run. Any speed over 20 and put the brakes to the floor. The pedal should vibrate pretty good under foot.

USE CAUTION and good luck. (Don't forget your seat belt ect...)

If you are saying that the pedal did not pulse at all may mean one of two things: 1- ABS is not working (have it checked), or 2- is is working, and you may not notice the pulse.

Question- did you have a car prior to this that had a louder, more "pulsing" brake than this one? My last car was like that- it gave much more feedback than my S8, but the Audi's did work- i just did not expect a softer response.

The fact that you may have little or no traction (replace tires?) should mean that the ABS should be pulsating at a "lighter" touch on the pedal. You should not have to pump the brakes, just test it, as metioned below, in a clear parking lot. just press the pedal hard to see if you get any kind of pulse.

I have summer high performance tires, and i did not get my winters on prior to the first snowfall here in iowa. I came up to an intersection, and the slightest touch of the brakes engaged the ABS, because i had no traction. That very night when i went down to Goodyear for them to install my winter tires, i came though that very intersection, and had to push harder in order for the ABS to engage. Why? Because i had more traction.

Hope this helps- Good luck.

Steve

Steve,
Yes, I noticed when the road had more traction, I can feel the ABS pulsating when I brake, but in this icy road case, I felt nothing, soft feel and the car start to slide. I think everyone is correct, the tires are not made to go on icy roads.
I feel much better now. I don't think the ABS is bad, it just when I panic, I brake hard on the icy road, the tires and the road caused the wheel to lock up and slid down hill.
I actually slip when I got out of the car, it was that slipery with snow boots on.

Thanks,

I've had them on for two seasons now. We experience about 12 feet of snow a winter, so I drive through a lot of it for months on end. I have never had a slippage problem with these tire and found them to be a decent performance (albeit winter) tire. They seem to wear better (longer tread life) and not make as much noise on wet roads...something that really bothered me with Blizzaks. Now, we don't have very hilly terrain here so I can't speak to mountain climbing with them.

I also found it easier to buy a second set of wheels and keep the foul-weather tires mounted and balanced.<ul><li><a href="http://www.tirerack.com/a.jsp?a=AR4&amp;url=%2Ftires%2Ftires.jsp%3FtireMake%3D Michelin%26amp%3BtireModel%3DPilot%2BAlpin%2BPA2%2 6amp%3BvehicleSearch%3Dfalse%26amp%3Bpartnum%3D26H R6PA2%26amp%3BfromCompare1%3Dyes%26amp%3Bplace%3D0">Lin

ABS works by releasing the brake on a tire that has locked up on a low friction surface, but there's one big catch. ... The ABS computer must first be able to determine that something's wrong.

At least one tire must have enough traction to keep rotating to allow the computer to determine the car's speed. On ice with near zero traction under all four tires, any braking causes all four tires to immediately stop rotating. You're sliding down the road, but the ABS computer thinks that you've already come to a stop! ABS isn't pulsating because it doesn't know that anything's wrong.

The only solutions in these conditions are chains, studded tires, or not driving.

Makes sense, Randy. I learned something new tonight.

My situation encountered was not on an ice situation. I'll have to "play" on an open icy parking lot next time bad weather comes this way.

Steve

I just have to drive more carefully on the icy road. Like you said, chains or studded tires are needed in those conditions.