Does anyone have it? Comments? How are the tires in wet weather or snow

What can you do about it in the snow?

Basically the Dunlop SP8000E's that come with the sport package are not safe to be driven on snow/ice. They are not M+S rated. I traded mine in after 2 trips to the mountains for Dunlop's SP4000 M+S rated high performance all season tires. While these lose a little performance on dry/wet conditions, they are 500% better on snow/ice.

It really depends on where you live (how much snow do you get), your driving habbits (how demanding are you of your tires), and your lifestyle (do you go skiing/snowboarding). There are really three basic options:

1) Stay with the SP8000's year round - If you are an aggressive driver who wants the best traction in dry and wet conditions and you live in an area that rarely gets significant snowfall and you don't regularly travel anywhere that gets significant snowfall.

2) Replace the SP8000's with a ultrahighperformance all season tire (like the SP4000) - If you don't make a habbit of pushing the car. If you live in an area where you can expect several decent snowstorms each winter and/or travel to such a place several time during the winter.

3) Purchase a dedicated set of wheels and snow tires - If you are an agressive driver who wants the best performance in wet and dry conditions, and you live in an area which typically has snow on the ground the entire winter and/or travel to such an area regularly.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

Where are the archives?

I was looking at the Dunlop Winter Sport M2s, but you recommend the SP4000s for the winter?

I will be going up to the mountain almost every weekend in the winter. I assume the SP4000s would be better in the rain and dry around town, but how are they up in the mountain passes?

We only get about a week of snow where I live at the most, but I will be up in the mountains every weekend. So should I get the M2s? Or the SP4000s?

Can you elaborate more on the "loss of performance"? I have the 8000E's but have been considering the 4000 when replacements are required. I'm curious as to the types of situations where you notice the performance difference.

from what you described, I'd go with the snows. The SP4000's are highperformance all seasons. What that really means is they use a highperformance rubber compound (not good at low temps) with an all season tread pattern. They're not as good as the 8000's in the summer, but way better in the winter. I got through two Boston winters (bad ones) including several ski trips (though not every weekend...I wish) with SP4000's on my Jetta GLX. When/is I move back to Boston, I'll go with dedicated snows for my A4. Why? I'm a very agressive driver and don't want to give up the handling of the 8000's (or other uhp tire) the other 8-9 months of the year.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

The difference between the tires is tread pattern. The all season tread pattern on the 4000's is more open (better for throwing snow off) than that of the 8000's. Because the 8000 puts more rubber in contact with the pavement and the blocks are larger (hence less subject to squirm) it has better grip. My 8000's stick to the road much better than the 4000's I had on my Jetta (even accounting for the better suspension of the A4), except of course in snow. Easy way to determine which way to go...how often do you make the 8000's squeal in the corners? If the answer is never or almost never, you should be happy with the 4000's, otherwise stick with the 8000's (or better) in good weather.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

I used to have a 92 Subaru with all seasons and was cruising home from Mt. Hood one day in a blizzard going pretty fast when an A4 blew by at double my speed and the driver was totally in control.

From that day on, I knew I had to get an A4. And I finally did.

Shabbis
99.5 A4 2.8QMS

I'm looking for a little more than just "less grip". This is probably delving into more of a wheel forum question but I was hoping to get more specific experience than just squeling tires. Is there noticable differences in hard braking & emergency manuvers at higher (semi-legal) speeds. I don't race or auto-cross, but I do like to drive hard and/or spirited under normal (& safe) conditions. Would there be a noticable difference in how an A4 w/sport would handle with the 4000 or do you need to push the limits to notice.

Yes there would be a noticeable difference. Just like going to a wider tire puts more rubber on the road, going to a summer tread pattern puts more rubber on the road, resulting in more grip in all situations. The 8000's certainly seem to corner and brake better than my 4000's did, but again no hard data, just my perception. It really comes down to your situation. If you never or almost never get snow stick with the 8000's. If you get snow/ice more than a few days a year, but not regularly, go for the 4000's. If you get lots of snow or go skiing/boarding regularly get a seperate set of wheels.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms

What makes a tire good in the snow makes it bad in the dry and vice versa. To some degree, what makes a tire good in the wet actually make it bad in the snow too. Snow tires tend to be decent in the wet due to the very open tread pattern. Water channels don't help in snow because they run longitudenly along the tire for the most part.

For dry conditions, you want as much rubber touching the road as possible. This is why racers use slicks. However, these tires will be horrible in the wet or snow because they'll ride on top of the precipitation and slip.

In snow you want the tire to cut into the snow to the pavement so it both contacts the pavement and uses the snow as something to push on. This is somewhat different from how a tire should deal with water. Water should be channeled out as efficiently as possible without being trapped(hydroplaning).