I read some of the posts below regarding the accident that occured on a country road at low speed when a wet "oily" spot was encountered (good to see they're around to write about it and not in an emergency room somewhere).

Aside from the oily conditions, does quattro negate any likelyhood of hydroplaning when water has built up significantly on the road. I'm talking about straight shots down the highway here, not ripping around corners under heavy acceleration in the rain. My guess would be that it would have more to do with the tire width, tread pattern, etc. Perhaps the recovery time is shortened by the quattro system, but I couldn't say not having experienced this myself (I've owned my A4 for less than three months now).

I'm not trying to start an argument here, I have quattro on my car and am quite happy with it. I'm just glad that there are a number of folks out there whose responses are based on knowledge, reason, and experience - that's what keeps me coming back to A4.org.

Hydroplaning occurs when there is too much standing water on the road for the tires to move it out of the way at the vehicle's speed. When hydroplaning you are riding on top of the water, kind of like water skiing. Vehicle speed, water depth, tire width (narrower is better in this case) and tread pattern (angled to give the water a place to drain like the SP8000's) are the major factors involved here Quattro simply doesn't play a roll. Where Quattro would be a factor would be accelerating or turning on a wet road surface. Wet pavement provides less friction with the tires and makes it easier to break the tires free. Quattro, by driving all 4 wheels spreads the force of the acceleration (whether it's forward or lateral) out and can redirect it if one or more of the tires starts to break free.

An important note for all of you Quattro drivers out there: Do not lift off the throttle if your back end starts to break free, if you do this you will unweight the rear wheels, they will have even less traction and you will soon be facing the wrong way. Remember, Quattro can not overcome the laws of physics.

Regards,
Rodney

'99 A4 1.8tqms