Rich
11-03-1998, 03:22 PM
Had some snow flying here today in northern Michigan. For those that were floundering on ordering the sport pack last week because of the snow factor, just wanted to add that I regularly plowed through bumper-high powder in my '98 Qsport pack last winter.<p>Just do it right and get some good snow tires--I was and will be using Nokian Hak 1's to make it through that snow. Those aren't the only good ones to be sure, but snows are definitely a necessity if you drive in snow with an A4 sport. The OEM Dunlop Z's, dare I say it again, are dangerous in snow and ice, but put snows on and your A4Q is really a sport package for all seasons. Giving your A4 the proper shoes for winter is cheap insurance that can help prevent nasty collisions & repainted body panels that ruin all that nice waxing you've been doing (or worse).<p>I was worried at first about the slight (20mm) clearance difference, but didn't find this to be much of a problem. If the snow's that deep that 20mm makes a difference, you're not going to be out driving in it anyway. (I did, however, put some holes in my plastic underbody engine guard when I raced a Suburban through a thick mud bath (and won) during the Spring at the bottom of a ski hill..) : )<p>I used the Hak 1's on the 16" sport wheels and thought it worked fine--the slightly wider tire (vs. downsizing to 195, etc.) helps compensate in dry handling for the softer snow tire, though the car's dry handling and braking characteristics do change fairly dramatically. The only problem I encountered was snow/ice buildup inside the wheel itself, which caused the wheel to be unbalanced and vibrate until I could stop in a self serve car wash and spray it out..had to go there anyway to get the salt off.