Sport Diff: What's the verdict on serious ice and snow?
12-09-2009, 07:28 PM
#2
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Today was my first day - we got 10 inches of snow, followed by ice, followed by rain to neatly warm it all away.....
I went out in the morning on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3ds. They are sufficient, but despite my previous post, it was much easier to get squirrely than I thought. I felt in control the whole day, but in a hard braking the tires didn't perform that strongly - I could stop in much shorter of a distance with a soft braking and avoiding anti-lock.
Overall, I found that it was very strong in dry snow, less controlled in the hard pack/slush/ice, but I'd say that's pretty normal. I was in snow, at various points in the day, where the body of my car didn't clear the snow and had no trouble pushing through. Never felt like I would get stuck.
Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
I went out in the morning on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3ds. They are sufficient, but despite my previous post, it was much easier to get squirrely than I thought. I felt in control the whole day, but in a hard braking the tires didn't perform that strongly - I could stop in much shorter of a distance with a soft braking and avoiding anti-lock.
Overall, I found that it was very strong in dry snow, less controlled in the hard pack/slush/ice, but I'd say that's pretty normal. I was in snow, at various points in the day, where the body of my car didn't clear the snow and had no trouble pushing through. Never felt like I would get stuck.
Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
12-09-2009, 07:38 PM
#3
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Today was my first day - we got 10 inches of snow, followed by ice, followed by rain to neatly warm it all away.....
I went out in the morning on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3ds. They are sufficient, but despite my previous post, it was much easier to get squirrely than I thought. I felt in control the whole day, but in a hard braking the tires didn't perform that strongly - I could stop in much shorter of a distance with a soft braking and avoiding anti-lock.
Overall, I found that it was very strong in dry snow, less controlled in the hard pack/slush/ice, but I'd say that's pretty normal. I was in snow, at various points in the day, where the body of my car didn't clear the snow and had no trouble pushing through. Never felt like I would get stuck.
Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
I went out in the morning on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3ds. They are sufficient, but despite my previous post, it was much easier to get squirrely than I thought. I felt in control the whole day, but in a hard braking the tires didn't perform that strongly - I could stop in much shorter of a distance with a soft braking and avoiding anti-lock.
Overall, I found that it was very strong in dry snow, less controlled in the hard pack/slush/ice, but I'd say that's pretty normal. I was in snow, at various points in the day, where the body of my car didn't clear the snow and had no trouble pushing through. Never felt like I would get stuck.
Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
very nice. thanks for that! What size are your winter tires?
12-09-2009, 08:38 PM
#4
Today was my first day - we got 10 inches of snow, followed by ice, followed by rain to neatly warm it all away.....
I went out in the morning on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3ds. They are sufficient, but despite my previous post, it was much easier to get squirrely than I thought. I felt in control the whole day, but in a hard braking the tires didn't perform that strongly - I could stop in much shorter of a distance with a soft braking and avoiding anti-lock.
Overall, I found that it was very strong in dry snow, less controlled in the hard pack/slush/ice, but I'd say that's pretty normal. I was in snow, at various points in the day, where the body of my car didn't clear the snow and had no trouble pushing through. Never felt like I would get stuck.
Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
I went out in the morning on my Dunlop Winter Sport 3ds. They are sufficient, but despite my previous post, it was much easier to get squirrely than I thought. I felt in control the whole day, but in a hard braking the tires didn't perform that strongly - I could stop in much shorter of a distance with a soft braking and avoiding anti-lock.
Overall, I found that it was very strong in dry snow, less controlled in the hard pack/slush/ice, but I'd say that's pretty normal. I was in snow, at various points in the day, where the body of my car didn't clear the snow and had no trouble pushing through. Never felt like I would get stuck.
Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
12-10-2009, 05:06 AM
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Now, this may have been in my own head, but I did feel like the power to the front and rear was noticeably different than the last S4 I had (2004). I felt more rear end power in the snow than I expected and less pull from the front.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
Not sure if that's what you had in mind, but thought I'd share.
- Jeremy -
12-10-2009, 05:23 AM
#7
IIRC, the B7-RS4 was the first to come out with the 40:60 split, to enhance the driving experience by giving it more of a rear bias. I believe the same system has been adopted by all otheir other series introduced after the B7-RS4, with the exception of the TT-series.
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12-11-2009, 09:33 PM
#8
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Can the Sport Diff still get you into trouble if you drive faster than you should for the condition or it makes the threshold of losing control much higher?
Last edited by tubi; 12-11-2009 at 09:40 PM.
12-12-2009, 05:36 AM
#10
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OTOH, I think there are some out there who think they can take a 20 mph hairpin at 80 mph because they have stability/yaw control. I've even overheard sales people say things to that effect to " mom and pop " customers buying sedans in car showroom as a sales ploy , which is unfortunate .