By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
Thanks
As a separate issue, I replaced one of the original Conti AS with the spare after a blowout at 15K. It feels as if the car is now less balanced, and the Conti's don't feel so good in snow. I've been running 38PSI for improved handling but think I'm going to let a little air out for the winter season. Any thoughts on PSI and new vs. worn tire would be appreciated. I know winter tires are the ultimate answer.
Question for you (or anyone) regarding air pressure. I seldom have passengers but this weekend is a road trip with another couple. Audi instructions say 42 psi when carrying four people. I have the Continental tires. Has anyone run 42 psi? Will this significantly stiffen the ride? Are there pitfalls to standard tire pressure over a long distance with passengers?
On the other hand, for those of us in the Northeast (I am including New Jersey), four (4) dedicated snows are the only answer. At the risk of appearing repetitive and redundant, it must be stressed that traction is derived from tires, not quattro. All wheel drive apportions only what traction is available; Little or no traction? You will go where Newton's laws dictate.
As to the tire question: your pressures are too high. Any tire engineer would recommend that winter pressures be kept at those specified; in your case, 32-35lbs. Further, check your tread depths. They should be deeper than minimums (see those wear bars), as well as roughly equivalent all around. Quattro can only compensate so much. It is also essential to note that standard rubber decreases in flexibility as the temperature drops; the less flexible, the more difficult it is for the tire to conform to the surface and achieve reasonable traction.
Finally, remember that "all season" tires almost always refer to an industry standard which merely requires that a minimum amount of the tread is open. This is certainly not a recipe for a sophisticated pure snow tire.
In case you are wondering: I put four (4) Michelin Arctic Alpins on my wife's A6 just before Thanksgiving. There is, however, one thing I hate about them: I detest carrying a set of mounted tires down to the basement, twice a year.
Complaining is the last refuge of the dilettante.
The 42 psi, which is a recommendation, is for a full load of passengers and baggage. Normal conditions merit either 32 or 36 psi, depending upon the tire size. Once again, I suggest examining your individual vehicles.
If anyone is regularly running over 40 psi, I would like to know how you keep the fillings in your teeth?
It might be interesting to hear Mark address the tire pressure issue, as it relates to performance. I am sure that he was exposed to that concept at the Audi driving schools.
My suggestion is to keep the tire pressure at 32 lbs so that the tire treads wear evenly across the width of the tire and don't worry about what you put in the car.
Easy technology, relatively cheap, safety, drivability and even convenience feature -- probably profitable, proven, bla bla bla -- why not just sell it on all Audis NOW?!?
Oh well, it will be here IMO no later than this time next year across the line.
Seriously, I believe my dealer said that the percent of quattros he sells is in the very high 90's.
Having driven a new Passat FWD, I think they would be a very nice alternative if what you want is an FWD German car.
Indeed, the new Passat W8 @ $37,000 (which is tip + quattro) would be a very very serious consideration ($$$) if I was looking at an A6 with CVT FWD -- seems like a lotta car for the money (the W8 that is, when compared to a "bottom end" [price wise, not quality wise] A6 FWD CVT 3.0).
Another corner heard from.
I drove the quattro 3.0 A6 and liked it, wanted to try out the CVT to compare (plus it's less expensive). I'm in Columbus so we do get snow, but I've seemed to survive without AWD to this point (no need to tell me that there are other handling advantages of AWD regardless of snow :-) )
My point was what my dealer said -- very small percentage of Audi's sold in Cincinnati and even further south quattros sell more than FWD -- I can only assume the dealer is telling me straight.
The newest Passat in FWD with a V6 (or so I'm told even the newest 1.8T) is a lot of car for the money.
My next point was based only on what I have read -- there is a new "W8" Passat in town (orders being taken now according to one source). It is an AWD Tip (only?) up up upscale Passat and it will reportedly list for $37+K and will be fully equipped with many luxury amenities as standard. I suspect, compared to the Audi it will be "near luxury" class, and have a less sporting attitude. But, hey, an 8 cylinder german car in a Passat body would merit serious consideration compared to an A6 3.0 V6 in front-wheel-drive.
Here is what has been said:
Volkswagen of America, Inc. introduced its first eight cylinder
equipped car ever at this yearís Los Angeles International Auto
Show. The model also will be shown at next weekís North American
International Auto Show and will go on sale this spring.
The 2002 Volkswagen Passat W8 becomes the top-of-the-line
Volkswagen Passat andthereby the German automakerís flagship
sedan and wagon the world over. At the heart of the Passat W8 is
a newly designed 4.0 liter, 32-valve engine that creates 271
horsepower and 273 lbs. ft. of torque at just 2,750 revolutions per
minute. In European tests, the Passat W8 can accelerate from
0-to-61 mph in about 6.5 seconds (manual version).
The Volkswagen W8 meets Europeís strict EU4 emission standards
that will not go into effect until 2005. Its unique design, which
resembles a "W", makes it compact and efficient for its size and
weight. It further employs the efficiencies of modular design,
whereby the W8 cylinder head consists of two V4 modules. The
cylindersí Vs are set at the very small angle of 15 degrees to each
other. The basic W-shaped layout is the product of a double V with
a cylinder bank angle of 72 degrees. The result is an extremely
compact engine with a balance and smoothness close to that of an
ideal in-line six.
The new Passat W8 and all the Volkswagens premiering in LA also
will be on display days later at the North American International
Auto Show in Detroit.
As Volkswagenís flagship sedan and wagon, the Passat W8 comes
with a very comprehensive list of standard features including such
high-end items as full leather seating surfaces; 4MOTIONô all-wheel
drive; Electronic Stabilization Program (ESP1) System; heatable
eight-way power front seats; an eight-speaker Monsoon® sound
system; walnut wood trim; ABS; a fully automatic climate control
system; a multifunction, two-program trip computer (with a display
location in the bottom center of the instrument cluster and a dot
matrix font); an anti-theft alarm system; a power glass sunroof;
heated windshield washer nozzles; rain sensor; 16î alloy wheels;
Bi-Xenon GDL, a self-dimming rearview mirror; dual chrome exhaust
pipes; and much more.
Volkswagen announced the Passat W8 will be priced at $37,900,
making it the lowest priced German-built eight cylinder sedan and
wagon sold in the United States.
www.vwvortex.com
I know 34K is not the same as 37K, but the differences are not so great as to not give the Passat a look see -- and the claim is they will be here in spring, which may fit your time table.
But, over a rear wheel drive, the A6 3.0 FWD would be your all weather friend.
My buddy got rid of his J30 as he said it was only good for about 8 months of the year here in Cincinnati --
He called his RWD Infiniti his donut car in that it would do a 360 (involuntarily) anytime the road was slick.
Audi's -- even FWD ones are less likely to do that, and the AWD Audis and VW's are even more stable.
BMW Z3. Loved that 535, really really loved the bejabber's out of it!, but had to have a 4x4 for winter use (Jeep GC for awhile, then a Honda CR-V...actually liked the CR-V better & in fact still own it). Wife's Z3 had traction control & it worked darned good. Often drove her car in winter except if there was snow accum'd on the roads in which case it was no-go in the Z3 due to low ground clearance.... I kept telling myself "Heck they gotta lotta snow in gud alte Deutschland" & they drive RWD's. But they're 2 scary for me in winter!! If I lived up there now would definitely get a Quattro or VW with AWD, you'd get the difference in cost back when you sold or traded the car....
down here at a great price as the 535 was much rarer in Indy than the 528's (& they weren't
all that common!). Worked out to less than $200 a month (not counting minor maintenance)
to drive that beautiful car for 5 years. Heck you probably couldn't lease a Chevy Cavalier (or
watever they have nowadays) for that. So step up to the plate & get as nice a car as you
want cause if you take good care of it you'll recoup a lot back. I know some would look at
it as gee "you lost $200 a month on that car" but I look at it as "I enjoyed that wonderful,
magnificent, awesome high performance vehicle for ONLY $50 a week!!! Probably the
best $50 a week I've ever "blown"!!!!
I agree FWD or AWD is better in snow, but heck, my parents, who live in OH as well, both have RWD BMW's and they seem to be able to get around. Then again, it's been a long time since i've taken a RWD car out in the snow myself, might be a rude awakening.
http://forums.audiworld.com/a6/
I'd wait until after noon on Monday to post it though, if you want it read by the most people. Good luck!
I had a 98 A6quattro that was totalled in a rear-end accident. I have three of the keys w/remotes that I would like to sell. Does anyone have any idea as to what they are worth or what they sell for at the dealer?
Dr. Mark
dr.m.levine@snet.net
The CVT should be a better performer on ice than a regular transmission 'cause it should be smoother. I've not driven one, but this '02 A6 is the BEST car I've ever owned (have had Lexus LS400, Land Cruisers, several 911s, etc., etc., etc.). The A6 isn't as popular as the bimmer, but that matters little to me.
Make the choice that seems smartest for you, tho.
jk
I had a 98 A6quattro that was totalled in a rear-end accident. I have three of the keys w/remotes that I would like to sell. Does anyone have any idea as to what they are worth or what they sell for at the dealer?
Dr. Mark
dr.m.levine@snet.net
Kidding aside, the A6 is a great car and quattro is wonderful. I was looking at the CVT FWD to save some bucks...trying to keep my next car under the $40k barrier!
Mario
Both are very good cars. You'll have to drive both and see what makes sense to you. I'd probably go for the new A4 as there are many improvements to the Audi line in the last two years. It is also the more logical choice for commuting considering gas mileage. The A4 is now completely redesigned and is larger than the older A4's. I believe, for example, that the installed radio now includes the in-dash 6-CD changer, while the 2000 A6 had only the single CD changer.
ABS with brake assist and ESP help the most -- but the help they give, when coupled with quattro is in CONTROL, not primarily stopping distances.
It is true, four tires on FWD, RWD or AWD can only provide so much coefficient of friction -- leading to the length required to stop. But ABS/ESP can give the driver a tremendous advantage in the ability to avoid running into something. This technology while it may or may not shorten stopping distances, does provide at least a fighting chance to keep the vehicle under control (steering, not spinning/sliding). The addition of quattro provides at least the chance of steering with the throttle (power slide) and pushing and/or pulling the vehicle as circumstances may require. FWD or RWD alone can't do this.
The quattro with the electronic assists (mentioned above) is, for most of us, wonderfully balanced (I am talking about the real world, the highways and byways we mere mortals generally drive on) -- more so that most other vehicles.
Stay cool, drive safely. Mario
Yet, Audi (who sells mostly AWD cars in the US) is still not universally seen as an AWD leader. IMO, Audi should not import any non-quattros (with the possible exception of the TT roadster) period.
With our apparent love of the control afforded us by all-wheel and four-wheel drive vehicles, why would anyone even consider an FWD only Audi. According to my dealer, they are the most difficult to sell both new and used, but Audi keeps bringing 'em in (albeit in smaller percentages of the total).
Subaru = AWD -- that one really disturbs me. Audi should capitalize on their overall superiority with their quattro system. Heck, the coolest car commercials I've seen recently are for the Passat 4Motion -- you know the one where the guy is thinking out loud about how nice it would be to have the Passat 4Motion as the camera pulls back from his face to reveal that he is spinning out of control on a slick snow and ice covered highway, whilst a Passat, going the other direction, under complete control, passes him by.
A, if not the compelling reason the vast majority of Audi owners own them is because of quattro.
C'mon Audi -- further develop and strengthen your AWD image -- BWM, Mercedes, Jaguar, Subaru, Volvo and now VW have more of this image than you.
There, I got that off my chest.
The culprits seem to have been faulty leveler motors, since these were the last to have been changed out. However, every thing from the controller forward has been changed.
Before, they would be fine when I picked the car up after repairs, but would start acting up within a day or so. It's been two weeks since the motors were changed out and not a bobble since.
I will drop a line if it starts acting up again.
I'm planning on buying the Yokohama AVS dB that Mark loves so well. Does anyone advocate "zero" plus sizing? I live in Indy and the snow has been relatively light, but since the tires aren't snows, the 225/50-16 option looks appealing.
Any advice for a tire newbie would be greatly appreciated.
While I like the idea of more "contact" with the pavement, is a trade-off with "weather" handling inevitable? And with all of the potholes in Indiana, I'm having second thoughts...
Please help me decide!
The funny thing is that I NEVER ever pull over curbs. I'm still just not used to driving a larger, longer car (bought it last January).
Mkn, I think the original mileage was supposed to be 16/26 so yours should be doing slightly better than that now. Have you checked your tire pressure?
My point was that when considering RWD vs. FWD or AWD, the RWD is my last choice. ANY car must obey the principles of physics, it's just that FWD and AWD are better choices unless you want a fair weather car. It has been a while since I made the comment in response to your queries, but, it seems you were considering a BMW as an alternate choice. I have yet to 'test' the ESP, and hope I never have to use it. I am glad I have one of the best handling cars available ('02 A62.7T). I suspect that the CVT would be the best in its' class as well.
How do you install the front license plate assembly? I don't know where to start. I see four screws are included. Do you screw into the body of the car? the grill?
I'm not technically inclined, so please forgive my ignorance.
Thanks for any help you could provide.