How to improve FWD traction

[Elliott]

So this is a fairly straight forward topic. I am having to traverse some nasty stuff here in CO and would like advice on how to improve the capabilites of my FWD B6. Ideally, I would swap it for an AWD rig but that is not a possibility.

I currently have blizzaks on 15" wheels as a winter tire and they work great, but I want more traction for ice and packed snow. Are there some differential mods I can install to improve traction? Anything else I am missing? Thanks for any insight!

[sean1.8t]

quattro. there is no substitute..

do you have the blizzaks on all 4 wheels? or just 2? and which model of tire are they?

also, what type of traction issues are you having? is it turning, going up hill? deep snow?


before you answer any of that, and probably after, my answer will pretty much be, buy chains.

[Elliott]

You are definitely right, there is no substitute for quattro. But right now, I am keeping the FWD for at least another 2 years.

My biggest problem is going uphill in icy conditions. It's not as bad with the blizzaks on now, but I feel like I can always have something better. Will chains work even with sport suspension? Any chain reccomendations? Thanks!

[JMRQuattro]

damn, you're into snowboarding and you live in CO and you have FWD!? Hey my only thing to help is to say, at least you don't have a RWD ! Then you'd really be screwed.

But in all seriousness i really have no idea, cause putting weight on the wheels providing the movement is usually the idea with RWD, but that doesn't apply for FWD since you already have the engine. But if you have FWD and winter tires you should be ok for a while. I had FWD for over 2 years in my VR6 with all seasons. If you have a manual, some skilled shifting and maneuvering will do you just fine in FWD. It can actually be kinda fun!

[B6Lovin]

damn, you're into snowboarding and you live in CO and you have FWD!? Hey my only thing to help is to say, at least you don't have a RWD ! Then you'd really be screwed.

But in all seriousness i really have no idea, cause putting weight on the wheels providing the movement is usually the idea with RWD, but that doesn't apply for FWD since you already have the engine. But if you have FWD and winter tires you should be ok for a while. I had FWD for over 2 years in my VR6 with all seasons. If you have a manual, some skilled shifting and maneuvering will do you just fine in FWD. It can actually be kinda fun!

give him a break, he's from out east where the snow falls an inch or so over the whole winter lol.

[GO-GOTEKNO]

Studded tires worked best for me when I had my jetta ,going up to breckenridge as much as I did trading in for quattro was essential..Snow tires get you as much traction as possible it doesnt really get better than that for fwd

[JMRQuattro]

^^ yeah, studded tires will be best for ice. Otherwise going up a hill with your audi on ice will pretty much be near impossible, of course depending on how steep the hill is.

[UGwagen]

The best tires I have used in the winter have been Green Diamonds. Pricey & they are remolds (a step above retreads & a step below new tires) which have carbide chunks embedded in the treads (the shiny bits)



One of their old tires, nearly worn on my old car:



...and of course, keep a set of chains/cables in the car

[mxrz]

The best tires I have used in the winter have been Green Diamonds. Pricey & they are remolds (a step above retreads & a step below new tires) which have carbide chunks embedded in the treads (the shiny bits)

If he would make the effort to change his existing tires, studded ones, like General's Altimax Arctic (US version of Gislaved Nordfrost 3) for example, would be even better than these.

[UGwagen]

If he would make the effort to change his existing tires, studded ones, like General's Altimax Arctic (US version of Gislaved Nordfrost 3) for example, would be even better than these.

I take it you have used these tires before?

Studded tires have their drawback when it it's not snowing and the road is dry. One and the big one is noise; second, it does limit your speeds a bit; and third, studs tend to fall out and as they wear, they lose their effectiveness. Since on the Green Diamonds, the carbide chunks are distributed throughout the entire depth of the thread, you maintain its capability throughout its life

Having studs on the shoulder area only isn't as good as having the traction aid across the entire tread-- good luck finding those (such as Menard tires).

I'd be running them on my current car, but they don't have the size I need (215/55r16) and the max cold pressure is the tire pressure I ran for my car (35 psi with the 205/55r16).

...though one time they did sell 215/55r16 Inari snow tires that looks like it can accept studs



There are drawbacks of Green Diamond tires. Not everyone is particularly a fan of remolds/retreads, thanks to the retreads that scatter the highways from truckers. Not everyone is big on Michelin bases either. It takes about 1000 miles for the tires to break-in, for the carbide chunks to appear...and for me, the max cold pressure is at 35 psi. If they made it in the specs I need... I'd be running them instead of Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSI.

[rocketheavy]

buy a limited slip locker for your front differential

[EBG 18T]

studded snow tires like the general altimax studded or some nokian hakka studded will help. but unfortunatly there is only so much you can do.

[Elliott]

buy a limited slip locker for your front differential

Who makes an LSD for our cars?

[Frey7190]

How about lowering the air pressure?? wouldnt that give you more surface to drive on ... hence the more traction..?

[mxrz]

How about lowering the air pressure?? wouldnt that give you more surface to drive on ... hence the more traction..?

It's the exact opposite, narrower is better.

[mxrz]

I take it you have used these tires before?

Studded tires have their drawback when it it's not snowing and the road is dry. One and the big one is noise; second, it does limit your speeds a bit; and third, studs tend to fall out and as they wear, they lose their effectiveness. Since on the Green Diamonds, the carbide chunks are distributed throughout the entire depth of the thread, you maintain its capability throughout its life

Having studs on the shoulder area only isn't as good as having the traction aid across the entire tread-- good luck finding those (such as Menard tires).

I'm not limited by my studded tires in terms of speed at all, and over the span of 10 winters on studded tires, I have never lost a single stud, and actually, the effectiveness of the studs increases as the tires wear. Finally, your argument about studs being located only on the shoulders... It's by design, specifically to negate your "speed" and "falling out" arguments. The Green Diamonds are a substitute, where studs are illegal, but they still are an inferior alternative when it comes to deep snow and ice traction.

FYI, studs evolve… Everything you said may have applied to studded tires of years ago, but not today, with quality tires like the General Altimax, and anything from Nokian and Gislaved for example.

[Frey7190]

It's the exact opposite, narrower is better.

really... I wonder why that is... time to email my old psychs teacher lol

[mxrz]

really... I wonder why that is... time to email my old psychs teacher lol

Because you want to contact the hard surface "bellow" the snow/slush, and narrower tires have an easier time cutting through those layers. Just look at the snow tires on Rally cars, they're super narrow. Wide, deflated tires are only useful on ice/snow when you're trying to cross the arctic or something, where there is no hard surface (tarmac, gravel) underneath.

[Dylan]

really... I wonder why that is... time to email my old psychs teacher lol

the main reason wider tires lose traction in snow is because they don't cut down to the road, they float on top.

by reducing the air pressure, you're making the tire flex, creating a channel in the middle and contact patches on the edges, which actually pushes the snow into the centre of the tire, resulting in less traction.

[Elliott]

really... I wonder why that is... time to email my old psychs teacher lol

What does psychology have to do with tires?

[Exanimas]

What does psychology have to do with tires?

Ha, I was thinking the exact same thing.

[JMRQuattro]

^^ physics lol. He had to have spelled it wrong.

[Elliott]

How do chains work on our cars? I have '02 sport suspension so it is fairly low but I think it would work.

BTW, I can't trade in the car for a quattro. I just need to get through this season.