# S tronic or Manual on snow??



## ademanuele (Mar 9, 2015)

We live in the Peak District and have to negotiate a few hills. My Z4 (RWD) struggled in the snow and was one of the reasons I went for the TTS quattro (S tronic). I have not owned an automatic before and the first significant snowfall of the season is on its way!

I have seen the discussions about the best driving (S tronic) mode for dealing with snow and am not sure there was a consensus? Irrespective, would I be better off switching to manual and selecting (high) gears.


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

Just take your time with gentle throttle and brake ect...If you find there's spinning when pulling off then just swith the traction control off...can't see how manual mode selection will help much tbh but no harm in giving it a try I suppose and see what you think.


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## ademanuele (Mar 9, 2015)

Thanks Templar, seems to be what Audi recommend. Page 112 of the Owner's Manual talks about using sports mode in deep snow or loose services, this is where the traction control system (ASR) is restricted.


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## brittan (May 18, 2007)

You can't select a high gear to pull away in manual mode.
However, if you move the selector lever rapidly between D and R, finishing in D, and apply light throttle, you will force the car to pull away in 2nd instead of 1st.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

brittan said:


> You can't select a high gear to pull away in manual mode.
> However, if you move the selector lever rapidly between D and R, finishing in D, and apply light throttle, you will force the car to pull away in 2nd instead of 1st.


Sounds like the automatic version of double de-clutch.


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## no name (Feb 16, 2014)

kept it in sports 

just mind those kerbs


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## ademanuele (Mar 9, 2015)

First experience on snow Saturday night and no issues at all, behaved very differently to my previous rear drive BMW... Snow was not very deep but I would have struggled on the hills near our home in my previous car.


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## noname (Aug 20, 2015)

I bet! anyway, manual gears and everything will be fine...
I don't know if all with power is better to have more or less feeling with the pedal (engine comfort or dynamic) but I prefer more feeling for the steering


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

I noticed on the mk3 and the same with the S3 I had for a couple of weeks they have a hanging throttle pedal instead of a floor pivoting pedal, I don't think these are as good especially if you have a smaller foot.


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## noname (Aug 20, 2015)

Yeah I already talked about it time ago..I don't appreciate it very much and seems less sporty..but it's a bit fine to see


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## Templar (Mar 9, 2012)

Maybe another element of cost cutting..I dunno but digressing here, apologies.


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## datamonkey (Jan 23, 2012)

Templar said:


> I noticed on the mk3 and the same with the S3 I had for a couple of weeks they have a hanging throttle pedal instead of a floor pivoting pedal, I don't think these are as good especially if you have a smaller foot.


Yeah that's the first thing I noticed when I took the Mk3 TTS out for a test drive this weekend. I wonder why they changed it? Not a big deal, especially as the pedal itself is quite long though I'd go for the floor-pivoting pedal if I had a choice.


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## sherry13 (Oct 8, 2013)

A few donuts in the snow. Russia, obviously.

__
http://instagr.am/p/BA2zwGDsQfe/

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


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## berk192 (Oct 22, 2015)

Launch control and few more donuts in snow.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## noname (Aug 20, 2015)

These weeks I'm going snowboard twice or three times a week and often here the situation...









I premise I did several snow/track courses and year of track and I don't have winter tyres at the moment, if you drive carefully D it's also ok but in a descent is not the better solution.
otherwise, manual is the best option because you can keep the first or second gear and that is important..

Normally is advised to deactivate the traction control and we can have the better use for the Quattro, tried the difference of it from Auto and Dynamic, the first one is more soft, the second one is a true RWD so be careful!


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