driving in snow and asr

[darfash]

Hi everybody.

When driving in snow should be the ASR been turned off or kept on. About to have winter tyres fitted on the front wheels, but have to get my better half to hospital for operation and need to know what to do.

Thanks for any replies in advance.

[Fabia_19]

I turn mine off personally and had no problems last winter.

[softscoop]

Put some winter tyres on the back too!

[mr rooney]

Yes turn it off and fit winters on the back to even out the increased grip.

[KenONeill]

Either keep the Summers all round, or fit 4 all-season or Winters! Winters front only is just asking for an uncommanded and unexpected panoramic view of your surroundings!

Personally I leave the ASR on unless I'm in deep (3" plus) of fresh snow.

Edited 5 December, 2012 by KenONeill

[MartynVRS]

ASR was always on on my old vRS unless as Ken says really deep snow. Never had a problem

[eric87]

ASR = traction control?

[coiner]

So the ranking of preference is this?

4 winter

4 normal

2 winter front, 2 normal back

2 normal front, 2 winter back

[faboka vrs]

Look in your handbook. It'll tell you to disable ASR.

My preference would be.

4 winters

4 all season

2 of either on front as you need traction to stop you getting stuck. But remember about the back

Auto/snow socks. Absolutely fantastic. Again remember about the rear

[ricardo_smooth]

asr off always in snow for me

Edited 5 December, 2012 by ricardo_smooth

[Phil-E]

I think for insurance purposes you have to have 4 of the same type of tyre fitted (winter, summer or all season). I personally just leave the ASR on and only turn it off if I need some traction getting out of a parking spot of up a slope where it might cut power when needed.

[faboka vrs]

In they case just keep a set if autosocks in the boot just in case.

[rum4mo]

I now, after many years of finding ASR annoying, leave it on even in deeper snow. What you need to remember is that it will regulate the throttle, so just keep the throttle pedal well down and don't get caught out like I did by easing off the throttle only to stall when grip was regained. As for summer/all season/winter tyres, use whatever you consider the current weather patterns dictate and use them all round. One thing that I reckon, and it has been mentioned before is, modern premium summer tyres have become very good summer tyres and so less good winter tyres. I've got a set of steellies and Alpin A3 for the Polo and original alloys and Alpin A4 for the Passat, seems to work okay, this year they went on at the end of October.

[cjb]

So the ranking of preference is this?

4 winter

4 normal

2 winter front, 2 normal back

2 normal front, 2 winter back

No, preference is 4 winters or 4 normal, anything else is asking for trouble.

[Hughp]

I think Winter tyers are ok in the North of UK, but in the south of England i think it is not necessary. Better to drive slower and keep a good distance to the car in front.

I wonder if people using Winter tyers will be under a false sense of security and will drive faster then they should.

[andypandypoos]

I think Winter tyers are ok in the North of UK, but in the south of England i think it is not necessary. Better to drive slower and keep a good distance to the car in front.

I wonder if people using Winter tyers will be under a false sense of security and will drive faster then they should.

no

[TriggerFish]

ASR = traction control?

Yep.

I kept it on when I had my Fabia most of the time, but equally never even had an issue in the Polo without it (except when the snow froze around it and I couldn't clear the snow!)

With ESP/DSC etc, those I'd leave firmly on though!

[faboka vrs]

I think Winter tyers are ok in the North of UK, but in the south of England i think it is not necessary. Better to drive slower and keep a good distance to the car in front.

I wonder if people using Winter tyers will be under a false sense of security and will drive faster then they should.

No. But spin the coin around. In the summer do people with summer tyres think the same?

It's like comparing cheap remoulds to premium tyres. Ones better than the other.

I've ran winters for the last 12 months and will do again. Lets face it we don't really get a summer

[vindaloo]

I think Winter tyers are ok in the North of UK, but in the south of England i think it is not necessary. Better to drive slower and keep a good distance to the car in front.

I wonder if people using Winter tyres will be under a false sense of security and will drive faster than they should.

Assuming a typical car commuter, temperatures from early morning through midday in the November through March timeframe can be extremely low. Certainly lower than the 7 degrees or so that it's advantageous to run winters. Having written that I don't fit winters, but then I don't commute at present.

As for where to fit winters. If you're getting two, put them on the back. Putting them on the front will just tell you everything is fine up to the point you spin off the road. It's a feedback thing. If the front's gripping and turning, you tend to forget that the back end might not.

J.

[hap123ciu]

ASR should be on in winter. Should be off just in deep snow as you might not go anywhere otherwise. Fit 4 winter tyres as having them just on the front will make your car uncontrollable on the back if you have to brake hard.

[vindaloo]

Hi everybody.

When driving in snow should be the ASR been turned off or kept on. About to have winter tyres fitted on the front wheels, but have to get my better half to hospital for operation and need to know what to do.

Thanks for any replies in advance.

Fit winter tyres to all four wheels. Leave the ASR on unless having specific issues like slow speed issues on snow/ice manoeuvring. Though TBH I find the ASR quite unobtrusive on the Fabia.

J.

[fabdavrav]

Some of the above posts in this topic........

Having had my car for 11yrs now....and driven on both "summers" and "winters".......i can note the following.....

Fit winters to all four wheels as the overall front/rear balance/handling will be the same.....

As for ASR...........the handbook states that it should be left on..........UNLESS you are moving away from a standstill on snowy/icy conditions....

HOWEVER.......... having driven on "winters" in those two very bad (good) winters, and being at the UK's highest carpark and remote back roads.........leave the ASR on.......the better winter rubber stops the ASR and the ABS systems kicking in when they shouldn't!!!!! .....as the better tyers are still getting grip!!!!!..........

I've only had to momentarilty turn of the ASR a hand full of times since getting the winter tyres........and all of those times was at speeds of less than 20mph .........and mainly on one particullar local road which is sloped and freezes very hard with black ice..........and has a junction at the top of the slope.........and the gritters forget to grit it!!!!

[cjb]

I think Winter tyers are ok in the North of UK, but in the south of England i think it is not necessary. Better to drive slower and keep a good distance to the car in front.

I wonder if people using Winter tyers will be under a false sense of security and will drive faster then they should.

Better to fit winters *and* drive carefully. My take on it is this: I never had trouble on snow- and I've been driving 25 years now- until I had my Fabia vRS and the Leon. Both are lousy in snow, and it's all down to the the wide, low profile, high-performance tyres. The Leon on winter rubber is an absolute breeze in the snow, but a real handful on summer rubber. On summer tyres, I had a case of the Leon downright *refusing* to move with ESP on because there just wasn't the grip. On winter tyres I've surprised 4x4s....

[hutchysrs50]

I only have winter tyres on the drive wheels, never had any problems. Pulling away was much improved... Never went fast enough to lose control hence having winter tyres fitted.

[dazjenks]

At my work there is a steep hill and I found with my ASR on I could get much better traction and got about 20ft further Up the snow covered hill I still never got up tho lol ( summer Tyers on )