My Skoda Octavia VRS DSG is by far the worst car I've ever owned for driving in the snow.

Stuck on my own driveway for 3 hours today and when I finally got it out it won't even drive out onto the main road and at that point it was only slush.

Has anyone else had or having similar experience with their DSG VRS?

Even with traction off its still pathetic in the snow. So many other cars just merrily driving alone.

Seriously not impressed.

TheWood

That's a shame fella. I have same car but had no real probs in snow. I did have steel wheels with winter tyres on tho. Def recommended

Yep, its not the car, its the tyres.

Yes, unfortunately the attributes of your car that give it extra grip and performance in normal conditions, completely work against it in snow or ice.

In snow, wide tyres = low grip. It would be a completely different story with 15" or 16" wheels. A completely different story again with winter tyres on the 15/16" wheels and the same again if you added snow chains!

Loads of the vRS owners in Scotland seem to run winter tyres on steel rims so that in itself paints a bit of a picture. Add the DSG element and I guess that doesn't help in really slippy conditions. If you're going to keep the car a set of winters on steel rims is IMO the way to go as not only will you experience safer driving in ALL conditions below 9 degrees c but you also split the wear between your winter and normal tyres plus of course you save your alloys from the dreaded winter salt. If you can wait a while the winter tyres are normally cheaper 'out of season' too and places like my tyres.com do a complete package if you want new rims, though you'll need at least 16" rims on the front to clear the calipers.

i dont know any auto thats suited to snow, but there is a knack to driving it.

As it's been said - its the tyres that are the main issue. Any wide, low profile tyre is going to be pants in the snow. If it helps (and I'm sure it won't) my old A6 Avant was absolutely shocking in the snow - by far the worst car I've ever driven. In fact I'd even go as far as to say it was worse than an old rear wheel drive Transit van I used to use.

Thankfully the 1 series BMW that I had between the Audi & the vRS never stayed over winter.

I have to disagree. My Blackline is one of the best I've ever had. Maybe it's the tyres? I've only 5k on the click.

My Skoda Octavia VRS DSG is by far the worst car I've ever owned for driving in the snow.

Stuck on my own driveway for 3 hours today and when I finally got it out it won't even drive out onto the main road and at that point it was only slush.

Has anyone else had or having similar experience with their DSG VRS?

Even with traction off its still pathetic in the snow. So many other cars just merrily driving alone.

Seriously not impressed.

TheWood

Can't comment on the DSG but my petrol 6 speed manual VRS is no problem, even with summer tyres on.

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Never thought of having a set of steelies with winter tyres on, after reading other threads was defo considering some winter tyres, most winters seem ok for summer use too.

Not sure I really wanna run my VRS on steelies tho, sort of defeats the look of a nice looking car. It's a 60 plate.

Been looking at the Nankang SV2 as others seem to have good grip in snow on them on this forum.

Regards

Matt

Got stuck a million times yesterday. To the point I had to borrow a car to go home and get my winter wheels and tyres. It's a joke in the snow with the 18s

Its well worth it. You may even find it saves you money as the 16s will be cheaper than a replacement set of 18s.

got to say had to go out this morning to vets with my dog and there car park is on a bad slope.........went down parked up and thought,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

well thats us two walking home.............

got dog back in car aimed it up the hill ....floored it... the traction control loght was flashing like billy whizz but bloody hell it got up! how I dont no.....

got summer baldish contis on and honestly thought it would have no chance.........

but next year without fail steel rims with ts850 tyres on and will send mine in to be sprayed black....matt or shiney?.....dont no yet

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Never thought of having a set of steelies with winter tyres on, after reading other threads was defo considering some winter tyres, most winters seem ok for summer use too.

Not sure I really wanna run my VRS on steelies tho, sort of defeats the look of a nice looking car. It's a 60 plate.

Been looking at the Nankang SV2 as others seem to have good grip in snow on them on this forum.

Regards

Matt

Hi Matt,

I only suggested steels because of the cost as I'm a tight ar*e but there are others on the site - Bossfox as an example who has winters on a seperate set of alloys so his car maintains it's looks as he majestically cruises past lesser mortals stuck in the snow!

Either way steel or allys the wheel and rim combo has the advantage that you can swap them over when ever you want depending on the weather if there's a sudden cold or warm period you can swap the wheels over in no time plus you save the trip to the tyre bloke at least twice a year and have to pay him to swap the tyres back over to your 1 set of rims and rebalace them each time he does so.

cheers

Ade

We have a Fabia VRS DSG, it is really good in the snow, it is on Dunlop sport maxx tyres and I have found that selecting D or R and just take your feet off everything the car gets moving smoothly then a squeeze on the throttle and your away, also I have been flicking up the gears on the paddles to keep the revs low, this helps.

You have to treat it like your girlfriend and not your wife. ;-)

We have a Fabia VRS DSG, it is really good in the snow, it is on Dunlop sport maxx tyres and I have found that selecting D or R and just take your feet off everything the car gets moving smoothly then a squeeze on the throttle and your away, also I have been flicking up the gears on the paddles to keep the revs low, this helps.

I have to agree. In my manual Fabia, in snowy conditions you have to be very gentle with the throttle and the clutch to get good traction.

On my DSG Octavia you only have to be gentle with the throttle......as you say you can flick it to manual and change up early or even start off in 2nd gear.

most winters seem ok for summer use too.

Oh no they won't be!

I couldn't get mine to change to second at all today. Refuses until speed right. I even got out of the car today with the car in D and stood there looking at the wheels slowly spinning forward on the spot. Going to price up some winters with wheels.

Anyone know good supplier?

Knowing my luck ill get em and weather will be great for months. Lol

Just wanna say......

...... Think I'm getting old ( and grumpy) because thread titles which have nothing to do with the content are starting to irritate me much more than they should

As others have said, all down to tyres - standard spec contis that I have are great for summer and dispersing water, but real biffs in the snow. I was sceptical about winter tyres until I first used them on the Fabia 2 years ago, so the Octy will be getting some winter rubber too.

Have found the DSG quite good in the snow this week - the engine braking as it changes down gears is great and ESP seems to reign the power in enough to get moving.

Just wanna say......

...... Think I'm getting old ( and grumpy) because thread titles which have nothing to do with the content are starting to irritate me much more than they should

It's not a getting old thing and usually part of forum rules or at least good forum netiquette to use descriptive thread titles.

I have a manual VRS TDI on 17in Michelin Pilot Sport 3's and so far it's done fine in the snow, not got stuck in it yet apart from when I went up a stupidly steep hill which is a struggle in the dry but I think that would have been a problem in most cars. I find the traction control system is fairly good as unlike others it doesn't completely kill the power and leave you stuck when it kicks in.

John

On my DSG Octavia you only have to be gentle with the throttle......as you say you can flick it to manual and change up early or even start off in 2nd gear.

You can't move off in 2nd gear with DSG. Even in Manual mode the only forward gear you can select from rest is 1st. I agree though, you do need to be gentle on the throttle - not like a manual where you dial in a lump of throttle and gently feed in the clutch. Throttle control is definitely an art I have learned (relearned?) since getting DSG - I had got into some bad habits!!

I live on a hill with a sharp left hander at the bottom so no chance of a run at it. Any more than a couple of inches of fresh snow or compacted tyre tracks and my Octy is "abandoned" at the bottom. SWMBO's Micra with skinny tyres and no traction control sails up even with 3-4 inches on the ground.

This Octy has 17" wheels with 225 wide tyres and is noticeably worse than the last one with its 16" and 205(?) wide tyres.

Luckily there is an army of bored retired blokes on the street who can't wait to get out with their shovels to clear a track and Leeds council have done a great job of keeping our grit bin full all winter.

I have thought about winter tyres but I have an 8 mile commute and have never failed to get within a couple of hundred yards of home. I just don't have anywhere to store 4 wheels!

Anyone know good supplier?

http://www.mytyres.co.uk/ do complete wheels for a decent price. Shipping will probably be from germany and will take about a week.

No problems with the 225x45x17's on the combi. But then its a Diesel. Use one foot on the clutch and then let the governor do the work.

I run a set of steels with winter tyres on my Octy. I have had this set for a few seasons now and bought them when i had my Passat. Would not be without them, as i live at the bottom of a hill which runs up through woods to get out.

Did cost a few quid, but bought them over a period of time one summer. 2nd hand steels and tyres from love tyres.

Who cares about looks in the winter. The alloys are still going to be good for the summer and it extends the time between tyre replacement on both sets.