I currently have a Audi '07 A6 with quattro all wheel drive. It is a full time system compared to the Infiniti rear drive that can divert up to 50% to the front wheels. I understand some of the handling advantages of rear drive but how does it compare to Audi in wet and snow? I drive the Audi to Boston a lot and it has been spectacular in snow. I'm considering a 2010 G37X so this is important to me. Lease ends in Feb.

THX

 

Hi!

Are you sure that Audi is 100% of the time on 4wd? Usually AWD operates only when needed. I know that Infiniti is 50/50 right after you left a stop sign and then slowly switch to RWD.

I live in Canada and have been very impressed with Infiniti AWD system. I heard that Acura SH-AWD does a good job but I never tried it. You will not be disapointed with Infiniti for sure!

 

Cimitiere

Thanks for the response. Yes I am sure that Audi is full time awd. They changed from 50/50 to 60/40 rear recently to enhance handling. I had a 2000,2003 and 2007( still have). Car was great on snowy roads and getting out of snowed in parking spots. I can use almost half throttle in 4" of snow and not get wheel spin or get the anti-skid light to go on.

 

The AWD on the G is great. I have a RWD but when I take my car in for service they give out AWD and I have yet to get it stuck. Ive stopped in heavy snow areas and it just drives right out. There is also a snow button which I belive puts it in AWD from the start.

 

I have both a Coupe and a Sedan in AWD. I test drove the Audi and thought that the 50/50 or 40/60 splits are much less responsive and not as fun to drive. I had an older Audi A6 (50/50) and a BMW X5 (40/60) and they were both good in the snow but lacked some of the handling and sport capabilities of the G. I have had the two cars in 14" of snow and they performed very good. There is a feature to lock in 50/50 at low speeds. With this feature I was going where only Hummers and 4x4's were getting to during this storm. I was taking my employees to see patients. I feel the system is great. It gives you the fun of driving a RWD car but when needed it allocates power to all wheels like an Audi. The system is widely thought to be a very good and has had some very high claims from the press.

 

Thx for the response. I take a lot of long highway drives. How did the ride/comfort of the G compare to the A6. There seemed to some concern over the Goodyear RSA OEM tires as well. The 2010 A6 equipped like my 07 has become very expensive and I'm trying to figure advantages/disadvantages other than price in getting a 2010 G37X with Premium and Nav.

 

I always thought my A6 was somehow bolted to the road. Although that helps during inclimate conditions, it made long drives dreadful. The G is fun and much more responsive. To get this performance from an Audi I had to get at least the 3.2 and the premium to do so made this an easy decision for me. I bought 2 G's for about what 1.4 Audi's would have cost me. Audi is a good car, but I was not interested in lining the pockets of a large corporation with my cash if I did not need to.

 

Allagaroo, it's been a while since I drove an Audi in the snow...I had
a 100 Euro spec model when I was stationed in Europe. I just traded
a M35X for a G37X. While never happy with the M35X/tire combination
in snow...RSAs (very poor on ice and deep snow), the G37X has the
new Dunlop Sport Maxx tires and is a huge improvement over the
M35X and the tires I had on it. We had a fast snowfall of over 7 inches
today and I took the G out just to see what to expect. Although there
was some front wheel slip while accellerating and turning through
intersections, it was amazingly sure footed. I drove down some
unplowed roads (drove like a stupid kid) just to check it out.
The G/Dunlop did a much better job in deep snow than I ever
expected. The comination also provided me very straight and true
stops as well...I even did some "lock-up" stops approching
empty intersections (where it's very slippery). I think the G
will get you anywhere your Audi does and may even surpass
your expectations. Good Luck

 

Thanks Jon!!! Great info. I hope the 2010 G37X has the Dunlop Sport Maxx rubber. According to Tire Rack its still the RSA's for the '09's I believe.

 

How should we use the snow mode in the G37x? Only in the worst conditions? When and how does the AWD engage if you are driving in light snow (without snow mode)?

 

I think (somebody correct me if i'm wrong) that SNOW MODE just starts the car out in 2nd gear, instead of 1st gear to reduce torque and wheel spin. I don't think it has anything to do with AWD engagement or locking it on.

I have a RWD with snow tires and haven't had any problems with it. I am surprised that the RWD variants don't have a SNOW MODE switch to help with driving in snow, like Lexus has on their cars.

 

it will start the car in 2nd. keep the car in 4wd until 30km/hr(not sure if this is the exact speed but close) and then will kick in the 4wd with less slip then in normal mode.

 

I have a G37x and no where have I read that it starts out in 2nd gear in "Snow" mode. I believe the system is designed to suppress engine power (via throttle control, ignition timing and individual wheel braking) to minimize slip. It could very well skip 1st gear with it's close ratio 7-speed transmission, but I've never read or heard of this anywhere until now.

Snow mode, as I understand it, keeps the torque split 50/50 from the get go, up to 14mph; then it's back to 100% rear-wheel drive once the car is underway. Like most AWD systems on the market, forget about what's happening under the car and just drive; let the sensors and systems do instantaneously what they were designed to do- keep you moving forward. If you get stuck, really stuck, you're probably screwed- start looking for a 4WD truck to hail and carry a tow rope. (Note: Our '09 G37x has a huge eye-bolt in the trunk that needs to be screwed into the frame somewhere for to hook your tow rope to. It would be prudent to know where this goes before it's needed.)



On the AWD start-up comment above:

The system, as I understand it, starts out with a 80/20 rear-wheel bias at all times, wet or dry. Then it kicks into 100% rear-wheel drive at 14mph... preserving the G's true sports sedan feel. Like most AWD systems, torque is redistributed only when wheel slip is detected via the ABS sensors. Then it happens so fast, you'll seldom know it's even happening.

 

100% agree on the snow mode. Those of you commenting that the car starts in 2nd gear are confusing this car with other's that do that (mainly on RWD vehicles) as a cheap way of reducing torque from a dead stop. The G's snow mode is an intelligent control of the engine torque output.

From the service manual:

The snow mode is used for driving or starting the vehicle on snowy roads or slippery areas. If the snow mode is activated, the vehicle speed will not be accelerated immediately than your original pedal in due to avoid the vehicle slip. In other words, ECM controls the rapid engine torque change by controlling the electric throttle control actuator operating speed.

As for the AWD operation, I'm not aware of any logic based on 14 mph or other number. From the service manual the AWD Control Unit provides current to an AWD Solenoid which in turn controls clutch mechanism that distributes torque to the front wheels. The system starts as 100% rear torque and automatically and linearly transfers up to 50% of the torque to the front wheels based on the control unit logic. Here's the manual explanation of teh control unit:

Controls driving force distribution by signals from each sensor from rear wheel driving mode (0:100) to AWD mode (50:50).