Some of us RWD-ers do that regularly just for fun... it's called drifting.

 

Which reminds me of that classic racing movie:
"The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift"

 

I said FWD-based, not FWD-biased. One letter, but it makes quite a difference. By "FWD-based," I mean that the powertrains are FWD or AWD, not RWD or AWD. If they didn't have AWD, they'd just have FWD.

As far as the bias, they use a Haldex for the A3, which might be front-biased, but the other cars are either 50/50 or have a slight rear bias (the ones you list plus the S4).

 

I see both of the big winter tire advocates are in Canada. And I'm in Michigan. He's in Baltimore. I don't think winter tires would make sense there, since he'll only have to deal with snow a handful of days each year.

 

Sure, but not to the same extent unless you just want to grind your tires into smoke.

 

It is a popular misconception in the states that Canada is all about winter. Well I hate to disappoint but we do not live in Igloo's. I live in the Okanagan Valley where winters are hit and miss. Sometimes we get decent snow sometimes we don't. Yes the ski hills are close and they are very good, but around town you'll usually have bare roads. And our summers are usually 30-40 celsius. Plenty hot for me. with that said, I still believe in winter tires.

 

with my 245-40-19 RE050s, I have a hard time breaking traction.

 

How does the Sport do in heavy rain from an aggressive launch? I probably would have gone with a sport if I had lived in an area without rain & snow. I do wish my X had the paddle shifters....maybe next time.

 

I've driven through the Okanagan Valley before. Didn't mean to imply you lived in Igloos, but I suspect you see quite a bit more snow than Baltimore does.

 

Usually I'd wonder why you'd be doing an aggressive launch in the rain, but I've also been to Washington State. I think it rains more there than it does in Baltimore, the western part of the state anyway.

 

Ok..maybe less aggressive :-).... freeway onramps for example. A lot in this area seem to be quite short so have to get up to speed quickly to merge.

 

Personally I think the summers are horrible in the rain. they break loose all the time, even under non-agressive driving. On dry pavement it's very difficult to break loose even when slamming the gas from a dead stop with traction off.

 

^ Try driving with the summers in colder temps on dry roads. You can break loose very easily.

 

You'd be surprised. There are places in Canada where snow is extremely rare. Where I live, we didn't get any more than 12-15" of snow last year for the entire winter. But I still wouldn't go without winter tires. Even driving in 1-2 storms a year is worth getting snow tires for. My family's life is more important than saving a few bucks.

 

+1 ^^^ Don't Cheap Out, if you really do care about the safety of your family and car, get dedicated winter tires.

Good tires are one of the most important mods a person can do to their car.