I live in a very hilly area - and, though we live off a decent quality tarmac road, we can get effectively cut off quite easily. Year before last (IIRC) we were unable to drive out for about three days. The level roads were mostly passable but the slopes were impossible. So, in my deep ignorance of these matters, I have been contemplating getting some snow chains.
Really only think I might need them for extremely local use so certainly not worth spending very much. Hence Lidl's latest has appeal:
formatting link
I barking thinking they might help in changing the drive from impossible to manageable?
Snow chains work, they are (or used to be) mandatory on many alpine passes in the winter. They are a bit fiddly and messy to put on and off. Have a set somewhere but have not used them for many years in spite of having similar difficult hills locally.
You shouldn't drive very far on tarmac with them (and are likely to get shouted at by the police if they catch you). Speed with them is limited (30 mph? 50 mph?). You might find the modern fabric boots a bit more convenient; more expensive than these chains but if your journey has a hill at either end with a short-ish bit of level clear road in the middle you might get away with leaving them on (driving slowly) where you might feel the need to remove and replace the chains. Not sure which gives more traction.
aren't they a PITA to fit? and you have to take them off whenever you get to tarmac, and then put them back on when you get to the snow?
I've heard that mud&snow or such winter tyres are wonderful. I haven't tried them for two reasons - first for my car there is one (1) manufacturer who makes tyres that fit. And they're for sunny warm summer days.
And second, the only problem I've ever had with snow darn sarf 'ere is with being stuck in a jam behind someone who can't drive in it.
Well in that dreadful pre-Christmas snow (if that three years ago now?), it took me over nine hours to get about 12 miles home - and I had to abandon car and walk up hill. And that is in the sarf!
And, as I said, more recently we simply got stuck here. The council had decided not to grit the roads and the only cars going down from here were literally sliding out from the kerb with no driver and carrying on until they reached the crossroads at the bottom. The police complained to the council quite severely. It was really annoying being able to see people driving around town but being unable to get down there to do so myself.
I too have heard chains are a pain to fit. Also heard the fabric ones are better on snow than they are on ice?
Looked for decent winter tyres and could not find any available for my car.
Only really needed them once (well, not quite true), that was going up the San Bernardino pass ... and my snow chains were on top of my wardrobe in Milan
I have a set somewhere. They do work wonderfully well in snow and you can easily drive at 30mph but as soon as you get onto a road which has been gritted with tarmac showing through you have to slow down to about 10mph just when everyone else is starting to speed up. You then have to find somewhere in all the snow and slush to take the chains off without impeding the other traffic. Your fingers freeze and you need some seriously waterproof trousers.
I used them in bad winters in Derbyshire to get the last half mile up the side of the valley.
I've only used them once since we moved to Suffolk, in a very bad winter.
One other thing - you do need clearance around the wheel arch for the chains to flail around. A lot of modern cars, especially with alloy wheels and low profile tyres which come close to the wheel arches are not suitable for snow chains.
Used them on a Peugeot 504 Estate (wonderful car) and a Volvo 760 Estate. Too scared to use them on my current Volvo 850 - I think there is a high risk of damage.
On the subject of M&S tyres - had them on the rear of the Volvo 760 and they were O.K. for a little mud or minor bits of snow but didn't make an amazing difference over normal tyres. No comparison in heavy snow with snow chains, and IMHO if you are contemplating needing chains then M&S tyres just won't cut it.
Chains are designed to be fitted without taking the tyre off or jacking up the car. Long time since I did it, but roughly... You drape the (loosened) chain over the top of the tyre, hold it in place with a temporary clip, then roll forwards for half a wheel turn then tighten everything up. You may have to lay it out first and drive into the middle of it - as I say, long time ago. Run for a little, stop, and tighten up again. After that, loads of fun as long as you are on a decent depth of snow. Generally need to do it one wheel at a time, so a long time to fit especially the first few times.
Yep. Getting 'em is not pleasant unless you have a good coat, gloves etc, don't forget it'll be cold, possibly dark, snowing and blowing. You really should only use chains on deep snow or compacted snow, you risk damaging the tyres on tarmac. So you can end up spending ages putting the things on, taking them off.
Speed with chains is limited and they need to be a good fit and properly fitted to the tyre. I have my doubts about a "one size fits all" set of chains. A chain breaking will do the body work no favours and could damage brake pipes or get caught around suspension components locking the wheel up or bending bits...
Proper winter/snow tyres are very good on snow but it depends a little on what you already have fitted how much improvement you will notice. The current Discovery came with some "go faster" things, once it got cold and wet you could notice the lack of grip. On snow they were useless, a Discovery that couldn't get up a 1:30 covered with 4" of fresh snow WTF! Currently have Pirelli Scorpian STR, they are pretty good but the Vredestein Wintrac Extreme (in the garage) are better. The Wintracs will allow the same car to go up a 1:7 on snow without any drama.
What really gives the grip on snow are the "snipes" the narrow slits across the tread pattern, take a look at these images of the above tyres.
formatting link
think the Hankooks were so crap on snow because of the combination of a hard summer compound and lack of snipes. Of course even the best winter tyre won't help if the driver doesn't know how to drive on snow...
You could have walked it in half that time, even on in snow.
That sounds more like sheet ice rather than snow or compacted snow. Not a lot will help on ice.
I tend to the view that, if I am ever going to need snow chains, I am going to need a good pair. I have Stop and Go Compact NT chains in my car. They are relatively simple to fit and remove and, being self-adjusting, you don't need to stop and re-tension the chains after driving for a bit. Of course, I hope the winter tyres, which go on this weekend, will mean I don't need the chains.
I can understand that entirely. If I seriously expected to need more than a couple of miles, I might be persuaded. They look good.
When we were stuck, I was happy enough to walk and get food, but it truly felt like I was swinging the lead when I could not get to work - with others travelling dozens of miles successfully and I couldn't do the one mile to get to clear roads!
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.