Snow Chains or Socks

[thescullster]

Hi Guys

I have had a difficult two days, largely trying to get home from rather than to work.

Our house is at the top of a hill and, although the gradients to travel home are not excessive, my Focus has been seriously struggling on the icy roads. I don't want to go to the expense of winter wheels/tyres.

So the questions are....

How effective are snow socks on ice (they seem to be marketed more for snow) Are snow chains difficult to fit in this cold weather? Is it expected that you fit chains and leave them on over an icy period, even if there are days when the roads are clear? If on ice or a clear road surface, do the tyres wear much quicker with chaos fitted?

Any other comments on the use of these appreciated. I don't expect that clearance above the wheel would be an issue for the Focus, but don't know for sure.

Thanks guys

Phil

[thescullster]

That should read with chains fitted of course.

[Steve Walker]

You probably don't want chains - they cannot be used at all on clear roads.

Socks will wear out rapidly on clear road, but at least you don't need to take them off for short sections.

If you are only really struggling on that one hill, there are some temporary, spray on solutions to increase grip. I have no idea whether they work or not, as have luckily never needed anything.

[nightjar]

Winter tyres do offer better grip on ordinary roads when temperatures fall below about 7C.

Countries that require snow chains to be fitted in winter conditions do not consider snow socks to be an adequate alternative.

Not if you practice with them. I have self-adjusting chains, which avoid the need to stop and reset the chains after a bit of running.

You should not use chains on roads that are not covered by either ice or snow. AIUI snow socks can be run on clear roads, but it is not recommended for long periods.

Never used them long enough to notice.

[David]

Sympathy.

I used to live in the Derbyshire hills up the side of a valley. I could easily get within half a mile of home on the cleared major roads. No chance for the last half mile.

I had some snow chains and they took me a long time to fit (say 15-30 minutes for both rear wheels) due to lack of practice. Unpleasant as well as you were kneeling in the freezing snow and slush handling ice cold metal chains. Waterproof trousers essential.

Once the chains were on, the car went like a dream. Easy 40 mph on snowy roads. Enjoyed pulling a Volvo Estate out of a ditch with my Peugeot 504 Estate. :-)

On cleared roads I was limited to 20 mph so had to find somewhere to remove them as soon as possible.

A general pain, but essential if you have a snowy and/or icy hill at one end of your journey.

Never tried snow socks.

There used to be some kind of folding metal arms that clamped around the wheels but never used them either.

Cheers

Dave R

[Tim Lamb]

Would dropping the tyre pressure achieve anything?

I put Vredesteins (spelling) on our Focus as it seemed a bit suspect on packed snow.

Big tyre thread in here a few weeks back.

[Michael Chare]

There are spiders that may be easier to put on and take off than chains. I have used chains. They do wear out quickly if there is no snow on the road but you can go through quite deep snow, maybe a foot deep. I have driven rental cars with snow tyres to ski resorts and never had to fit chains as the snowplough will have kept the road reasonably clear.

[newshound]

I'd say that in that case think hard about getting "all weather" rather than winter tyres. After a similar problem a few years ago I put on Michelin Cross Climates and now I would never have anything else. IIRC about 50% more than "budgets" but they do last quite well.

This is in the Cotswolds where there is some ice and snow most winters, and short but sometimes steep hills. I also carry a pair of snow socks in the winter, which are brilliant. We don't normally get enough snow in the south of England to justify chains (although I did get a set for a RWD car one bad winter, 1981?)

My socks are looking a bit tired after about half a dozen 15 mile round trips with snow at each end but none in the middle. So if your work journey is long, you would want to put them on and off twice a day. Not particularly difficult but if not wearing waterproof trousers carry a rubber mat for kneeling on.

They will help on ice. They come into their own not on fresh snow but snow that has been compacted into an icy layer by a limited amount of traffic. But you might be surprised how much of a difference all weather tyres make.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

thescullster presented the following explanation :

With cold fingers, yes, very.

They are useless on ice, good for grip on snow. It is illegal to use them except on snow and ice, because of the damage they will do to the road and your tyres. So you should only use them, when you have no other choice.

[Harry Bloomfield, Esq.]

They make a normal tyre slightly sticky. Yes it does work, but only a little better than the untreated tyre. If you are stuck, but could almost become unstuck, the spray might be enough.

[nightjar]

I have a set of winter wheels and tyres - necessary when driving to some countries in the winter. They are specifically designed to collect snow in the sipes. Apparently the best thing to grip to snow is more snow. As you say, they do very well in snow, but I don't have much experience of driving with them on significant ice.

[fred]

Why not place a pile of gravel at a strategic location and carry a shovel ?

[nightjar]

In France, I once used gravel to free a car I was a passenger in when it got stuck in snow. The driver, who was a local estate agent and should have been used to the weather, was amazed.

[Jim Jackson]

Wood Ash is also good - if you have a wood burner.

[Brian Gaff (Sofa]

I think the authorities around here are pretty good and know the problem roads and put down ash sand and salt straight away on those. Of course some of the side roads are a bit less well served, but I think you have every right to expect some clearance on well used roads. I do not drive myself, but there has to be either better drivers or more grippe tyres around as you tend to see some people just driving smoothly and not having any issues, but those who seem to drive more jerkily go all over the place. A friend who lives near a corner finds it more entertaining than the TV sometimes when there is ice around. One old dodge my father used to reckon worked was to just let a bit of the air out of the tyres so they were softer. Brian

[Steve Walker]

Around here there is a weak bridge where a road crosses the railway. It is (almost) a hump-back bridge and has had a 7.5T weight limit slapped on it, as the council and the railway can't decide who is responsible for paying for repairs/upgrade.

To help enforce the weight limit, it has 6'6" width restrictions, with no cut-throughs for wider vehicles, on both approaches.

The first winter after the width restrictions went in, car after car came over the top and slithered slowly down the other side, off at the bend and into a garden wall - as the gritters could no longer grit it and the slopes were solid ice from side to side!

The council did learn and have hand-gritted it since then.

[charles]

round here, the county council was responsible for the abuttments, but the bridge itself was railway propert.

[thescullster]

Thanks for all the suggestions and comments guys.

The amount of ice varies so much from day to day round here (just west of Hull). It's difficult to do a meaningful comparison when making subtle changes like lowering tyre pressures.

Firstly I am plotting the most level route to and from home. Next will be letting the tyres down. Then the tyre socks. If all else fails I can walk it in 1-3/4 hours.

Phil

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[newshound]

So what, five miles or so? I'm not sure how much benefit you can get from reducing tyre pressures, and there are all sorts of risks from that. You'll probably get 100 miles out of a set of snow socks for, say, £30 or £3 a day. They are pretty quick and easy to fit and remove. But I have never used them *just* for black ice, only for icy residues following snowfall. I guess your problem in the Hull area is ice rather than snow.

[Andrew]

There is a bridge like that near me. The width restriction is 4, 9 inch steel pipes set in concrete, about 4 feet tall, painted in reflective paint. Over the years various vans and lorries have followed their satnav down this lane and cannot reverse back, so they just force their way through. All four posts are now banana shaped with most of the paint scraped off.