Snowchains-any good?

[Sambilena]

Just wondering whether anyone has ever used these and whether they are any good?

 

After a few near scrapes in my car last year (Megane coupe...does not like driving in the snow and decides to get stuck/ slide back down nearly every hill) I was wondering whether this could be an answer?

 

I have to drive from Killamarsh to Eccy Rd every day so on a day when it snows I struggle to get in (or if it snows whilst at work I struggle to get back!)

 

Thanks

[thelurcher]

In places like Alaska and Canada, they would be very useful. Over here I'm not so sure. When the conditions are snowy and icy, always try and set off in 2nd gear so as to get enough grip on the road, but do it gradually though by teasing the clutch up slowly with low revs. I find this technique very useful, even on hill starts.

[vwkittie]

Have you tried a good set of winter tyres? They are designed specially to work better in temperatures below 7 degrees I think it is and often well suited to wet conditions.

[sedith]

Snow chains ... Don't they rip up the tarmac? Buying winter tyres is a bit extreme especially if like on my car, they are £165 a corner for Goodyear NCT's. Its not very often that the city roads are impassable is it?

[Tankerman]

I always tow a trailer full of grit when it snows and take someone with me to keep shoveling grit in front of my tyres as we move along. It always works for me, my gritter gets tired though after 50 miles or so.

[Cyclone]

You can only use snow chains when their is a firm covering of snow on the road, of the type that you might see for about a week every year in the UK. And then only on the side roads.

 

You can't just leave them on as you get onto a main road which has been cleared, it damages the road and your tyres.

[Suffragette1]

You may be better off trying these instead.

[Rupert_Baehr]

You can only use snow chains when their is a firm covering of snow on the road, of the type that you might see for about a week every year in the UK. And then only on the side roads.

 

You can't just leave them on as you get onto a main road which has been cleared, it damages the road and your tyres.

 

Snow chains are a pain! - They take time to fit and they will cause damage unless the road has snow on it. Your car is also very speed-limited. (Notthat you would want to be going quickly on snow-covered roads.)

 

Studded snow tyres may be illegal for use on roads which are not covered with snow. (There may be other laws controlling their use, too.)

 

Un-Studded Snow tyres are speed-limited. (Usually to about 50mph) The tread blocks are large and the treads are likely to overheat (anddetach) if you run them fast on dry roads.

 

'All Season' 'All Weather' or 'Mud and Snow' tyres will improve your traction in snow. They do wear more quickly than 'summer' tyres (expect about 75% of the tyre life.)

 

The snow socks suggested by Suffragette1 look interesting. Spikes Spiders work very well, too. - They attach and detach in about 5-10 seconds per wheel and they are limited to about 30mph. Here's a link to a UK dealer.

[HarmOKnee]

You may be better off trying these instead.

 

That looks like a good idea!

[medusa]

I've got a set of chains which I bought last year after getting stuck and quite scared in heavy snow in a place where there was no way that I could summon help. I was very lucky that someone with all the gritting and towing kit and a 4wd pick up truck happened to be coming along to get my car out of the situation I was in because I couldn't walk from where we were to our holiday cottage and it was a surprise situation so we had no food, water and blankets with us.

 

Chains would have got my car up that hill and the rest of the route home to the cottage was manageable, so when we got home I committed the 20 quid needed to buy some lightweight chains.

 

The chains I bought take a couple of minutes per wheel to fit and I'm quite OK with sticking them in the boot in their case along with the box of grit and the spade just in case they are needed over the winter. My car doesn't seem to manage so well in snow and I've got mobility difficulties so I wouldn't do so well if I had to try to walk home from being stuck somewhere.

 

If they get used once every couple of years to get me out of a spot then I'd be fine with that.

 

The one thing that they were really handy for over last winter was for breaking up the crusted layer of compacted snow in our street. We live in a small cul de sac which is on a hill so even if you manage to get out there's no chance of you getting back in when the snow is bad. There's insufficient traffic to maintain snow-free tracks in the road so we end up with compacted and polished surface to drive on instead, so when the chains arrived I spent half an hour driving up and road and then reversing back down again to break up the crust and allow everyone to drive on it.

 

And then the chains got taken off and came back into the house to wash the salt off them and put them back in their box.