Snow chains or snow tyres

[Harleyman]

I've never seen snow tires being used in my part of California. It's always snow chains when driving up the mountains. in winter.

The Highway Patrol wont even let you go up there without chains

[Rupert_Baehr]

As I posted last year, I had a set of winter tyres (on fairly cheap black pressed-steel rims.) Barum Polaris 2's. They work pretty well on snow (and in Germany, they are a legal requirement.)

 

For packed snow and ice (and for deeper snow)

are pretty good. You fit the hub assembly at the start of winter and attach the spiders (takes about 15 seconds per tyre) when you need them.

[Eater Sundae]

In the 50s and 60s the tyre companies made a tyre called a Town and Country and these were superb all the farmers had them fitted and they swore by them and all the vehicles were rear wheel drive apart from the Mini and the odd Landrover,the mini had small wheels which would spin very easily and the tyres were fitted to the front.I can not recall ever being called out to pull one out of trouble so maybe driving techniques were different then

 

I had a couple of cars with these on the driven wheels, in the 70s. In both cases they were very slow cars. I don't think I'd have fancied having them on a car with any sort of performance. The only time I see what look like similar tyres nowadays seems to be on old (pre-defender) Land Rovers. I remember my old A35 with these. It was good in the snow, but I don't know how much was due to the type of tyres and how much was due to it being a small, lightish car with narrow wheels. I don't know if they were meant for snow,or just for rough ground. Current winter and 4 season tyres are certainly nothing like the old Town & Countrys in terms of their design..

[Rampent]

We will all be eating beans hiding from nasty people. No point in having snow shoes or tyres.

[Eater Sundae]

As I posted last year, I had a set of winter tyres (on fairly cheap black pressed-steel rims.) Barum Polaris 2's. They work pretty well on snow (and in Germany, they are a legal requirement.)

 

For packed snow and ice (and for deeper snow)

are pretty good. You fit the hub assembly at the start of winter and attach the spiders (takes about 15 seconds per tyre) when you need them.

 

I bought fairly premium 4 season tyres, online, and then had them fitted locally in place of my old and worn out summer tyres. From the same online supplier, I could have bought 4 steel wheels and cheap winter tyres for the same money,and then just swapped the wheels over myself..

[Rupert_Baehr]

My wife's previous car (the one we had for most of the time we were in Germany) had 'Mud & Snow' all-season tyres fitted as standard. They were OK, but the rubber compound wasn't as soft as that in the tyres made by Barum (the ones I fitted during the winter) and the OEM tyres didn't work as well at low temperatures.

 

Changing from the tyres we used in Summer to the Winter tyres was hardly an exacting task and the out-of-use wheels lived in the storage area above my garage, so they weren't in the way. The Barum tyres did wear more rapidly ... but not disastrously so; I used them for 3 winters and they were less than half-worn when I sold them. Of course, I wasn't putting wear on the summer use tyres, so I suppose I would've probably needed to buy two new sets of tyres every 8 years ... I'm not sure how good the rubber would have been on an 8-year old tyre (it does harden with age, and I certainly wouldn't ride a bike with 8-year old tyres!)

 

I didn't use Spikes Spiders - I didn't do much driving in deep snow - but a friend who spent a lot of time in the Black Forest swore by them. They're a 'get you through deep snow' device and they (unlike mud & snow tyres) are speed-limited to about 30mph.

 

Winter tyres (mine were marked 'mud & snow' - and you can use them in summer, if you want to) do perform significantly better at low temperatures and in snow than do 'ordinary' tyres. The first time I fitted them to a car there was snow on the ground, the car's handling was poor in snow (on summer tyres) and the difference was marked.

 

One other advantage of using winter tyres on cheap pressed-steel rims is that your expensive alloy rims don't get corroded by salt!

[Eater Sundae]

My wife's previous car (the one we had for most of the time we were in Germany) had 'Mud & Snow' all-season tyres fitted as standard. They were OK, but the rubber compound wasn't as soft as that in the tyres made by Barum (the ones I fitted during the winter) and the OEM tyres didn't work as well at low temperatures.

 

Changing from the tyres we used in Summer to the Winter tyres was hardly an exacting task and the out-of-use wheels lived in the storage area above my garage, so they weren't in the way. The Barum tyres did wear more rapidly ... but not disastrously so; I used them for 3 winters and they were less than half-worn when I sold them. Of course, I wasn't putting wear on the summer use tyres, so I suppose I would've probably needed to buy two new sets of tyres every 8 years ... I'm not sure how good the rubber would have been on an 8-year old tyre (it does harden with age, and I certainly wouldn't ride a bike with 8-year old tyres!)

 

I didn't use Spikes Spiders - I didn't do much driving in deep snow - but a friend who spent a lot of time in the Black Forest swore by them. They're a 'get you through deep snow' device and they (unlike mud & snow tyres) are speed-limited to about 30mph.

 

Winter tyres (mine were marked 'mud & snow' - and you can use them in summer, if you want to) do perform significantly better at low temperatures and in snow than do 'ordinary' tyres. The first time I fitted them to a car there was snow on the ground, the car's handling was poor in snow (on summer tyres) and the difference was marked.

 

One other advantage of using winter tyres on cheap pressed-steel rims is that your expensive alloy rims don't get corroded by salt!

 

In previous years I never needed to bother with ice and snow. I could just leave the car on the drive if the weather forecast was bad, and take a (long) walk instead. Now, following an enforced change of where I work it has become important, as I now have a long commute. I went for 4 season tyres for specific reasons (see post #6), and have backed them up with a set of socks. From the test reports that I've read, the 4 season tyres (which are marked M&S and "snowflake") are not as good as dedicated winter tyres, but not far behind them, and much better than summer tyres in winter conditions. I've not used them "in anger", yet, so cannot comment on how they are to drive in snow. Conversely, they are a little bit worse than summer tyres in summer conditions, according to the tests, but I have not noticed any difference in reality. I do drive quite conservatively, so am not pushing tyres to anywhere near their limit.

 

However for my next car I will go for a separate set of wheels, and swap them over myself. One advantage I would expect from this that hasn't been mentioned is that there is a good opportunity to physically check each set of tyres and remove any sharps that could later cause a puncture, before putting them away.

[Eater Sundae]

Only chance is a 4x4. But lock it up, it will get nicked = FACT!

 

A 2WD drive car with a set of winter tyres will be cheaper to buy and run than an otherwise equivalent 4WD car fitted with summer tyres (which most are), and, according to internet sites, much better in snow and ice. There may be a very good reason to buy a 4WD car, but it probably isn't winter weather.

[Rampent]

A 2WD drive car with a set of winter tyres will be cheaper to buy and run than an otherwise equivalent 4WD car fitted with summer tyres (which most are), and, according to internet sites, much better in snow and ice. There may be a very good reason to buy a 4WD car, but it probably isn't winter weather.

 

I agree, my Lada runs on 'summer slicks' ie bald tyres. In the winter the wire mesh of the tyres is showing, so adds to traction.

[medusa]

Don't you have to buy 4 new tyres once you remove snow chains?

 

Not if you only use the chains as they are meant to be used- just for packed snow and ice to get you out of the really bad bits, and then you stop to take them off as soon as you're clear of that.