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[horsecow]

Getting a bit ahead of myself here but I'm off sick and passing the time thinking!!
Its been a while since I've had rwd car over the winter and was just wondering what your thought were on snow tyres vs snow chains. Which would I be better to get??

Can get a set of snow chains off fleabay for around £30 but will they be any good to me? We bought a set for a work van bought 2 yrs ago, tried them on when we got them  and they were really easy on/off but never got a chance to test them in the snow. Are they any good because I think they will be a lot cheaper than snow tyres.

All opinions welcome

[Kevin Wood]

My feeling is that a set of chains in the boot will probably get you out of trouble, should the need arise, for not too much money. IMHO they are a wise investment.

Certainly where I live, it's normally only the the "first and last half mile" of a journey that are difficult, the main roads get gritted reasonably well, and if they were not well gritted, I wouldn't bother going out at all. So, chains are all I need.

My opinion is that the cost of winter tyres combined with the hassle of storing them for 9 months of the year for (in an average year) a couple of days of snow doesn't add up.

[bigboykarl]

my mate drives a mercedes black cab this year when we had the snow he was getting up hills what a x5 couldn't get up ..he swears by his snow chains

[Martian]

my mate drives a mercedes black cab this year when we had the snow he was getting up hills what a x5 couldn't get up ..he swears by his snow chains

I'll bet the X5 had never even seen a bit of dirt, and it was more than likely driven by some rich idiot who didn't really have a clue to start with.

[Kevin Wood]

my mate drives a mercedes black cab this year when we had the snow he was getting up hills what a x5 couldn't get up ..he swears by his snow chains

I'll bet the X5 had never even seen a bit of dirt, and it was more than likely driven by some rich idiot who didn't really have a clue to start with.

Yep, and the inevitable "drug dealer" alloys with huge wide tyres probably didn't help against the taxi's 165/70/14's or whatever.

[horsecow]

Cheers fellas, was thinkin the chains would be best option but as I said had no experience of what they were like to drive with. Think I'll give them a shot anyway, get them bought now in the summer when they are still cheap, eh?   

P.S they normally come in sets of 2, for the driving wheels obviously, but is there any advantage on sticking them on the front as well???

[Kevin Wood]

Well, they might give you improved braking and steering on the front but, TBH, you'll be using them to get out of a situation where you're stuck in snow, removing them as soon as you're on your way, and using them only at single digit speeds so I wouldn't go to the bother of fitting them to the fronts, TBH.

[horsecow]

Well fingers crossed we wont need them at all but I'm gonna invest in a set anyway, just to be safe.

[hercules]

ahem ahem  ive never had a prob with my tyres 

[amba]

After the heavy snow of 2 years ago and the need for me to keep mobile I decided to buy a set of Winter tyres for this year.

Reality was we had very little snow so on balance the cost for this past year was not a good investment although they will certainly do me for atleast 1 maybe 2 more winters so on that score they will pay for themselves over the mileage as not weraing down the summer tyres whilst they are being used.

The bit that did make the biggest difference was the extra grip and stability they gave in heavy rain /slush and just general winter driving .They were a massive difference over normal tyres and for that alone they have my vote.Come November the winter tyres will be going back on after there summer brake in covers in the shed.

[Cliffo B]

^^ Same here
I used Michelin Alpin's
In a word superb

[waspy]

Have you thought about snow socks. I have no experience of them, but I've seen them in use & I was impressed

[horsecow]

I've seen the snow socks for sale but didn't look into them at all. How do they work I presume its similar to the chains?

I dont know if I could justify the added cost for winter tyres though. I know they may be a good improvement in slush/rain etc but are they any good in actual snow/ice. I dont want to pay out for them only to find that they get worn out driving on normal roads over the winter when we dont have any snow. It seems a lot easier to get the chains and leave them in the boot, at least I can stick them on if/when needed and the wont take any hurt if they arent needed.

[Entwood]

Have you thought about snow socks. I have no experience of them, but I've seen them in use & I was impressed

Saw them used by an a neighbour .... not impressed ... they were OK in soft snow .. but ripped to shreds very quickly on rutted ice /tarmac.....  mind you .. the idiot was using the throttle as a switch ..

[horsecow]

Have you thought about snow socks. I have no experience of them, but I've seen them in use & I was impressed

Saw them used by an a neighbour .... not impressed ... they were OK in soft snow .. but ripped to shreds very quickly on rutted ice /tarmac.....  mind you .. the idiot was using the throttle as a switch ..

 A mate of mine once got my transit stuck in stuck in the snow so he went to look for something to put in front of the wheels to give it some grip. Came back with 2 arms full of newsapers and couldn't understand why we were breaking our balls laughing at him