Are snow chains a thing still?

[JOEPRO]

Modern merc saloon - zero.grip in ice or snow. The tyres were fitted by PO - nice ditchfinders they are. But still like new thread so the mig forum in me doesnt want to change them yet.

Are snow socks or chains worth getting? https://www.amazon.co.uk/VIP-RD9-Ch...B07DWN7264&psc=1#averageCustomerReviewsAnchor

Or what all season tyres in UK would be worth a look? (I don't want to be faffing with swapping wheels for winter so they should be all season tyres)

 

[dave h 2]

It's more do they make/stock them in your size. Check out what they use in Germany for your car, they have to fit winter tires by law.

 

[bricol]

It's more do they make/stock them in your size. Check out what they use in Germany for your car, they have to fit winter tires by law.

Not sure that's true - wasn't when I worked over there. But if you had an accident that could be attributed to you not having the right equipment for the conditions, then the blame was more than likely coming your way.

 

[8ob]

They do what the say on the box, I wouldn’t bother fitting them unless you were snowed in for days/weeks. They are a faff to fit and as soon as you find tarmac they need to come off or drive at a snails pace.

Bob

 

[bricol]

Modern cars have such tight clearances between wheels and suspension bits, you are going to need to check carefully which are recommended.

I used to fit winter tyres to my cars around October, November, swap back around March time. 30 mins, an hour of effort? Most of the time rather pointless, but then for the few times it was bad weather, they worked well.

Not bothered recently as I can work from home, but I carry snow-socks just to get me going. Sit in the spare wheel well all year round. If I was unable to work from home, I'd still be using winter tyres.

 

[m_c]

Snow socks work well, and involve less effort to get on/off, plus they fit on vehicles with minimal wheel arch clearance although less clearance does make them harder to manoeuvre over the wheel

 

[bricol]

As for ditchfinders . . . when I bought my Dodge, it had a set of new rear tyres, and I persuaded the dealer in Houston to fit new fronts. Drove fine in the heat of Texas.

Put it on the road here several months of parked up in Houston, on the boat, then here while I prepped and put it through IVA, in December, and put it completely sideways, up hill, accelerating normally in a 60 limit on a damp road on the first run out. Oops.

In the dry, or indeed snow (in a high power,high torque RWD car) they were pretty good. In the slightly damp, damp, wet, looked like it might be damp tomorrow . . they were terrible. Your granny in a 950 Fiesta wearing her reading glasses would have more confidence and speed around a roundabout than I had. Simply no idea which end was going to slide first. Tick-over tail slides out of petrol stations. ABS triggering at the slightest thing.

Stuck it for a few years as they still had loads of tread.

Gave up last year, fitted Michelin PS4s. Absolutely transformed the car. Suddenly it steered, stopped, and went fantastically well.

Chuck the ditchfinders.

 

[bricol]

Always amused by people fitting winter tyres only on the drive wheels . . . depending on which end of the car, you now either have no steering or stopping, or a very unstable rear when turning or braking.

Would you fit new deep treaded tyres to one end and leave bald ones on the other the rest of the year?

 

[rtcosic]

Always amused by people fitting winter tyres only on the drive wheels . . . depending on which end of the car, you now either have no steering or stopping, or a very unstable rear when turning or braking.

Would you fit new deep treaded tyres to one end and leave bald ones on the other the rest of the year?

i haven't seen that since the 1950/60's with those chunky 'Town & Country' tyres. I have seen a photograph of a 1 Series BMW in Germany with chains on the front wheels, though!

To answer the OP's question:

Unless you live in the Cairngorms or plan on skiing holidays in the Alps you are unlikely to really need snow chains on a road-going vehicle in the British Isles - Gulf Stream and all that.

( Although Lidl keeps trying out the UK market in their magical Middle Aisle of mystery)

EtA: Or you live on a remote farm in the Highlands, Cheviots, Dales etc. In which case you can teach us about driving in deep snow!

 

[Migmac]

When I lived in Dumfriesshire. I had 2 spare wheels that had chains on them, I just swapped the wheels over. Easier than just putting chains on. Only for forest use

 

[frank horton]

as u know I live in Crete....at roughly the first of Nov it is an offence with something like a 500euro fine for not having snow chains in ur car.....
I have only seen 2 frosts on my car in the 6 years I've been here.......it's just nuts....

 

[Pigeon_Droppings2]

Rwd in snow/ice isn't really a good combination...I remember watching 2 blokes sitting in the boot of a BMW trying to get it up the hill near my house....bouncing up and down!

My 2wd Volvo easily made it up the hill with zero drama...at the end of the day the laws of physics will always win.

The Volvo had all weather tyres...they're a good compromise for UK I think.

 

[zx9]

Rwd in snow/ice isn't really a good combination...I remember watching 2 blokes sitting in the boot of a BMW trying to get it up the hill near my house....bouncing up and down!

My 2wd Volvo easily made it up the hill with zero drama...at the end of the day the laws of physics will always win.

The Volvo had all weather tyres...they're a good compromise for UK I think.

I got through 'the beast from the east' driving a RWD Vito with no problems, I remember driving a snow bound M2 in the near side lane doing a sensible 40MPH undertaking a Volvo XC90 which was lane hugging the outside lane at about 20MPH.

I did grow up in the early 1980's driving RWD Escorts and Marinas which could be a bit tail happy in the winter, when you wanted them to be, I guess it stays with you.

 

[Blobber]

If anyone wants any chains I've some new boxed ones in various sizes

 

[Bornfree]

As we get around two day's of bad conditions a year in the uk winter tyres are a waste of time and money.

 

[AKN]

I have Michelin cross climate on my Merc AMG CLK excellent all year round tyres superb in the wet and, having the worst possible for the slippy stuff high power rear wheel drive, have with a gentle right foot shown up a couple of 4WDs with normal road tyres climbing a hill in the snow!

 

[Turbo]

I had Verdestein Quatrac on my 406 and they were brilliant. An all season tyre that is good on dry roads and brilliant in snow.

I went to a rally in Co Down and it snowed heavily all day. On the way home the roads were really bad, even 4x4's were struggling. But the 406 was brilliant and I had great grip.

Surely amongst all your Mercedes gear you have a set of spare rims to fit a set of winter or all season tyres to?

There is a decent supply of used winter tyres out there but to be honest you need good tread for them to work properly. So used ones might not work too well unless they are like new.

We all like to save money but spending £600 on a set of tyres is cheaper than writing off your car.

 

[Ubique]

As we get around two day's of bad conditions a year in the uk winter tyres are a waste of time and money.

Winter tyres have a different compound, so give better grip in temperatures below 7deg. C., they're not all about driving on snow or ice, but are more pliable and therefore contact the surface better.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

They do what the say on the box, I wouldn’t bother fitting them unless you were snowed in for days/weeks. They are a faff to fit and as soon as you find tarmac they need to come off or drive at a snails pace.

Bob

I think where you live is the single biggest factor in if they're worth spending on... I don't think they make sense unless you live somewhere rural enough you have to cover a substantial distance to get to a major route.

I bought a set when I lived in N. Wales, used to get about 6-10 days use out of them a year, for the 2 miles down the hill from my village to A4244, or to get closer to the start of a walk in for ice-climbs so we could get more routes in one day.

Indispensable there but I did have to factor in an additional 15 mins each way to my journey time to put them on or take them off, if there had been parking by the turn-in I would have been as well leaving the car at the main road and walking home.

Subsequently used them a few times living in Sheff when I had to go into work early before the gritters/plows had been out after heavy snow, again only for a short distance till I hit a bus route that was permanently pre-gritted...

Nice to have but not justifiable living in a major urban centre if I didn't already own them.

If I had lived further away from "civilization" towards Blaenau or Dolgellau like some of my friends I would have got much more value out of the chains, not because of the number of snow days but because of the distance to cover on unmaintained roads to get to a gritted route.

 

[Bornfree]

Winter tyres have a different compound, so give better grip in temperatures below 7deg. C., they're not all about driving on snow or ice, but are more pliable and therefore contact the surface better.

I didn't know that. I will search through my stack of secondhand tyres to see if there's any winter one's.