Had to don my snow chains today & wondered on the way home how much tarmac use they can stick as the roads were then 70% clear, these new chains are fairly light the links made from 4mm square so not like the old 'chain harrows' that grandad slipped into!
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stuvy
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I usually run winter tyres (has been discussed on here before) and keep the snow chains in the boot but iv never had to use them in anger as the snow has never been that bad. I have tested them on an old single track lane with a big hill, my Ka got up it fine without chains but i fitted them to test them out.
They will rip up tarmac, get hot and could damage the tyre. Saying that they are massively better thatn snow socks that would rip on tarmac as they grip then rip
They will rip up tarmac, get hot and could damage the tyre. Saying that they are massively better thatn snow socks that would rip on tarmac as they grip then rip
im sorry to say but with snow chains u r ment to stop and take them off when the tarmac is back then put them back on if needed in the snow they do alot of damage to tarmac and think police r starting to crack down on them if u still have them on when on tarmac if u drive properly u wont need chains unless its 1foot deep i love the snow if the rear starts to slip just pull the 4x4 lever and of u go in a stright line
normspanners
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I drove to andora for a sking holiday when we got there the childrens nursery was at the top of a long, ski on, ski off, lift, this carrying a 18 mth child plus all the paraphanalia one needs to take with you, toys food milk clothes nappies etc can you imagine trying as novice to do this, it was mad we had to make 4 trips just to get everything there so I don'd the chains on my old t rusty rover SDi there was this mountain pass that went round and round that had aleast a foot of loose snow on it we drove up every day but to save taking off the chains I drove to and from the hotel that was about 8k I just took it steady on the tarmac no hard excel or braking and just let the tyres roll over the chains they showed hardly any wear I did this for a fortnight plus driving to the supermarkets etc so did quite amilage on them with no bad things to report cant say they did rip up the tarmac because there was a few people on them. But the best way is to reduce your tyre pressures so that the tyre forms around the chain easier having said that if you are stuck and don't have chains if you drop your pressures down to about 10 psi that will help pull you out But a trick I used once was some large cable ties just wrapped round the tyre and wheel with the buckle on top of the tyre that got me around for quite a while, it was expensive but better than abandening the car
SiPMerlin150
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I've heard of letting around 1/2 the air out of your tires, makes the tyre more flatter profile on the ground = more grip surface area..never tried it though.
just buy some winter tyres and keep ur summer tyres for summer u will be surprise how much more grip u can get with winter tyres over summer tyres
Chains are legal to use but only in the right conditions which the vast majority of the UK rarely sees. I think it may be studded tyres that are illegal for road use here although that could well be a myth too. As said they can damage roads if the snow isn't deep enough and they don't work properly then anyway. They're designed to get you out of trouble, winter tyres are FAR more useful (unless dealing with sheet ice...) having a different compound of rubber, lots of channels for squeezing slush out and shed loads of sipes which trap snow and, as anyone who's made a snowball knows, snow sticks to snow quite well
Living down sarf i've never bothered with winters in the UK* but have managed just fine driving around ski resorts in the alps and the rockies and never needed to get chains out of the boot. The locals just use winters and carry on as normal but then they're used to the conditions and know how to cope with them...
* being able to carry on as normal is all well and good but if no one else has bothered/ is a bit 'speshial' then you still can't get anywhere due to stuck cars blocking roads and half the places you want to go to are closed anyway because staff 'can't get in' ...
Living down sarf i've never bothered with winters in the UK* but have managed just fine driving around ski resorts in the alps and the rockies and never needed to get chains out of the boot. The locals just use winters and carry on as normal but then they're used to the conditions and know how to cope with them...
* being able to carry on as normal is all well and good but if no one else has bothered/ is a bit 'speshial' then you still can't get anywhere due to stuck cars blocking roads and half the places you want to go to are closed anyway because staff 'can't get in' ...
brightspark
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why bother. with global warming and hardly a bad winter in the last 20 years a couple of days here and there makes no odds
Like the idea about cable ties norm.Yes the letting air out is very effective,when i did m/bike trials it was down to 5-10 in the rear.have never had winter tyres on my own car,but i put a pair on my partners when she did 2 winters over the brecon beacons,& was amazed @ the difference.One evening she was stuck ,the snow was over bumper height ,whilst she was fitting her snow chains them a policeman came to check on her,he'd never seen them & couldn't help ,@ the time she was 6 months pregnant & left her to it ,he was the 3rd man to stop,none of them were any use!she managed on her own eventually.Some men are a bunch of girls really
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brightspark
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wasnt fitted with a snowplough was it :
its a bit dificult pushing snow at that height as it backs up and compacts specialy on the front skirt below the bumper
500e
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Hankook W409 Winter i-Pike
Optimized for winter performance, the iPike offers outstanding driving stability even on extreme road surfaces with its Optional Stud Pin Arrangement.
The regular three-row stud area is increased to six rows, enhancing traction and minimizing stud noise.
By enhancing the kerf edge effect on snowy or icy roads maximum winter performance is ensured.
Performance is also improves with the square profile and side wall stiffness control.
Optimized for winter performance, the iPike offers outstanding driving stability even on extreme road surfaces with its Optional Stud Pin Arrangement.
The regular three-row stud area is increased to six rows, enhancing traction and minimizing stud noise.
By enhancing the kerf edge effect on snowy or icy roads maximum winter performance is ensured.
Performance is also improves with the square profile and side wall stiffness control.
normspanners
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Studs are not truely illegal in britain because I dont think there has been a test case but are fantastic if you get the long series carbide ones wwwwwwwwWOW ! you feel like you can go anywhere and the grip on ice is fantastic
this is advise given by uk to swedish competitors who have to have studs fitted by a certain month in sweden, I think,when they visit uk for events http://ukinsweden.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/studded-tyres which doesnt actually say you cannot, coz studs and chains will be viewed to do the same damage I would have thought, but I think a copper would think in bad conditions if you are getting there, its better than sitting there!
My local milk man came to me asking about my 4x4 transit and asked if I could make him some wheels for the rear of his tranny float, so he could fit 16" v patern tractor tyres!,AND he was talking of water ballasting them! I had to cut the rims off and move the centres over, I said i dont know about the legalities of all this and he said when its snowing deep and they havnt ploughed at 4am, on the lanes and estates I have never seen a copper when I've been stuck for an hour ! and had to walk and get the tractor, which has never got stuck. It takes me 5mins in the garage to wip on two wheels load the weight of milk right at the back and get round, he never got stuck again.
this is advise given by uk to swedish competitors who have to have studs fitted by a certain month in sweden, I think,when they visit uk for events http://ukinsweden.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/studded-tyres which doesnt actually say you cannot, coz studs and chains will be viewed to do the same damage I would have thought, but I think a copper would think in bad conditions if you are getting there, its better than sitting there!
My local milk man came to me asking about my 4x4 transit and asked if I could make him some wheels for the rear of his tranny float, so he could fit 16" v patern tractor tyres!,AND he was talking of water ballasting them! I had to cut the rims off and move the centres over, I said i dont know about the legalities of all this and he said when its snowing deep and they havnt ploughed at 4am, on the lanes and estates I have never seen a copper when I've been stuck for an hour ! and had to walk and get the tractor, which has never got stuck. It takes me 5mins in the garage to wip on two wheels load the weight of milk right at the back and get round, he never got stuck again.
stuvy
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I asked my mate whos is a copper, he said spikesd/studs are illegal and there doing a crack down on drivers not clearing the cars properly.
Letting the tyres down is a last resort, you should be able to drive in the snow in this country with out having to do that
Although some plank managed to put his L200 off the road onto gass yesterday he practically dug a hole witht the two rears, it wasnt til i looked in the cab he was in in 2H lol I got it out for him and explained the gearbox settings he still thundered off
Letting the tyres down is a last resort, you should be able to drive in the snow in this country with out having to do that
Although some plank managed to put his L200 off the road onto gass yesterday he practically dug a hole witht the two rears, it wasnt til i looked in the cab he was in in 2H lol I got it out for him and explained the gearbox settings he still thundered off
normspanners
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Well I've searched and searched and apart from joe public saying that it is illegal Britain does not seem to have a policy on this and it seems that chains and studs are classed the same, Michelin uk list most countries laws and the only countries that it is illegal is germany poland and czech rep. But make no mention of Britain, neither do any of the other main manufacturers
Germany police have been known to make people pull out every stud at the border. But there doesn't seem to have been a test case in Britain. as said previously people traveling here from sweden are only advised re road damage, but that damage has to be proved. After all a road rollers 'tyres' are steel and leave marks but can be driven on the road I doubt you would see any marks from studs driven steady so how could they prove damage by you alone if your tyres had not made a mark on the road ?
Germany police have been known to make people pull out every stud at the border. But there doesn't seem to have been a test case in Britain. as said previously people traveling here from sweden are only advised re road damage, but that damage has to be proved. After all a road rollers 'tyres' are steel and leave marks but can be driven on the road I doubt you would see any marks from studs driven steady so how could they prove damage by you alone if your tyres had not made a mark on the road ?
brightspark
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just dont forget to take them off when the road is clear 
http://www.etyres.co.uk/uk-tyre-law
http://www.etyres.co.uk/uk-tyre-lawnormspanners
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What the institute of advanced drivers say on the subject
dai
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brightspark
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can they fly
no bloody good when your stuck behind someone that hasnt them 
I've been tugged multiple times by plod for not wearing a seatbelt in a pre '65 car. Most realised their mistake once shown the absence of seatbelts in the car but more than few have dug their heels in
If it's not something they deal with everyday they're often clueless which is fine unless they're the spottly little bully type/are having a bad day etc 