Are they still legal if they are are they any good.Tonight on my way home was exciting lots of bmw,s stuck on small uphill gradients sliding all over the place getting nowhere most of the front wheel drive cars not doing too bad .But i never saw any cars with snow chains on the tyres I used to see them years ago but not anymore .During this patch of global warming when we are covered in snow and ice is it worth getting some chains for the car
what do you all think
Tony
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Not worth it, I can do without my car for a few days every few years. Anyway the roads will be blocked by people without chains.
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TBH in 35 years of driving in the UK I've never seen anyone use them at all!
My Dad used to drive from Preston to Carlisle over Shap every other Sunday night back in the 60s pre the M6, come rain or shine (and plenty of snow and ice) and never had or used them...
Now if I lived in the Alps...
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haha yep you right lots of road clogging with cars without chains. I wonder if thats why they went out of fashion and did they ever work ?
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What i can't understand is how do you get them on?Surely to get them round the wheel you have to jack the car up?If so then you can't jack the car when theres 4 inches of snow on the ground.
Somebody please enlighten me!
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What i can't understand is how do you get them on? Somebody please enlighten me!
Here you go!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbwkhHrBc9A
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and did they ever work ?
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Yes they do, and very well, I take it you haven't visited alpine areas in winter?
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well i lived in wales for most of my life thats cold and hilly with snow sometimes in june but never been alpining in my car but i bet its fun with chains on
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Just a thought what would happen if you had the snow chains on,Then by some miracle you started driving on a nice clear gritted road would the chains damage your tyres or car in anyway say driving at about 20-30mph
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we never get sufficient snow to use snow chains safely in the uk.
(ok there is the odd winter in the odd moor or mountain area that might get sufficient)
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I bought a set back from the USA one (I'd paid for them so I was keeping them). One night I had to travel from Durseley, Gloucestershire to Swindon and the hill I was one was snowed in. I checked the hire car I had and the snow chains fitted perfectly. So I put then on and drove down the hill no problem. Went through Dursley and up the hill the other side without a hitch. Within a couple of miles I was driving on dry roads, the snow was so localised. So then I had to take them off again.
Needless to say they never got used again.
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Within a couple of miles I was driving on dry roads the snow was so localised. So then I had to take them off again.
I've never used them, and I don't think I've ever even seen them in use (I've led a sheltered life) but I've often wondered.......especially on a road with light snow/ice do they cause any damage to the road surface? Surely they must rip it up something rotten?
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Saw them a few times when we had proper winters in Buxton.
Seen a few pairs hanging loosely on wheels and battering the bodywork. Think proper winter tyres are generally used in alpine ski resorts.
BIL recommends Snowsocks for temporary usage.
Edited by Glaikit Wee Scunner {P} on 22/12/2009 at 12:46
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They muck up the roads. They don't do your tyres much good.
But then sliding off the road into a valley doesn't do the car much good...
They are, however, amazing.
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When I lived in N Scotland 45 years ago, chains were used by delivery vans that went to all the neighbouring farms with bread and fish etc.. (that shows how long ago it was)..
But I've not seen them for at least 20 years and we live on the edge of the Peak District and 250 metres above sea level..
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hey - finally a subject where I have something to say (usally I read the thread and find what i want to say has already been said - and better than I would have done
Chains on a FWD are brilliant - will get you out of almost anywhere. OK up to about 20MPH -as fast as you want to go on ice/snow. They are very noisy once you hit tarmac, so you stop and take them off. If you don't they wear out quick, then risk breaking and damaging the car.
That said I now have winter tyres (In Switzerland) and the snow chains havent come out of the box despite lots of snow last winter.
Dan
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I've used a piece of rope tied through a handy hole on a wheel with a damn great knot on top of the tyre.
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If I'd commented on this thread last night I'd have said the same: I haven't seen a set for 30 years or so. But today I saw one of my firm's partners with them fitted to his BMW 5-series. He wouldn't have got far in it without them last night - in Reading.
In his youth he was a Queen's Scout - clearly still well-prepared.
Edited by Avant on 22/12/2009 at 16:37
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>>I don't see anyone using snowchains any more
I was thinking about this the other day whilst watching the news about the ice laden streets of Brighton. I hadn't heard anyone mention snowchains once since the snow/ice hit Sussex except a brief bit about some guy who'd broken his ankle slipping over on a Brighton street and was eventually rescued by a fire engine with chains on.
Skiing in France a couple of years ago everyone had chains on. Recently on holiday in Iceland our hire car (a Ford Fiesta) had studded tyres on all 4 wheels. Absolutely amazing things! Driving along completely iced over roads with no problem whatsoever (although I was driving a bit more cautiously than the locals!). If global warming brings about another ice age I will be purchasing a set! :D
Edited by Jane on 22/12/2009 at 16:50
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I used to use them when visiting friends near Lake Tahoe...they would lend me a 15 year old Ford Escort estate (which they kept for visitors) and in snow conditions there was 'chain control' in place at two places between Placerville and Sierra ski resort on Highway 50.
At 'chain control' you had to stop and show that 4wd was engaged before being allowed to proceeed. If, like me, you did not have 4WD you had the option of fitting them yourself, or paying one of the 'chain gang' to do it for you. I believe tenders were submitted for this annual contract. Once over the high points...Pollock Pines and Echo Pass, you stopped to either take them off thissen or have it done for you. It was a rotten job in blizzards!
Nowadays my friends lend me their Toyota truck, should I not have hired one myself. With practice it became a simple operation and was incredibly effective.
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I've got a rusty set hanging in a rotting hessian bag, which came with the house. They probably fit a long-obsolete tyre size. I keep them in the special garage collection of hand tyre pump with a leaking washer, unopened tin of Girling Crimson brake fluid, pre-war Castrol water pump grease, a Pratt's petrol can, and a genuine Bluecol enamel pourer, leaking.
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I used to have a set for my old Pug106 Diesel, but I was often stuck out in the middle of no where for work (this was about 16 years ago) and wanted to make sure I had no problems!!! Used them a few time over all.
Today I have just ordered a set of Autosocks, much cheaper then chains and will fit both mine and SWMBO cars. Getting out of our close when icy is somewhat of a challenge!!!
We may never use them, but the last thing I want is to end up stuck for the sake of £50!!!!
I also think that we are now so used to blaming the Councils that no one really takes responsibility for them selves any more. If I don't think I can get back, I don't go out!!!!
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Today I have just ordered a set of Autosocks much cheaper then chains and will fit both mine and SWMBO cars. Getting out of our close when icy is somewhat of a challenge!!! We may never use them but the last thing I want is to end up stuck for the sake of £50!!!!
What are Autosocks? I remember long ago chains that went the whole way round the tyre, and later three sets of straps each to fix a short transverse chain across the tyre at 120 degree positions round the wheel: were the latter Autosocks or their predecessors? Dr W
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www.autosock.co.uk/
Ps : cheaper on ebay...
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There used to be clips made of strong spring steel, with a double cleat that crossed the face of the tyre and that clipped onto the tyre. You had to put the thing on the ground and drive over it, then a couple more, evenly spaced round each driving wheel. Obviously you couldn't drive too fast, and I don't know how good they were. Perhaps not very, since I haven't seen them for a very long time.
Chains are probably useful even on ice, but they are nasty noisy things that chew up wheels, tyres and roads.
I'm surprised there hasn't been more mention of studded tyres in all these ice and snow threads. They are of course very expensive and not very hard-wearing; and they too chew up roads if used when there's no ice or snow. But for those who don't want to be stopped by any weather conditions, and have the necessary money and storage space, a spare set of five wheels with studded tyres seems the best solution.
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Well, I can't complain about the service from roofbox.co.uk, ordered autosock from them yesterday afternoon, their website said delivery next week but they turned up at 8:30 this morning. Will use that company again (also got a couple of free gifts with it, hi viz vest and ice scraper!!!).
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Our postman was using snow chains last week on his shoes.Does that count?
SNIPQUOTE - two pet hates of mine. 1. People who quote everything, despite being asked not to. 2. People who quote the text after writing their post.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 24/12/2009 at 19:10
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The last time I saw someone use snow chains was on TV.
Former Touring car driver Frank Sytner (now a BMW UK franchisee) driving a Ford Granada Scorpio..... 20 years ago.
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The only time I have seen snowchains used was in the Italian Alps. I was on a coach, climbing Stelvio pass to our ski resort. Driver took ages putting them on, but I'm glad he did, as on some of the hairpin bends he has to reverse the coach to get round, hanging the rear of the coach over the enormous drop. Thankfully it was dark, so I couldnt see quite how enormous!
The noise that one of the chains made when it broke on the Autostrada later in the week was horrific.
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We got a second-hand pair when our car was seriously stuck in Courchevel a couple of years back and they have hung in the shed ever since, but rescued my father yesterday when he couldn't get his car up our icy track.
Bit of a faff to get on (one of those things I always meant to practice when it was warm and dry) but you could drive up the Matterhorn in them.
In the Alps they have lay-bys where you have to stop to put them on/ take them off to reduce accidents and tarmac damage.
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My father, a GP in Yorkshire, used them during the odd severe winter e.g.1963. So did lots of other drivers who had to get around.
Why don't country dwellers carry them in the boot? I remember leaning out of a hotel window in Kitzbuhel watching a Merc stall halfway up a snowy hill. Got snowchains from boot and laid them behind rear wheels, eased back 2ft onto them, did them up, off again up hill in less than 10mins.
Why aren't lorries forced to carry them so they don't block our main roads? It's pretty foolish to send an artic with one driving axle and virtually slick tyres out onto snowy roads.
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