(Car tyre) Snow Socks - do they work??

standard issue to the ambulances out here is some areas. (Sweden)  never used them (use proper winter tyres).

nads:

standard issue to the ambulances out here is some areas. (Sweden)  never used them (use proper winter tyres).

No idea about snow socks but winter tyres definetly work.

I have yet to hear of anyone who has bought them and regretted it.

Only problem in the uk is finding somewhere that stocks them.  Especially once we have had 2mm of snow on our drives.

Oh that and making sure you have the room to store the 4 tyres you arent using at any one time

Sure, winter tyres are great. But with the mixed road surfaces - some snow/some ice/mostly 'clear' asphalt - I'd rip through 'em pretty quickly. [EDIT: Sorry, I was talking ****, winter tyres' wear-rate is comparable to conventional tyres.]

And there's the cost: c. £650 for a spare set of wheels and c. £220 for each tyre.

6th.replicant:

Sure, winter tyres are great. But with the mixed road surfaces - some snow/some ice/mostly 'clear' asphalt - I'd rip through 'em pretty quickly.

And there's the cost: c. £650 for a spare set of wheels and c. £220 for each tyre.

Law in Sweden you have to use Winter tyres. (separate wheels is optional) at least we can still go shopping/get home/go to work when there is 2mm of snow on the roads.

6th.replicant:

And there's the cost: c. £650 for a spare set of wheels and c. £220 for each tyre.

I got my winter tyres shipped from Germany to a local friendly garage by mytyres.com. They fitted the current alloys so no need for a new set.

Bear in mind that winter tyres are designed to be used in all low temperature conditions, not just snow and ice. My other set of high performance Michelins are actually "not recommended"  for use below +7 Celsius by Michelin themselves. They are very good most of the year but have been very skittish for the past month and it could easily be below +7 degrees for the next 3 months.

Back to the point. A guy in my office has a set of snow socks on his Beemer and is happy with them and not missed a day at work yet. Don't know how long they will last though. 

snow socks have a low top speed, or at least used to not ideal for motor ways ect

i had a pair of snow tyres fitted on to the front of my car on wednesday and driving around today felt completly safe - no loss of traction when taking it easy - the key though is to change your style of driving and leave a big gap!

matengawhat:

- the key though is to change your style of driving and leave a big gap!

You should tell that to the guy who was driving so close to me this morning that I couldn't see his lights! Some people just shouldn't be on the road in any weather.

225/40/R18 - Pirelli, Continental and Goodyear cost £221, £224 and £233, respectively.

what do you drive 6th?

6th.replicant:

225/40/R18 - Pirelli, Continental and Goodyear cost £221, £224 and £233, respectively.

Mine were about £85 each inc. fitting. But they are only 195/65/R15s, plus i bought six sets of them back in september when there wasn't a demand.

maxflinn:

what do you drive 6th?

yeah but you don't have to buy the most expensive for snow tyres - http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl

will cost you between £10 and £15 to have them fitted - just buy 2 for your fronts!

6th.replicant:

maxflinn:

what do you drive 6th?

When there isn't 5in-thick ice on the 300-yard, uphill track from my house to the main road - a Mk1 Seat Leon Cupra R.

probably not the easiest car to use in these conditions, nippy, nice bus, the thinking mans audi s3