[Closed] Snow Socks for car?

For a beamer just remember you will need 4

I bought snow socks last year but there was no snow

So all I can say is they still look nice and neat in the bag they are stored in! Alongside my folding shovel

I've used Autosocks bought from from Roofbox.co.uk for a few years now. Very good as you say for the emergency "get me home" situation.

do snow socks help you stop any better or just give traction?

We had them at work they were a pain to fit and would fling off without warning and vanish into the darkness.

They're for traction to get moving when stuck and then you remove them.

They're for using on snow and ice covered roads, when you'd struggle to get any traction at all. So they allow stopping, starting and driving! I've used them around town when the roads are really cold and covered in ice, and others are getting out and walking.

I've never had one fly off, but I have worn them out by not taking them off on treated roads. If you have traction then i wouldn't put them on. Max speed quoted is 30mph but in my experience you're happy to be able to drive at all when it gets bad enough for these. You have to be careful not to brake too hard too, just in case the guy behind can't stop quick enough.

They do work but as Drac says, they are very much a short term 'fix' .

Handy if you live down south and don't get proper snow 😉

^^ As I don't - they get me up out of the valley where I live & to the proper gritted roads, once you start using them on snow/slush they do wear out after a while.
I've used the3m a few years ago when it snowed at Christmas to go rescue Gran from her place & bring her over for the festivities! 😀

I bought snow socks last year but there was no snow

So all I can say is they still look nice and neat in the bag they are stored in! Alongside my folding shovel

i bought a quattro and it's barely snowed since.

Waste of money IMO. We tried to fit some to a stuck BMW in the Alps and we gave up in disgust.

Go and buy some steel wheels and proper winter tyres off the web and you can enjoy a smoother ride (softer compound) and greater safety from November right through to April. Mrs Gti's Ibiza came with no spare wheel so I keep one winter wheel in the boot well as a spare along with a jack/brace kit I got off Ebay so I only have three wheels taking up space in the garage.

Not to mention that winter tyres are quite amazingly good on snow and ice.

[img] [/img]

For a beamer just remember you will need 4

They're for traction to get moving when stuck and then you remove them.

Go and buy some proper winter tyres

It's a company car so not happening!

I've used Autosocks on my 5-series and they have worked really well, including getting down to the valley from ski resorts and just getting onto the main roads that have been gritted at home. They are not a substitute for winter tyres, but they are more versatile than chains in that you can use them on mixed snow and slush and are much easier to fit and remove than chains. The clearances round BMW wheel arches are very tight.

Used them on and off for years (the one's from Roofbox). You only need them on the drive wheels. They work best on properly snowy and icy roads. Any use direct on tarmac wears them out in no time. Not as good as a winter tyre and not as good as chains, but better than nothing!

Got an unuued set for sale, Fix and Go size G. Fits lots of wheel sizes.

As has been said they most definitely do work. I can vouch for that, but they have disadvantages:

1) they only work on snow/ice
2) you must ONLY use them on snow/ice otherwise they will wear out very quickly - they are only cloth after all.
3) You will get mighty cold hands putting them on/off.

A much better solution is a set of 4 winter tyres if you are allowed to put them on the car. Get them with steel wheels & they are remarkably cheap. Then just run them for the winter months.

[i]We had them at work they were a pain to fit and would fling off without warning and vanish into the darkness.

They're for traction to get moving when stuck and then you remove them. [/i]

Not the autosox I used. They were fantastic a couple of winters ago when the snow hit Glasgow and the roads were crazy. Took about a minute to fit, and had them on for the 20 mile drive home. For anyone that knows the m77 the hill going up from Darnley was chaos, cars scattered and sliding everywhere, I had no issues at all.

They didn't fall off, they were a very simple job to fit and they are very good.

In my opinion Winter tyres should be made mandatory up here in Scotland. Especially on rear wheel drive vehicles and vehicles with wide low profile tyres. Fed up with the roads getting blocked by morons in their Beemers getting stuck because their vehicle is unsuitable for the conditions.
3 times last winter I had to help push a rear wheel drive car up a small incline that others were getting up ok.

Driving to the condintions is fine up to a point but if you haven't got traction you aint going anywhere.

I've had and used Autosocks and they worked well on my old Skoda. Got me places I wouldn't have had a chance to reach without them.

They are easy to fit but, as you can imagine, are a bit icy on removal - I keep a big pair of washing up gloves* in with them - makes it much easier!

*can be found in supermarkets down south for keeping hands protected from nasty washing up water...

Rachel

Do practice putting them on though- it's not exactly hard but there is a bit of a knack and naturally you're often going to want to fit them in pretty unpleasant conditions.

Cultsdave

I used to live beside Cults Academy . Funnily enough, I never had a problem getting up the hill when it snowed but I think driving was easier then without muppets 'polishing' the roads!

If it's a company car and winter tyres aren't an option, there's an anti-slip tyre spray that will give temporary grip. It's called 'Winter anti slip'. I've not used it, but AutoExpress said it worked for a short period.

My wife has a work car where winter tyres 'aren't and option'. I still bought some on steel wheels with winter tyres and fit them to it in winter. I'd rather pay a bit of cash and have her able to get around and be safe.

Works car bmw, winter conditions forecast? Stay home.

Thanks OP I had been thinking about posting the exact same thread, as I will be getting a BMW 3 series soon.

From the response it would appear that they are a good thing for that 1 or 2 times a year I may need them. A set of winter tyres would be £1k +. Socks are about £60!

Not sure why you would need 4 socks though? They are a temporary measure to be used at very slow speed so the car would still steer.

From the response it would appear that they are a good thing for that 1 or 2 times a year I may need them. A set of winter tyres would be £1k +. Socks are about £60!

Bear in mind that winter tyres are good on winter roads, and not just for when it's snowing.

If you're buying the 3 series yourself, then you'll be paying for tyres yourself anyway.

I reckon I'll be able to get half the original price of my winter alloys back if/when I sell the car, and when I'm using my winter tyres I'm not using my summer ones. They probably work out cheaper to replace anyway as my winters are 18s and summers 19s.

So the net cost for me over three years is only £300, or less if I keep the car or get another with the same wheel size.

Waste of money IMO. We tried to fit some to a stuck BMW in the Alps and we gave up in disgust.

You either had the wrong size, or you didn't know what you were doing.

User error does not equal "waste on money"

Not sure why you would need 4 socks though? They are a temporary measure to be used at very slow speed so the car would still steer.

Because its nice to have steering AND traction.

Doing without one of them even [i]temporarily[/i] is bad

Rich - snow socks are not designed for driving quickly on snow though, they are for keeping a car moving forward, especially uphill. I have never failed to have enough grip to turn a corner in snow, that only happens if you go too quick, and snow socks are not designed for going quick.

Sounds fine til you find yourself driving down a slippy hill

(I used to work in an office at the end of a long gentle slope, eventually the company got fed up of cars driving into reception at the first sign of snow, and built a massive car-proof wall)

They are amazing. Yes winter tyres make the road come alive and all that, but if you're stuck then they are a godsend.

Quick to fit once you know how, loads more grip than with chains. You have to use them in the right conditions but snow and ice, you won't find more grip elsewhere.

I'm basing this experience of driving in the alps without winter tyres.

Quick to fit once you know how, loads more grip than with chains.

Really ?

Like this?

[img] [/img]

😆

Quick to fit once you know how, loads more grip than with chains.

Really ?

I used them for years in Austria in preference to chains.

The grip seems more constant and smooth (and the drive is certainly smoother)

But this was on hardpack snow covered roads with no Tarmac anywhere to be seen in the town, so no need to remove them and refit all the time.

Sorry to hijack ever so slightly, those that have used these things before, would you go for these at £40 (on offer at www.snowchains.co.uk if they are any good and anyone wants a set):
[img] [/img]

Or these at £50:
[img] [/img]

Those chains are the very thin gauge ones, and prone to snapping at the joints (outside edge of the tyre where the orange and silver chains meet)

Used to see loads of them left broken by the side of the road as the snow melted at the end of the season.

They can cause a bit of damage too if they do snap, paintwork round the arches or wrapping themselves round the suspension components.

No one needs winter tyres in the uk............................................ It only snows one or 2 days a year. .................

Rickt, go on then, which is it?

troll,

or just don't know anything about tyres ?

Very disappointed as I read the title as "Snow socks for cat" and was expecting humorous cat pictures!

I have some snow socks for the 1 day a year i cant get home from work. Id never consider driving to work if it had snowed enough to need them.

nealglover - Member

Rickt, go on then, which is it?

troll,

or just don't know anything about tyres ?

I know more than enough about winter rubber 🙂

I know more than enough about winter rubber

[img] [/img]

lol... prawny - There's no need for you to post your "selfie" photos on here... we all dont need to see you in your "online dating" outfit..

JEngledow - If your going down the snow sock option, its worth noting that some of the socks you will struggle to get on if your running a decent sized wheel in msport spec -- its not uncommon to have to jack the car up a few inch... (this is more so with chains)

Pfft, I wish that was a selfie 🙁

🙂 ^^

[i]Quick to fit once you know how, loads more grip than with chains. [/i]

Really ?

I honestly think this. Chains rip up the road and cause loads of turbulance, snow socks use all the width of the tyre to give the grip. I have seen cars with snowsocks easily getting up hills that cars with chains failed to.

Snow socks are ideal for getting out of a stuck position, but dont forget you can only do upto 30MPH with then and they will soon burn out on tarmac so for most people they will only be used for 100-200 meters until they get to clear tarmac.

All depends on the situation I suppose. I wouldn't want to be doing much more that 30 on tarmac roads with chains on.

In the Alps the roads are completely covered in snow so there is no tarmac visable.

When we had the big snowfalls in Bristol over the last couple of years, all the side roads were completely snow/ice covered and it tool a couple of days before the main roads became snow free. The side roads remained iced over for ages.

Quick to fit once you know how, loads more grip than with chains.

I have both chains and socks provided by the company, in the deep snow earlier this year the snow socks were good but when I got stuck on the back roads over the Pennines the socks had to come off and the chains went on.

Admittedly it was so deep that the snow drift I drove into stopped my door from opening, so I had to climb out of the window and spent half and hour digging enough clearance to get the chains on. But once they were on it turned the front on my Sharan into a snowplough and it pulled itself out .

I bought a set of snow-socks for my Merc two winters ago and found they worked well. Well enough that I was able to drive round all the stuck front-wheel drive Audi's that seemed to be abandoned around here.

My car doesn't have enough clearance for chains and while snow tyres would be better it's a lot of cash for very, very occasional need. I didn't need the snow-socks at all last winter.