Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 49 total)
  • Snow Socks for car?
  • JEngledow
    Free Member

    Work have given me a 3-series so I’m looking at snow socks (as a get-me-home in case I’m caught out), are they worth it and if so can anyone recommend any? Thanks.

    richmtb
    Full Member

    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

    sparky1uk
    Free Member

    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.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

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

    Drac
    Full Member

    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.

    sparky1uk
    Free Member

    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.

    Woody
    Free Member

    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 😉

    dave_rudabar
    Free Member

    ^^ 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! 😀

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    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.

    globalti
    Free Member

    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.

    JEngledow
    Free Member

    For a beamer just remember you will need 4

    or

    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!

    rogerturner
    Full Member

    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.

    grizedaleforest
    Full Member

    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!

    mtbmatt
    Free Member

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

    MadBillMcMad
    Full Member

    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.

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    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.

    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.

    cultsdave
    Free Member

    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.

    allthegear
    Free Member

    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

    Northwind
    Full Member

    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.

    Woody
    Free Member

    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!

    P7Pro
    Full Member

    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.

    glenh
    Free Member

    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.

    iolo
    Free Member

    Works car bmw, winter conditions forecast? Stay home.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    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.

    AlasdairMc
    Full Member

    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.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    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” :mrgreen:

    richmtb
    Full Member

    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 temporarily is bad

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    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.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    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)

    dirtycrewdom
    Free Member

    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.

    Woody
    Free Member

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

    Really ?

    Smudger666
    Full Member

    Like this?

    😆

    nealglover
    Free Member

    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.

    lank45
    Free Member

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

    Or these at £50:

    nealglover
    Free Member

    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.

    rickt
    Free Member

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

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Rickt, go on then, which is it?

    troll,

    or just don’t know anything about tyres ?

    Kip
    Full Member

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

    parkesie
    Free Member

    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.

    rickt
    Free Member

    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 🙂

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 49 total)

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