Are they actually any good? I’m guessing they’re not for driving long distance but wondering if they’re worth it for getting going in difficult situations.

Yep really good

Got me out of my village last year

[video]http://vimeo.com/18098259[/video]

My van is undriveable at the hint of any snow

I am puzzled at how they are supposed to work any better than the tyre they are on. Even less tread.

because they stick like s*** to a blanket. They are extremely grippy

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYjIDvSdzHQ[/video]

I have just bought a set for the wife’s car but not fitted in anger yet. I got the ‘original’ autosocks and as they were a less popular size I got them for £50 😀

hope to get out and play with them soon

I think it’s because snow sticks to the felt, and that snow sticks to the snow on the road. Which to my knowledge is what the sipes on a winter tyre do – pinch a bit of snow which in turn grips the snow on the road.

Yep bought a pair of autosocks last year just before the serious snow hit Glasgow. One of my cars is shit in the snow – Honda accord tourer 2.2 turbo diesel with 17inch low profile tyres and it got me up hills last year when most other cars were spinning all over the place.

They are very, very grippy. Obvioulsy they’re only good in thickish snow not todays slush. Wouldn’t hesitate to buy another set.

I’ve bought some for my 3 series and they seem very good and have done the trick so far! I got mine from a website called ‘Micks Garage’ for £47.00 and 6% Quidco Cashback!

Yep, love mine, I’ve had them two years and have never got stuck with them on my boring family hatchback. Much, much easier to use than snowchains, much cheaper than winter tyres, and good enough for anything I’ve encountered in two Pennine winters. I’ve have sailed past 4x4s and the like sliding all over the shop. They’re ace.

(People sometimes go on about how they see them lying around after falling off, but this has to be down to user error. The one and only time mine fell off was when I put them on wrong – read the instructions! If you get out and check they’re on square after driving the first few feet in them you’ll be fine.)

one thing I was wondering – I can see that they are great in consistent thick or polished snow – how about where it is a bit patchy with some tarmac showing ? I presume running them on this kills them quickly with wear ?

Not great on patchy snow but thats not what they’re made for. Since you know the area Ian I was heading home to Kilmarnock on the day of the big snow fall last December, there were cars all over the place on the m77 going up the hill from Darnley to Newton Mearns, I got up it without a slip or slide. In fact I came off the motorway at the gso and drove the a77 instead as I wanted to get away from the traffic. I’m sure you can imagine what the unploughed a77 was like.

They will cut up if you drive on a lot of tarmac at speed though, keep it slow on the tarmac patches and they’re fine though.

i ordered some this very morning.

GroupOn have them for £32 today

http://www.groupon.co.uk/deals/national-deal/rocksalt-mine/2161512

Gary – excellent, thanks for that. I drove same road at about 11am that day in my 3 series tourer – only just made it – there was a big stationary queue in the inside lane of the 77 from the bottom of the hill where the police car sits – but i saw it in time, wellied it up the outside at about 50 mph with snow flying everywhere – not my most sensible moment, 😳 but it did get me to EK in time for the kids getting chucked out of school for early closure.

The socks are for wife’s Kia Soul – unfortunately they won’t fit the BMW and I wasn’t wanting to buy a set for a Company Car that goes back in just over a yr

They work great, have had two sets so far but went for the Rud Soft spikes this time around to see if they give a bit more assurance on hard compacted ice. No problems driving distances on them did one journey of 30 miles on them last year (M73/M80/M9), including sections of tarmac at 60, they did smell a bit after that though 😀

Use them on a Vito by the way.

Unfortunately I was trying to get over the closed kingston bridge at 11am to pick my wife and son up, then got stuck on Scotland Street at shields road for 2 hours, not a great day.

gary – ouch ! yes, I got out of town just in time – left city centre at 1030 – I think if I had been half an hr later i’d have been stuck !

They work on the snow, handy to have in the boot, but will be ripped up for arse paper soon after hitting tarmac

I got a set last year, and I wouldn’t hesistate to get another pair.

Had to use them once in anger one night last year, after taking a back road I really shouldn’t of, and having to stop in the middle of a snow drift (when I hit the drift, it sent the snow up and over the car, so I didn’t have a clue where I was going, so had to stop)
Hardest bit was clearing enough snow with the shovel so I could get the car moving enough to get them on, by which point my hands were like ice, so I then had to sit in the car for 5 minutes to regain some feeling to get the snow socks over the wheels. Even once I got one on, I had to have another warm up before getting the other side on, (the fact I was stuck on the corner of a valley with the wind blowing straight up it really didn’t help!).

I’ll admit they weren’t the easiest of things to put on, but that’s because there’s not much room between the tyre and wheel arch on my car, and the wheel arch also had a good build up of snow, which made it pretty hard to get the sock hooked over the tyre.

However once they were on, the car just kept plodding on through the snow. I was amazed at just how effective they were. I could hear the car underside sliding over the snow at times, but it just kept going.
Almost got stuck with them a couple of times, but a bit reversing and a bit more forward momentum got me through.
Kept them on until I got back down to where the snow was only a couple inches deep, and took them of. One side had gotten a couple tears in it, but was due to whoever made the first tracks over the exposed bit road hadn’t stayed on the road, and had gone along the edge of it instead, which the sock had caught on a few times.

After last weekends snow, they’re now back tucked behind the seat, along with the shovel, just in case. I’m not planning on having to use them again, but they’re there!

neninja – Member
GroupOn have them for £32 today

Hence my question 🙂

mine arrived this morning, just after the news informed me that it’s about to warm up to around 12 degrees. 😆

oh well, got them for future apocalyptic conditions!

How many have come to put on their snowsocks and found 1 missing from washing I wonder…

trickydisco – you seriously needed them on that road???

Indeed, my question too. If your van can’t cope on that road it should really be locked away for the winter for everyone’s safety! I suspect he was thinking about a slightly more unpleasant bit of road though.

trickydisco – you seriously needed them on that road???

Yep.. My van is absolute pants in snow. i got stuck at traffic lights once that had a tiny bit of snow.. Everyone else was fine apart from me.

Stupid low profile tyres

They really do do an amazing job – but it’s a very specific job. Exactly this time last year I watched a car loose it whilst coming down a steep hill (very slowly). The driver was helpless to act as the car ever so gently slid down the hill whilst pirouetting and bouncing off about a dozen parked cars. A BMW (which traditionally is about as bad as it gets in the snow) pitched up with socks on, drove straight up the hill, attached a rope and dragged the other car out of the way without issue as if the road was snow free. I bought a set after seeing that.

The reason I say they are very specific is they should only be used on snowy/icey roads and at a max speed of 20mph. My village does not get ploughed or gritted in proper snow and neither does where my wife works. Between the two is 3 miles of gritted road so to use them you would really need to put them on to get out of the village, take them off for the 3miles of tarmac then put them back on for the last 1/4 mile. She preferred to walk! Where they really shine is snowy roads at a gradient. Living in a village called “Steep” we have no shortage of these!

Now we have a second pair of wheels with winter tyres so a non-issue – it goes virtually anywhere on anything. I must get around to selling the socks.

Yep.. My van is absolute pants in snow. i got stuck at traffic lights once that had a tiny bit of snow.. Everyone else was fine apart from me.

Tried setting off in 2nd gear?