I bought Snow Socks last year as a precaution but the weather was that bad that my car was stuck in my back garden for 2months and I used SWMBO's Rav for night shifts, this year I have bought Winter Tyres to be able to use the car but not sure if the Snow Socks will offer any benefit over the Winter Tyres?

I understand that Snow Socks are a temporary get out of being stuck method but do they offer any better traction?

Any Ideas?

Matthew

I had a pair of Michelin easy grip's on the Octavia last year. They were good - I still got stuck but nothing a bit of rocking couldn't handle, still a heck of a difference to the Eagle F1’s. My biggest issue was not being able to use them above 20mph without them "slapping" my arches. I hated putting them on in the snow too, my hands were cut and battered for weeks.

I then invested in a pair of Dunlop Winter Sport M3’s (I think). They were loads better on every level.

I would avoid the socks and if your budget can stretch to a set of winters go for them.

My dad is a Taxi driver and he gets part worn winters every year for £25 each. Usually branded too. The ones he got this year had about 6mm of tread too.

I won’t be getting winters on the Volvo because the tyre size is stupid and I’m hoping the AWD will be sufficient to get me out of tricky spots.

I have some Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme's on their way to me at the moment but if the general consensus is that the Snow Socks can't offer anything more that the Wintrac Xtreme's then I'll probably sell my Snow Socks

Matthew

I have some Vredestein Wintrac Xtreme's on their way to me at the moment but if the general consensus is that the Snow Socks can't offer anything more that the Wintrac Xtreme's then I'll probably sell my Snow Socks

Matthew

Fitted these tyres 2 weeks ago they have proved there worth already - we had 2-3" earlier this week and although not "getting stuck" deep the wintrac's certainly made for an almost normal driving experience.

they will not offer benifit...

the physics is simple, snow grips snow best (think about making a snowman and the friction involed on how easy it is to stick 2 balls of snow toghether) way better than rubber grips snow... winter tyres hold the snow in the tread, its should look like you have tyres made of snow! then the grip is there socks cannot do better than that...

Sell the socks your winters will do the job. Tonight I drove into the local supermarket car park, no issues the car handled like it was on dry tarmac. Then I got out and fell flat on my back, and this was me wearing a pair of boots with good grips. The car park was sheet ice.

Sell the socks your winters will do the job. Tonight I drove into the local supermarket car park, no issues the car handled like it was on dry tarmac. Then I got out and fell flat on my back, and this was me wearing a pair of boots with good grips. The car park was sheet ice.

Yeah, car was frozen over when I left W Calder and there was a car in the fence and some icy patches heading up to Harburn

Sell the socks your winters will do the job. Tonight I drove into the local supermarket car park, no issues the car handled like it was on dry tarmac. Then I got out and fell flat on my back, and this was me wearing a pair of boots with good grips. The car park was sheet ice.

lol.. I've heard this before with winters, people drive somewhere, their senses comming from their car, get out, and fall flat on their face!

it really is documented!

(hope you are ok, it can be like being hit by a car falling on ice..)

lol.. I've heard this before with winters, people drive somewhere, their senses comming from their car, get out, and fall flat on their face!

it really is documented!

(hope you are ok, it can be like being hit by a car falling on ice..)

Yeh i did it last year, wondered why people were doing 10mph did 30 safely with no slip and fell on bum when i got to work couldn't even walk across the carpark without slipping! Couple of cars got stuck trying to get up the hill after i did and my car drove like it was a summers day

Sell the socks your winters will do the job. Tonight I drove into the local supermarket car park, no issues the car handled like it was on dry tarmac. Then I got out and fell flat on my back, and this was me wearing a pair of boots with good grips. The car park was sheet ice.

I've done the exact same! Drive on sheet ice as if it was August 40 degree heat tarmac and ended falling right over!

As to snow socks: your winter tyres will be miles and miles better in all situations than the socks (which can only be used on snow as they get shredded on tarmac).

Also never EVER only put a pair of winter tyres on! Yikes... Plenty of videos on YouTube showing you why that is a really stupid idea. [Tons of traction at the front and basically wheels on ball bearings at the back - try doing an emergency stop in a bend with that lethal combination and I can guarantee you your tail won't stay put! ] See the second video in the first post of this thread: http://briskoda.net/...r-tyres-thread/

they will not offer benifit...

the physics is simple, snow grips snow best (think about making a snowman and the friction involed on how easy it is to stick 2 balls of snow toghether) way better than rubber grips snow... winter tyres hold the snow in the tread, its should look like you have tyres made of snow! then the grip is there socks cannot do better than that...

Thanks for the insight as to how they work , this explains why SWMBO's Rav looked like it had snowballs for tyres last year

Sell the socks your winters will do the job. Tonight I drove into the local supermarket car park, no issues the car handled like it was on dry tarmac. Then I got out and fell flat on my back, and this was me wearing a pair of boots with good grips. The car park was sheet ice.

I did that the other morning, only I knew the car park was icy due to the car struggling to drive through it as its on a slope but I still told the boys to be careful as they got out the car, I then fell flat on my ar$3 as I pushed the door to close it, needless to say they boys thought it was hilarious

I've done the exact same! Drive on sheet ice as if it was August 40 degree heat tarmac and ended falling right over!

As to snow socks: your winter tyres will be miles and miles better in all situations than the socks (which can only be used on snow as they get shredded on tarmac).

Also never EVER only put a pair of winter tyres on! Yikes... Plenty of videos on YouTube showing you why that is a really stupid idea. [Tons of traction at the front and basically wheels on ball bearings at the back - try doing an emergency stop in a bend with that lethal combination and I can guarantee you your tail won't stay put! ] See the second video in the first post of this thread: http://briskoda.net/...r-tyres-thread/

I have bought 4 winter tyres, have done alot of looking around and was watching a canadian tyre company showing stopping distances etc with no/2/4 winter tyres

Thanks to all who have replied to my query

Matthew

Sell your socks when the snow comes and the shops are out for maximum profit

Sell your socks when the snow comes and the shops are out for maximum profit

Also never EVER only put a pair of winter tyres on! Yikes... Plenty of videos on YouTube showing you why that is a really stupid idea. [Tons of traction at the front and basically wheels on ball bearings at the back - try doing an emergency stop in a bend with that lethal combination and I can guarantee you your tail won't stay put! ] See the second video in the first post of this thread: http://briskoda.net/...r-tyres-thread/

My dad's fabia is in for a central locking fault (he has 4 x winter tyres) but the Octavia courtesy car they've been given has 2 winter tyres fitted. They queried this with the dealer and were told it's perfectly legal. I'm not 100% sure whose insurance you drive on with a courtesy car but am concerned he may be voiding his own insurance. Interestingly the same dealer last year in conversation with me branded a local fast fit place as criminal for advising people just to fit winters to the driven wheels.

Also never EVER only put a pair of winter tyres on! Yikes... Plenty of videos on YouTube showing you why that is a really stupid idea. [Tons of traction at the front and basically wheels on ball bearings at the back - try doing an emergency stop in a bend with that lethal combination and I can guarantee you your tail won't stay put! ] See the second video in the first post of this thread: http://briskoda.net/...r-tyres-thread/

Like all these test they are done in extreeme conditions with extreeme driving. 2 winters are better than none unless you drive like a complete dickhead, especially on a FWD car with the winters on the driven wheels.

I had this set up last winter as I could only find 2 tyres to buy. I drove is some pretty rough conditions and never once found the tail loose. It's like every thing else - drive to the conditions

Possibly, but are you insured if you have mixed tyre types?

Sent from my MZ601 using Tapatalk

Possibly, but are you insured if you have mixed tyre types?

Sent from my MZ601 using Tapatalk

Yeap, checked this and they were happy provided I wasnt mixing on the same axle

Edited 8 December, 201114 yr by slider

I'll give an example......woman drove her front wheel drive Renault convertiable up the Cairngorm ski area okish....then got stuck trying to reverse up a slight slope (max 4deg) into a parking space.....and failed....so stopped in the road area and spent 20mins trying to fit snow socks onto her tyres and failed......ended up with me and someone else pushing her car into the space......otherwise she was almost hit my car as she had to go forward on the socks to fit them!.........

Snow socks = big waste of time compared to winter tyres!!!.....who wants to keep stopping and starting and getting out into the cold to put them on and take them off when you hit bad patches of road????

We live 1000 feet up and its snow socks all the way here. First used them three years ago. Easy to put on like, you place them over the tyres and they screw on like a bottle cap. More difficult to get off and you can ONLY travel up to 20 to 30 mph. Also they don't like slush and hills when carrying weight. We destroyed a pair with four people in the car going up our hill with luggage when going over a cattle grid then hitting slush. On the plus side its easy to keep up with a Defender in very icy conditions.

Snow socks have better grip than winter tires , that's what the majority of car manufacturers say check what vauxhall say

don't like slush, don't like cattle grid, don't like dry road... yeah they sound wonderful.

don't like slush, don't like cattle grid, don't like dry road... yeah they sound wonderful.

If there is snow on the ground ? They are fine as for cattle grids if you can see them don't need them, dry roads they wouldn't be on anyway, they cost under £50 so that's at least £150 cheaper than winter tires, they are fine for an emergency in this country winter tires are not really needed as we have snow for 2 minutes then it's gone, on the odd occasion when it's here for a while, just stay indoors and let the emergency vehicles own the roads IMO

The snow socks may be ok for some....

.....but there is no way that an 80mile round trip to Cairngorm ski area in winter is ok with snow socks for me!!!....Which is why when I've been at the ski areas you can tell the non-locals......."summer" tyres and snow socks....... ...failing to get anywhere fast and moaning at us locals speeding past at 40mph whilst they are stuck.......or just moving at 20mph!

Like has been said it all depends on your situation.....BUT it still amazes me that people brag about how powerfull etc their car is..........then skimp on the tyres......it dosen't matter what your car has got or how "big" it is.....they ALL rely on those "silly" black round rubber things at the corners..........TYRES!!!!!

P.S...to those who say "I manage" on summers in winter......one day winter WILL punish you and you will crash....chances are.........I wrote my last car off "managing" doing 35mph in a 60mph road.......car on roof and spun 180deg around.....still managed to avoid the other car.....both he and the police couldn't figure out how I did it (and he couldn't belive how I managed to correct a sever skid and avoid him.......

and beleve you me I've had 6 winters of driving the roads up here by then.....so plenty of "experiance"......I then spent another 7 winters "manging" even better on "summers" on my Fabia (as it has ABS, EDL & ASR)......then a trip driving across Inverness (30mph limits).....no snow.......but total sheet black ice.....in the morning.....####ing hell....worst expriance of my life....the car was sliding all over the place.......decided enough was enough and got winters...never looked back!!!

Up north Cairngorms definite winter tyres although lower than Cumbria do we really need em ?

My tyres arrived today

£140 for all 4 and all close to 5mm, very chuffed so far. Booked in for fitting on the 21st

I shall be getting them fitted to my OEM 17" wheels then buying another set of 17" wheels next year to put my summer tyres on and they I can get my OEM's refurbished where I scraped along a kerb in a multi-story car park earlier this year.

These tyres should see me through 2 winters which will also mean that my summer tyres are prolonged too.

I shall report back once fitted