I know it is the hight of summer with heat wave 100...., but I would like to check if anyone has used snow chains on a Kamiq.

My daughter's Kamiq SEL runs on 18" alloys. She has got all-season tyres fitted to the 18" wheels and might need to fit snow chains.

The Skoda manual recommends snow chains only on the 16" option. I have seen on the www that you could use thinner 9mm chains rather than 12mm for low clearance on 18" wheels.

Is there anyone who has done this successfully?

12 hours ago, 26DIPP said:

...The Skoda manual recommends snow chains only on the 16" option. I have seen on the www that you could use thinner 9mm chains rather than 12mm for low clearance on 18" wheels...

The Kamiq owner's manual only lists the 16" winter wheel size for use with snow chains (with links and locks that are no larger than 13mm), ie. 195/60R16 6Jx16 ET35...not the factory fitted 205/60R16 6Jx16 ET38/ET40 wheel sizes.

The alloy rims on 215/45R18 7Jx18 wheels have very little protection from kerbing damage (because the sidewalls don't bulge out much), so are probably best avoided if deep snow is hiding where the kerbs are.

Winter wheel size (Kamiq)

195/60R16 6Jx16 ET35

Factory wheel sizes (Kamiq)

205/60R16 6Jx16 ET38/ET40

205/55R17 6.5Jx17 ET40

215/45R18 7Jx18 ET39

Actual inflated width of tyre (measured from sidewall to sidewall, at the widest point)

195/60R16 6Jx16 ET35 201mm

205/60R16 6Jx16 ET38/ET40 208mm

205/55R17 6.5Jx17 214mm

215/45R18 7Jx18 213mm

Edited yesterday at 14:161 day by Carlston

You could get a set of 16" alloy or steel wheels just for winter use off ebay etc but bit of an expense for all the time there is a lot of snow. 195 tyres will be much better in snow than the 215. I managed to pick up 4 steel with part worn 195/65/15 for £100 a couple of years back for my octavia and stuck them on when bad weather was forecast.

Alasdair

Thanks for the replies.

I have got and seen the Wheel / Tyre recommendation list for the Kamiq in the Skoda workshop manual.

As googling on the www came up with the suggestion that it is possible to run low profile snow chains on 18" wheels I wanted to know if anyone here has done this.

Tyre wise the all-season would enable snow driving.

A second set of wheels is not an option because of space issues.

@26DIPP Is this for use abroad in a region where Snow Chains must be carried and fitted if sign posted to use Snow Chains? Fitting them is a plaster and time consuming. Making it more awkward is simply not clever. Clearance with clean chains is one thing, but what is important is the size / clearance once the chains get snowed up and the wheel arches do and the area between wheel and where the mud flaps would be fitted if fitted. There have been threads over the years with other Skoda Models and Snow Chains fitted to bigger Wheels / Tyres than the SKODA Recommended ones.

Edited 11 hours ago11 hr by Evolution13

I reckon that using chains is a "last gasp" activity, involving getting numb fingers and hands, using lots of time to fit, then finding somewhere to pull over and remove when conditions dictate that.

I've only ever used snow chains on one car, a 1979 Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia and they were used with "normal tyres" - they served their purpose, but I never ever bought new ones for later cars.

Winter tyres on "one size down" tends to be the smart solution for people that think that they might end up in trouble, or want to attempt to stay in control - typically if you need to resort to using snow chains, your probably attempting to drive on unploughed snow covered roads, and eventually the underside of the car is going to make contact with the snow and so slow you down or stop you, and now you've blocked the road for snow clearing teams and emergency vehicles.

Would Snocks ie snow socks not be a better idea?

Edited 10 hours ago10 hr by rum4mo

Hi,

My daughter has lived and worked in the french alps for a few winters and throwing chains on takes her less than 5 minutes in thick snow - they had competitions as you do..... She has had the chains on for a week at a time when there was still thick snow in steep terrain.

Driving a Superb I have seen threads where people have fitted snow chains to 18" and 19" tyres.

You always hope that you do not need them, but I still "practice" to fit mine and sometimes the roads are not cleared as quick as you hope when there is more than 24 hours worth of snow fall. They just cannot clear all the roads at the same time.

@26DIPP The beauty of the UK is that Home Deliveries or the Postie gets through and if not the roads are closed. & it used to be that when Snow Gates were closed 4s4s were allowed through. Those days are over because Police Scotland often have un-suitable vehicles / inappropriate tyres. Snow socks can be just the job for getting out of an icy parking place when inappropriate tyres are fitted. I carry a set just for the use of others that do not prepare for winter conditions.

Edited 9 hours ago9 hr by Evolution13

20 hours ago, 26DIPP said:

A second set of wheels is not an option because of space issues.

I would try 205/60R16 6Jx16 ET35 (non-standard offset for this tyre size and not guaranteed to fit with snow chains) on the Kamiq with snow chains from the Octavia MK4.

These Octavia MK4 snow chains fit 205/60R16 6.5Jx16 ET48 wheels on the Octavia MK4...but clearance is not guaranteed on the Kamiq...although there only needs to be a few extra millimetres of clearance compared to the guaranteed 195/60R16 6Jx16 ET35 option on the Kamiq for rubbing not to occur.

The 18" wheels would be sold, perhaps individually because owners are often damaging them due to their vulnerability...and single wheels are easier to post than a set of four.

Snow chains (Octavia MK4 205/60R16 6.5Jx16 ET48)

https://www.skoda-parts.com/spare-part/000091387ak-snow-chains-skoda-38157.html

6Jx16 ET35 5/100 57.1 alloy rims (Kamiq)

654071496AE 8Z8

654071496AD FL8

654071496AB 8Z8

654071496AC FL8

Edited 26 minutes ago26 min by Carlston