Autosocks

Ultrasonic

Anyone tried these?

http://www.roofbox.co.uk/car-snow-socks/

Just curious, not really thinking of buying any.

And obviously winter tyres would be better, before everyone piles in to say that!

OddballJamie

I looked into them last year, from what I remember, they wear very fast, you have to take them off straight after you get through the snow as tarmac destroys them. I ended up with a shovel and bag of grit in the boot. Gone for winter tyres this year, although I've put a can of winter tyre spray (possible snake oil) in my partners car for emergencies.

Doesn't help much but for the last two years I've seen Asda/Tesco clear these out for about £15 a set after Christmas.

DigForVictory

Much depends on what you want these "socks" to do. Get you out of a sticky patch onto trustworthy ground, or get you back in should-I-really-be-trying-to-drive conditions?

As I have rubber floor mats which I haul out in case of sticky patches, & a superb boss (who understands that snow can fall 20 miles away) for the iffy conditions. I've not had to leave the car at work, yet, because of her.

If you anticipate needing these ("starting at £50") socks more than 4 times, you may as well save for real snow tyres. If not, get mats, carpet samples, deniable hoodies - whatever you are ready to lay on the road & drive over.

forgotmyname

I bought a set only because there were on offer at ASDA £5.

As mentioned reviews do seem to say they can wear quite quickly so as a get you moving. But wont get you that far solution they maybe OK.

For £5 they are worth having in the boot. Some strips of carpet maybe a cheaper alternative.

bigjl

Tried them at work back in 09. Can't use them on not snow covered roads as they rip apart double quick, the info from the supplier we were given indicated driven wheel use only as they are similar to chains, if you ever watch Ice Road Truckers you will see they do the same.

I took them off and never got stuck without winter tyres, the next year they out on full sets of winter tyres.

They might be handy to keep in the boot for the time when you can't get up a hill as they were a bit better than normal tyres.

OddballJamie

forgotmyname if I had seen them at that price I would've had a punt to keep in the boot for emergencies. I suppose they are useful for large car parks or estates that the gritters don't get up, enough just to get you to the main road then on you go.

If you are keeping your car for a couple of years at least then winter tyres are the way to go, biggish outlay but they save the wear on your summer tyres so you don't have to spend on those so often. Not just for snow like socks, good for all cold weather.

oscarward

A few years ago a sudden blizzard came down, and we were stuck on the car park of a shopping centre for 2 hours because everyone was getting stuck on the hill leading away from the centre.

Anyway we got our chance to get out and made steady progress up the hill but got stalled by someone ahead in a rwd car getting stuck.

Along side us was an ambulance similarly stuck and was sliding off in to the gutter, the crew got out and put a pair of snow socks which enabled them to climb the hill

First time I'd seen them

Ultrasonic

OddballJamie wrote: »

If you are keeping your car for a couple of years at least then winter tyres are the way to go, biggish outlay but they save the wear on your summer tyres so you don't have to spend on those so often. Not just for snow like socks, good for all cold weather.

It's the cost of the wheels (~£200) and the storage problem that puts me off too. Plus I live on the Lincolnshire/Cambridgeshire border so I don't have many hills to deal with!

I'm not about to spend £50+ on 'socks' either BTW. I'd give them a shot for £5 though!

agrinnall

Why would wheels cost you £200? I have twice bought 4 winter tyres on steel wheels (for two different cars) and the cost is not a great deal more than just buying the tyres (which you'd then have to pay to get changed twice a year). However, we do have a lot of hills, snow and very low temperatures here so it's a more essential purchase than it might be in East Anglia.

Ultrasonic

agrinnall wrote: »

Why would wheels cost you £200?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-SKODA-SET-OF-FOUR-4-X-6J-X-16-STEEL-WINTER-WHEELS-8P060102703C-/331000299899?pt=UK_CarParts_Acc_Wheels_tyres_Trims_Car_Rims_ET&fits=Model%3AOctavia&hash=item4d1127c17b

Although obviously if I could find some of the right size second hand they would be cheaper.

Now I think about it, I missed off poor fuel economy from my list of reasons I haven't bought winter tyres in the past.

My tyre choice would likely be very different if I lived in the Scottish Highlands though!

WTFH

Why buy a second set of wheels? Just buy the winter tyres, then swap them onto your existing wheels when you need to, and it means you have spent very little in total - when you're wearing down the winter tyres, you're saving the summer ones.