Snow Tyres & Snow Chains

Driving becomes extremely difficult in winter due to snow. In such conditions, snow tyres and chains are a great way to keep moving without losing control and without skidding.

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What Do Snow Tyres Do?

Winter or snow tyres are special in that they are specifically designed for optimally operating in snow and due to their softer rubber formulation, deeper grooves, as well as narrower cuts, they remain operational in the snow even when normal tyres fail.

The grooves and cuts in snow tyres are known as sipes and they are built into the vehicle’s tread.

Due to these sipes, the snow doesn’t get stuck and the snow tyres are able to maintain contact with the road surface instead of rolling over the snow.

What Do Snow Chains Do?

Snow chains offer additional grip to tyres by allowing them to bite more snow at a time and thus tyres don’t get stuck. The benefit is they can be easily added and removed from your car, unlike snow tyres which require wheel removal.

While these chains keep drivers from moving around at "high speeds", they are effective in cases when you don’t want your vehicle to get stuck or skid on a snowy surface.

What To Look For When Buying Snow Tyres?

As the sipes of snow tyres differentiate them from normal tyres, they are the most important feature of a snow tyre to consider while making the purchase.

Do you have enough snow to warrant this purchase, or does mobility in the snow matter to you. Snow tyres perform so much better than standard tyres they should be considered whenever having to drive in snow or in icy conditions.

Watch our video on choosing Tyres on our YouTube channel.

Check For The Manufacturing Date

However, even when buying a snow tyre, some features remain the same and thus it is important to take into account the manufacturing date of the tyres. This is encoded as a year and week on the rim of the tyre (see our video for more on this).

Rubber hardens up when it gets old and this increases its brittleness which can produce cuts and thus reduces the life of the snow tyres.

Size Of Your Wheel Matters

Another important aspect to keep in mind while buying snow tyres is the size of the wheel on which the tyre has to be put because in case you get a tyre that doesn’t match your wheel, it won’t fit and how good is a tyre that doesn’t fit your vehicle? So please check your recommended tyre sizes before ordering.

What To Look For When Buying Snow Chains?

When buying snow chains, the most important part is to consider whether your vehicle has been designed to work with chains or with cables.

If you get snow chains for a car that isn’t designed to support them, they won’t be effective.

The class of the snow chains, their size and that of your tyres, automaker’s specifications and the speed rating are some of the important aspects to keep in mind when buying snow chains.

Good Quality Brands Of Snow Tyres

All good quality tyre manufacturers that produce normal tyres also offer snow variants. Some of the high-quality tyre brands include but are not limited to:

• Yokohama;
• Bridgestone;
• Dunlop;
• Michelin;
• Goodyear.

Here are some of the good options when it comes to snow tyres. You can also click here to get yourself a set of snow chains that can help you during the winter.

How Hard Is It To Fit Snow Tyres & Snow Chains?

Fitting snow tyres is an easy process and is the same as fitting standard tyres.

You can do it on your own and I would rate it as a 1 out of 10 process in terms of difficulty (with 10 being the most difficult).

How Hard Is It To Fit Snow Chains?

Installing snow chains is a tricky process and most people require a tutorial for installing them.

With several videos available on the internet, it can also be performed as a DIY project but I would recommend that after installing the snow chains, you must get them checked by a professional so that the chains don’t damage your snow tyres or your vehicle’s body.

I rate it as a 4 out of 10 process in terms of difficulty (with 10 being the most difficult).

What Are The Benefits Of Fitting Better Quality Snow Tyres & Snow Chains?

Just like installing good quality standard tyres, going for high-quality snow tyres is also vital mainly because these tyres are the only part of your vehicle which is in contact with the ground.

The high-quality snow tyres have better-designed grooves and cuts which make it easier for the tyres to disperse the snow and continue their movement which is why they offer you a way to get out of the snow quickly.

In case you install a relatively low-quality set of snow tyres, they can create a lot of inconvenience for you during a difficult situation.

Similarly getting high-quality snow chains is vital because while passing through heavy snow, these snow chains provide an effective mechanism for you to keep moving.

In case the snow chains are of low quality, they can snap or even break in half which can not only make the vehicle stuck in the snow but can also cause considerable damage to the vehicle’s body.

Any Other Thing You Should Do When Fitting Snow Tyres & Snow Chains?

While installing your set of snow tyres and snow chains, you must check the brakes and other associated parts of the vehicle.

This is vital because, in slippery conditions, the role of a vehicle’s brakes becomes even more imperative.

After installing the snow tyres, also ensure that the air in them is according to the level specified by the manufacturer.

Here are some of the good options when it comes to snow tyres.

You can also click here to get yourself a set of snow chains that can help you during the winter.

This article is flagged for an update, so please pass on specific tips below that I can include. All articles, and content was written by me, Waynne Smith TorqueCars founder. Some outlines are just too general so I appreciate your feedback and suggestions. This entry was filed under Shop. You can leave a response below or join our forum to discuss this article and car modification in detail with our members.

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