Snow.

[dave1]

With all the discussions ref snow and ice, whilst snow chains or winter tyres may not be realistic for the amount of this weather that we get here, what about these snow socks?

http://www.autosock.co.uk/

This is just one of the suppliers I have noticed, but gives a general overview.

[sparkystav]

LOL what a weird idea

[aido]

That's ace - if I saw a car with those on though I bet I'd end up crashing into a wall while laughing!

Give it five years and women will have colour co-ordinated versions of these on their cars to stop their tyres getting dirty

[Asi]

thats so funny lol

[dave1]

I agree they look funny but they are TUV approved. There are several manufacturers including Goodyear and tests have apparently shown that they give around 5% more grip than winter tyres. Whilst they say to fit to the drive wheels, some manufacturers say that on RWD cars extra directional control is gained by fitting to front also. They seem to be approved by a lot of carmakers including Lexus.

[steve2006]

It also says they are machine washable does anyone know which program I need on a Hotpoint 1200 spin washing machine and can I put them in with my normal socks and will the colour run?

Here is a picture of my washing machine to help you.

[glennhughes]

Genius!!!!!!

[Ellz]

Arent chains that kinda money and been proven for years ?

[Rolex]

true but chains can destroy your alloys these look to be more rim friendly.

[dave1]

Arent chains that kinda money and been proven for years ?

:eerrrmm: Chains are also harder to fit and remove, weigh more, take up more space, are heavier..............

The various manufacturers of these "socks" reckon they are OK to around 30mph and are OK if you are going from ice/snow to tarmac for a short distance and then back to ice/snow. Chains can often only be fitted to cars if they have smaller wheels fitted first because of clearance issues. Only posted as I thought they might be suitable for some members, though obviously not for all.

[dave1]

It also says they are machine washable does anyone know which program I need on a Hotpoint 1200 spin washing machine and can I put them in with my normal socks and will the colour run?

Here is a picture of my washing machine to help you.

I'm sure the makers would be happy to answer your questions. I doubt if the colour in your normal socks will run if they don't normally run.

[Lance]

I cannot see how they would last.. The road would surely rip them to pieces.

My advice is borrow a couple of sandbags off the signs you see at roadworks. Carry them in the boot. The weight will give you extra traction and if you do get stuck then put some of the sand under the wheels and you got traction, baby!

[dave1]

I cannot see how they would last.. The road would surely rip them to pieces.

My advice is borrow a couple of sandbags off the signs you see at roadworks. Carry them in the boot. The weight will give you extra traction and if you do get stuck then put some of the sand under the wheels and you got traction, baby!

The various manufacturers would probably be only too pleased to give you any info re how they will stand up to roads.

You mean "steal" a couple of sandbags which are there to prevent the sign from falling over and possibly causing an accident.

The weight will not only give you extra traction, it will also give more weight for the brakes to try to bring to a halt.

[steve2006]

You could always put the washing machine in the boot for ballast and wash the tyre socks on the way home

[Parthiban]

That's pretty cool if it works, I'd definitely be interested in keeping it in the boot in case you were ever caught in the snow somewhere.

[Lance]

Well you could go to B&Q and buy sandbags if you like.

I said borrow. Leave them back when you are finished with them. The added weight will be minimal for braking as in slippery conditions you need to increase your braking distance considerably.

This is a quote from their website.. "tarmac driving is not recommended as it increases fabric wear very considerably"

Where does it say they are approved by Lexus?

I don't know about you but I wouldn't want them on my wheels in the wet, say for instance slushy snow. The water dissapation characteristics of your tyres would be seriously impaired.

The TUV tests that they bang on about wasn't too extensive.. another quote from their website.

"Traction tests with and without AutoSocks were performed along a straight 50 meter test course with a 7% uphill gradient."

[Mike_B]

The wear on the tarmac is the biggest problem with them - in the UK we tend to get untreated side roads, and fairly clear main roads. Going from one to the other would have you either 1) getting the tyre socks ripped to shreds on the first journey, or 2) pulling over to remove them or put them on again, every time you wanted to join or leave a main road.

I suppose it depends where you live - for the guys in the countryside who may have to travel 10 miles to work on icy, untreated roads, they might make a lot of sense. For someone like me, who lives in a built-up area and would be unlikely to do more than a couple of hundred yards at a time on snowy roads, proper winter tyres are a better bet. Also I guess if you are driving to the Alps for a skiing break, you could pop them on once you get halfway up the mountain, and you'd be fine until you can back down below the snowline again.

It is my intention to purchase a set of scabby old alloys and fit them with snow tyres, probably during the summer. They should last for years, if they only get a few weeks use every winter, and will be far safer!

[aido]

Mike, have you looked into steel wheels? Last I heard you can pick them up very cheaply indeed - ok they won't look great but they'll do the job and you could always throw on a set of those Halfords trims :o

[Mike_B]

Yeah that's true mate, trouble is I'm not all that familiar with the sizing used for wheels. I kinda get the meaning of the terminology, but am not quite sure what I'm actually looking for!

For example, I've seen that my car has a stud pattern of 5 x 114. i understand that this means 5 bolts are used to hold it on, and I think the 114 refers to the diameter of each of the nuts, but are the holes always the same distance apart? And I know that offset means that the back of the central point of the wheels, ie the part that actually contacts the hub, is the specified distance from one of the edges of the wheel. But I've seen a pretty large variety of offsets and it seems to be up the buyer to know what it is he's looking for!! So would any wheel with a 5x114 stud pattern and an appropriate offset fit? :unsure:

Hijacked the thread a bit here, sorry Dave1!!!

[dave1]

Hijacked the thread a bit here, sorry Dave1!!!

Not really hijacked. The thread was intended to bring attention to devices which may help some members in certain conditions. Obviously would not be suitable for everyone. :)

@ Lance..might find it difficult to replace the bags if you have used the sand.

You ask where it says approved by Lexus. These are approved by Toyota and as far as I am aware, Toyota own Lexus.

[dave1]

Well you could go to B&Q and buy sandbags if you like.

I said borrow. Leave them back when you are finished with them. The added weight will be minimal for braking as in slippery conditions you need to increase your braking distance considerably.

This is a quote from their website.. "tarmac driving is not recommended as it increases fabric wear very considerably"

Where does it say they are approved by Lexus?

I don't know about you but I wouldn't want them on my wheels in the wet, say for instance slushy snow. The water dissapation characteristics of your tyres would be seriously impaired.

The TUV tests that they bang on about wasn't too extensive.. another quote from their website.

"Traction tests with and without AutoSocks were performed along a straight 50 meter test course with a 7% uphill gradient."

You are very selective with your quotes from their site. If you click onto the FAQ section you will see that they are supposed to be OK on slushy snow and also that they were driven at 50kph for 50 kms with no adverse effects, even though it is not recommended for use on dry tarmac for that sort of distance.

I haven't tried them, I don't sell them and have no interest in the success or otherwise of the various manufacturers, but even though you seem to ridicule them, there may be even 1 or 2 members who might not have known of these products and would find them usefull for their particular circumstances.

[swfcdan]

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=61610

Just been reading this thread. Seem to get the thumbs up.

[Doodlebug]

I saw a car in my road today with them fitted, we still have some snow and ice although it is melting, I wondered what they were.

I would have stopped and asked the driver what they were like but I was too busy trying to stop the rear wheels from slipping sideways.

:D :D :D

[waveydavey]

Looking at getting some of these after last years dodgy weather. Living in a hilly city like Sheffield i was unable to even get the car off my side road a few times last year, (Wasn't an IS though). A colleague at work got some last year and he said they made the world of difference on his IS200. The day before it took him over an hour to get about a quarter of a mile down the road and back again but a couple of minutes the following day with the autosocks on when the roads were actually worse.

They may look daft but if it means me being able to get to work and back in the car rather than having to use my holidays or take an hour to two hour train journey and walk, (again like i had to do a couple of times last year), they'll do for me!!!!

Cheers

Dave.

[dave1]

Amazing. 22 months ago when I started this thread, snow socks seemed to be generally ridiculed by members who posted. Now various threads regarding these are running and the idea seems to be generally acceptable.