Snow socks and tyres

Bob Z

Could someone recomend me good snow grips and supplier? there was a couple of threadas on it last year but a lot of them were sold out because of the heavy snow

donegalboy

I got mine on www.blacktoe.co.uk
They cost about €10 I think and I am more than happy with them..

Bob Z

Was it these ones?
[HTML]http://www.blacktoe.co.uk/ice Grips/JH-220 Metal Snow Grip - Metal Ice Grip.htm[/HTML]

or these ones?
[HTML]http://www.blacktoe.co.uk/ice Grips/JH-203A Non Slip Compact Ice Grabbers.htm[/HTML]

donegalboy

Nope.. these ones:
http://www.blacktoe.co.uk/ice%20Grips/JH-209%20Double%20Traction%20Snow%20Grabbers.htm

vintagevrs

Anyone know any stores in Letterkenny that sell snow socks/chains?

Halfords do not have any

Thanks

RandomAccess

I'd like to know as well, never been defeated by snow in Letterkenny until today!

irish1967

Think was a whole thread on thus last December with links etc. When u get to a computer I will check.

niamh1975

We were looking at these last night and found an irish company that supplies them online. Here's the link : http://www.micksgarage.ie/tyre-snow-socks.aspx?gclid=CNzjsYf4w6UCFQwf4QodTUrPCQ

homer simpson

There is a load of info in this thread http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055774017 snow chains are very pricey (my father paid 85 euro for a set (of 2) last year, he got them in Mclaughlins in buncranna, i think your best bet is to get some snow tires...

inode

i got 4 snow tyres up in Lifford on Friday for €20 each in Martins tyres. They are slighty used but they honestly look new and have great grip in the snow

puffdragon

http://cgi.ebay.ie/CRAMPONS-Anti-Slip-Sole-Ice-and-Snow-Shoes-/230544255682


http://www.blacktoe.co.uk/ice%20Grips/ice%20grips.htm



http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=ice+grip&tag=googiehydra-21&index=aps&hvadid=3951488730&ref=pd_sl_4zm8lif3up_b

Senna

inode wrote: »

i got 4 snow tyres up in Lifford on Friday for €20 each in Martins tyres. They are slighty used but they honestly look new and have great grip in the snow

Thinking about heading over there this week with the missus's car, was over there during the summer and the amount of snow tyres was unreal. The Germans take them off and discard them if they dont think they will make it through their winter season, so some of them have 7/8mm of thread.
Really good brands aswell that would cost €120-150 new per tyre.

Put them on now and just leave them on till feb/march.

Domscard

Are snow tyres really any good? I would certainly consider swapping ours out for the duration if I thought they would massively improve the grip on my ice rink road.
Would anyone be able to hazard a guess as to how much better they would be (40-40%?). Are there any downsides? I've looked at the snow socks and think they would be fiddly to put on and off for me

mk2

Where is the best place to get snow tyres looks like a good investment!(15in)

mrmac

Good question!
I know Martins of Lifford have some "Part-Worn" tyres, at €20 approx., but wonder who has new ones, and what kind of money are they? (15" as well).

Also, do you need 4, our would just the driving wheels be ok?

muffler

A couple of similar threads merged.

danniemcq

heard on radio chains are a grey area of the law, there is nothing about them unlike other countries but it does say if you damage the road you can be done for that so if the roads aren't covered and you start digging them up they'll be after your well worn trail

vintagevrs

Thanks for all the replies, looks like Buncranna is the best/closest bet. Does anyone have any experience with the snow socks? I would imagine they would soon wear out/rip/fall apart?

Thanks

muckish

I've used snow socks for a few years in letterkenny. excellent job. no bother going up or down the hilly roads around town, such as kiltoy. will wear down on tarmac, but if it's only a short stretch i wouldnt worry. got them on roofbox.co.uk.

vintagevrs

Thanks for that, going to order some tomorrow

Biglad

mrmac wrote: »

Good question!
I know Martins of Lifford have some "Part-Worn" tyres, at €20 approx., but wonder who has new ones, and what kind of money are they? (15" as well).

Also, do you need 4, our would just the driving wheels be ok?

You always need 4, don't fall for the "driven wheels only approach", dangerous not to change al 4. By the way they are "winter tyres" snow tyres have studs.
I've been trying all week to get a set of my local tyre guy but they are like gold dust at the moment. When i showed up this morning he only had two...have to wait another week or so.

homer simpson

Biglad wrote: »

You always need 4, don't fall for the "driven wheels only approach", dangerous not to change al 4. By the way they are "winter tyres" snow tyres have studs.
I've been trying all week to get a set of my local tyre guy but they are like gold dust at the moment. When i showed up this morning he only had two...have to wait another week or so.

Nope disagree snow tyres don't have studs, you've got them the wrong way around, studs make no difference what-so-ever in the snow, its ices that the studs are used for, snow is actually grand to drive in so long as its fairly fresh snow its not slippery at all so long as you watch yourself.

Yip defiantly change all 4 tyres, if you only change 2 you will end up with one axle having grip, and the other axle with no grip, meaning you could slide sideways easier!

Biglad

Might have alright. Most important is to forget about studs for driving around here as they really only work on very compacted snow or ice. Winter tyres are great if you can get them lol, I'll certainly use them from now on when daytime temperatures start hitting 7c or less on average. Back at home you would fit them end of October early November and take them of in March some time.

Lot of info here and some good tips;

http://www.1010tires.com/tech.asp?type=tires

Domscard

homer_simpson wrote: »

Yip defiantly change all 4 tyres, if you only change 2 you will end up with one axle having grip, and the other axle with no grip, meaning you could slide sideways easier!

What you're saying here makes perfect sense to me, Homer. However, OH went in to get the snow tyres on Friday and was told that 2 was all that was needed, so he only bought 2 Why is everybody saying this, including the retailers, who you would think would actually want to sell 4 instead of 2?
I LOATHE this weather with a passion - my teeth are permanently gritted when I have to travel (unlike my road )

bookerboy

Google spikes-spider. Might be a better option.

RandomAccess

Anyone thinking of just getting two winter tyres should probably watch this, Skip to 1:40 for the action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtAm7RsTmE

Domscard

RandomAccess wrote: »

Anyone thinking of just getting two winter tyres should probably watch this, Skip to 1:40 for the action
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtAm7RsTmE

Thanks for that - I have shown it to the OH and we are going to get 2 more tyres fitted. I wish I knew where the idea that 2 is enough came from. My brother-in-law is adamant that we are wasting money but I believe better safe than sorry. I don't hear anyone saying that it's more dangerous to have 4 tyres :pac:

RandomAccess

Domscard wrote: »

Thanks for that - I have shown it to the OH and we are going to get 2 more tyres fitted. I wish I knew where the idea that 2 is enough came from. My brother-in-law is adamant that we are wasting money but I believe better safe than sorry. I don't hear anyone saying that it's more dangerous to have 4 tyres :pac:

two is enough to get you out of one kind of trouble and into another!
The idea of having them on the front two wheels is because we usually encounter more trouble driving up hills than anything else.

The examples in the video focused on emergency stops and cornering at speed on snow, two things which generally we would try and avoid anyway! so you could argue then that two tyres is enough, however the real issue is ice.. if you brake on ice the winter tyre will have (some) grip while those on the other axle will not and I expect you will find yourself going backwards in the blink of an eye. (black ice is often invisible so you may not know you are braking on ice!)

Last year I braked gently approaching a roundabout at about 30mph on a major route which was otherwise fine and my abs was going off like a jackhammer! I stayed in a straight line though so there was no drama.

Deer Hunter DL

i use 2 winter tires and just drive slow , the video above shows the cars driving way to fast for the said conditions, i never had any problems yet and i have done alot of miles in snow and ice , but if you feel safer with 4 winter tires and can afford them yes go for that option for sure , im not saying just 2 is 100% safe but it will get you away if your stuck or can't afford 4 as we are in tight times after all

puffdragon

I certainly hope that someone finds a better video than the one on this thread to prove to me the advantages of winter tyres, because I have rarely seen a more weighted,contrived and orchestrated display of slight of driving in my life!
Now I have just watched that video and not content and to give them the benefit of the doubt I also watched the other 5 videos in the series, well people there are so many things wrong with them that I really wouldn't know where to start,
Suffice to say that if your on the road tomorrow on whichever tyres you have on please make sure the four tyres are the same and the secret is to drive easy and carefully. I hope thers some grit down tomorrow because I have to take the weans to school !! And here this might cheer you up!!

Bob Z

I left it too late to order and they are out of stock? Is there anywhere else?