Snow chains
Did you plan a trip to a mountainous and snowy area? Then make sure you are well prepared. Winter tyres are already a first good step to prepare for winter conditions. However, did you know that in some cases snow chains are mandatory for driving on the road? Also, sometimes it is not mandatory to use them, but have them at least with you. Snow chains are useful where even winter tyres don’t provide enough grip. Tyre chains will provide that extra grip and will make sure you can drive safely on snowy and ice roads.
Are snow chains mandatory?
In most countries having snow chains is not mandatory. Most countries only require from road users that they have the right car tyres for the right weather conditions. However, even though having snow chains in your car is not mandatory. Using snow chains is in some mountainous and snowy areas can be mandatory. So, we recommend buying a set and put them in your car. This way you will always be prepared. When snow chains are mandatory will be indicated on the side of the road using a traffic sign. You will encounter these signs in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Norway. The signs are recognizable by the blue colour and an image of a wheel with a snow chain on it. If you see this sign, pull over at a safe spot and put the snow chains on your wheels. Most areas are not even accessible without the use of snow chains, so you actually will need them besides the requirements of the law.
What size snow chains do I need?
It is important that when you buy snow chains that they fit the car tyre. Also, you will have to take the space between the tyre and the wheel arch into account. If the snow chains do not fit properly, they can damage the car or simply won't do their job sufficiently. We at Winparts have built a handy tool to ensure that you find the right size snow chains for your car. Just select your tyre size in the blue bar. The right size snow chains for your car are then displayed. The tyre size can be found on the side of your tyre, for example 195/50 R15. Here, the width is the first digit before the slash (in mm), the height is the digit after the slash (this is the percentage of the width), and the rim size is the inch size behind the R.
How do snow chains work?
Snow chains are often metal chains that are intended to help you drive safely on mountainous roads with a lot of snow or ice. By putting snow chains around the tyres, the car will get more grip. This is necessary for driving safely in winter conditions. On roads where snow chains are mandatory, there is often a speed limit. The speed limit is often between 30 and 50 km per hour. However, the speed limit may vary by country. In addition, it is often only short stretches where the snow chains need to be used. Before you start your trip, make sure you know the rules.
How to put on snow chains?
Snow chains are generally easy to put around the wheels. With the tyre chains that you order at Winparts, we include an instruction manual in which everything is explained in easy to follow steps. There are also various instruction videos on our website. We recommend, however, that you give it a go at home first. In the unlikely event that you have to get them on along the side of the road, you already exactly know how to do this. The easiness to put snow chains on also depends on the tensioners. There are snow chains that you have to tension manually. There are however also automatic tensioning systems available. Snow chains are always supplied in a set of 2. If you have a front wheel driven car, the chains need to go around the front tyres. If you have a rear wheel driven car, mount them around the rear tyres.
Buying new snow chains
Winparts offers snow chains for both passenger cars, vans and SUVs. Snow chains from brands such as Konig snow chains , Carpoint , Husky , Spikes Spider and Weissenfels can be ordered quickly and easily at Winparts UK.