signum/vectra snow chains

[keith_johnson1967]

hell i have a signum 2004 with 215/50 17 wheels has any body used snow chains on these wheels just want to check there is enough clerance or should i use a snow sock or easy grip wanted to know before i went out and bought snow chains thanks in advance

[Big Sig]

No idea sorry, but I guess they will fit. TBH never driven in anywhere enough snow to need them in this country.

[keith_johnson1967]

where i drive in winter you need them spend most of time in romania big snow from december till march anybody else used or tried snow chains thanks

[_ZS_]

Personally, if I were doing reasonable snow miles I'd look at buying proper snow tyres. Safer, less likely to whip the **** out of your car when they try to make a break for freedom, quieter...

[neilrj]

hell i have a signum 2004 with 215/50 17 wheels has any body used snow chains on these wheels just want to check there is enough clerance or should i use a snow sock or easy grip wanted to know before i went out and bought snow chains thanks in advance

Hi Keith

I have used snow chains on that size tyre and my set barely fitted as the sizes range was a bit tight, I ended up taking wheels off to
mount them as this was quicker in the end, I would have frozen struggling with them as they didn't really fit properly.
Eventually I bought some 15" wheels and then some M+S tyres to fit and hardly ever need the chains now but they fit so much better
and can be done in situ - jacking up so you can spin wheels to fit is also sometimes a bit easier (if you can get to the jack :-( )
If you do get chains make sure the wheel size is in the middle of the size range so you have leeway for fitting, the chains also need to
be 9mm or narrower for clearance on 215/50/17. You must retension after a few rolls of the wheels and before you give it any welly,
and check tension again after a few hundred yards.
You need to practice before you go a couple of times as you will panic and struggle in the cold - take some marigold gloves and some
plastic bags to protect the sleeves of your jacket.

neilrj

[Duncan]

hell i have a signum 2004 with 215/50 17 wheels has any body used snow chains on these wheels just want to check there is enough clerance ...

From the owner's manual.....

Snow chains are not permitted on the temporary spare wheel 115/70 R 16 and tyre sizes 215/50 R 17, 225/45 R 18 and 235/35 R 19.

Always use fine mesh chains that add no more than 15 mm to the ty re tread and the inboard sides (including chain lock).

So according to that you can't/shouldn't use them with 215/50/17 - although it doesn't say why!

[neilrj]

From the owner's manual.....

Snow chains are not permitted on the temporary spare wheel 115/70 R 16 and tyre sizes 215/50 R 17, 225/45 R 18 and 235/35 R 19.

Always use fine mesh chains that add no more than 15 mm to the ty re tread and the inboard sides (including chain lock).

So according to that you can't/shouldn't use them with 215/50/17 - although it doesn't' say why!

Hi Duncan

I saw that too but chose to ignore it as in the handbook it didn't seem to restrict the use of 225/45/17 with chains
so it can't be width and frankly the overall diameter with 9mm chains is smaller than these with 15mm chains .
But in the end fitting chains in the cold is a pain, have restricted speed and need removing in clear conditions
make them an emergency solution only - not good when my job is in the Alps...

In the end I decided real snow tyres had to be a better idea and as buying four steel 15" wheels on fleabay and
4 tyres @ http://www.mytyres.co.uk/ being cheaper than just 2 17" tyres it really was a no-brainer.
I've had them on 2 sigs for 2 seasons and they still don't seem to show any wear after what must be 5K miles
at least, I haven't checked depth of tread but they still look new!

It really is remarkable the difference snow tyres (actually M&S, mud and snow) make in thick snow and ice, some
of the improvement in fresh snow is undoubtably due to the narrower profile cutting into snow better and not
clogging and becoming 'slicks' like the 17's did, but on ice they really come into their own and I'm not sure that
is just down to profile and must be the compound as the tread is no different to normal tyres.

And other slight benefits are that since my 17's are near shot, I have the option of using the M&S until I can replace
the others, but wear is greater at higher temperatures (+12C) so not for long - say until July in the UK
Oh and if fitted in a muddy field gets the car and caravan to the gate no problems - knackers the field mind you

neilrj

[chrish]

snow or winter tyres are the way to go if the temp goes below +5 degrees. at that temp normal tyres compound becomes hard. here in Germany, although it is not against the law not to use winter tyres, if there is snow on the ground you cannot drive with summer tyres.

[neilrj]

snow or winter tyres are the way to go if the temp goes below +5 degrees. at that temp normal tyres compound becomes hard. here in Germany, although it is not against the law not to use winter tyres, if there is snow on the ground you cannot drive with summer tyres.

Hi Chris

The easy way around that law is to take your wheel trims on the front off if you are on steel rims and it looks like you've put the winter wheels on.

BUT

I was stopped only once in the Alps to check my tyres out and that was only because the Gendarme had seen a crash a few days before and had
discovered that the car had used the above trick to fool the him on duty at the chain layby - if you have tatty wheels showing you are generally
waved through - but don't crash on the next bend these guys have guns!!

neilrj

[Cool_IrnBru]

Hi All,

My first post, yipee!

Might be heading up north into the Highlands in February to stay in a log cabin in the middle of nowhere and was thinking about snow chains. My Vectra SRI has 235/35 R19's on it and wondered if anyone had ignored the warning in the manual and actually tried this.

If so where did you get them, what did they cost, were they easy to fit and any other advice I should be aware of would be most welcome.

If all goes well I won't even need them but given that I'll have the family in the car I don't fancy becoming a statistic or featuring on the 10 o'clock news.

Cheers
Laurence.