Snow chains: what types there are, how much they cost, and the advantages and disadvantages of each class

There are plenty of reasons to recommend carrying two sets of tyres rather than regularly resorting to any of the types of snow chains for car wheels that exist.

Except in very stable environments, the weather differences make it advisable to have winter tyres for the seasons of low temperatures and frequent rainfall, and summer tyres for the months of higher ambient temperature and lower rainfall. In any case, at a time like the one we are currently living through, with the Filomena storm being the most popular incident of recent years, the debate over whether it is better to have winter tyres or to fit snow chains to the car’s wheels is won hands down by the home team. That said, it is by no means out of the question to take a balanced approach and opt for all-season tyres, also known as All season.

But we also understand that every user’s needs are what they are, so we address the subject of what types of snow chains for car tyres exist, along with their price.

Snow chains for car tyres: liquid or spray

Although it is not what any user would understand as a chain in itself, these aerosols that are applied directly to the tread of the wheel are only recommended in circumstances of slight loss of grip and for occasional use, such as starting off or an emergency situation such as freeing the vehicle from a stuck position it can get out of and rejoin the road.

A road, it must be said in passing, that does not require the mandatory use of chains, since these liquids that boost traction in low-grip conditions do not replace any type of chain and, therefore, even though they may be sprayed in front of a law enforcement officer, the vehicle will not be permitted to continue driving.

⚠️❄️#Warning of #snowfall #rain #storms across much of the country. DO NOT travel if you can avoid it. In any case, check the weather with @AEMET_Esp and the condition of the #roads beforehand.

ℹ️@InformacionDGT https://t.co/yB9BcvCEtZ ☎️011

Do not leave without winter tyres or #chains pic.twitter.com/dADt4k6K4t

— Dir. Gral. Tráfico (@DGTes) January 8, 2021

The price of a can of liquid chain is around 10 euros, and both its cost and its use, obviously, are limited by the volume of the container, which is usually very small.

Snow chains for car wheels: steel link

These are the most common among those who do not usually use this type of safety element. They are the traditional ones, made from plain steel chains whose link segments interlock to form a kind of geometric pattern that ends up covering the tyre’s tread, providing traction, always and exclusively, to the drive axle wheels that the tyre’s tread pattern cannot reach.

These are the cheapest snow chains for wheels, provided we exclude the liquid chain sprays mentioned above, since they cost around 40 euros, although options can be found even below this price and somewhat higher as well, depending on the material and design, since some include tensioners that allow a better and quicker fit. In any case, the Guardia Civil and the DGT have reactivated their usual annual seasonal campaign, in which they show or remind people how to fit chains.

Thanks to their price, the volume they take up and their usefulness, they are usually the first option chosen by users of snow chains for car tyres who do not frequent terrain with low grip caused by snow or mud build-up.

Snow chains for car tyres: textile cover

More recently they have gained ground for practicality, both in fitting and storage, as well as effectiveness, the covers for car wheels or textile tyre chains. Like the warm-up sleeves used in competition, they fit like a glove, provided one uses, as is logical, the dimensions of the mounted wheel, which allows the vehicle’s drive wheels, through a covering or uncovering process, to have the grip that the rubber surface cannot provide on its own.

One of the major disadvantages compared with traditional snow chains for wheels, the metal link ones, is their price, since it is practically double that of the former, given that their wear, being a fabric as opposed to the metal of the links, is more noticeable with regular use, so they end up offsetting the purchase of a tyre capable of driving on snow compared with resorting to this type of textile wheel cover.

Snow chains for car wheels: net or composite type

In a way, they may seem like a hybrid snow chain system between the traditional and the fabric ones, since, while a fabric mesh is deployed covering the wheel’s contact surface with the ground, it uses a diametral deployment of tensioners to fit the accessory to the wheels.

Their price rarely falls below 90 euros but can double that, so, as with the fabric covers for tyres, their quick and simple installation, easy storage, effectiveness in motion but cost and also wear make them a great option at times like the ones Filomena is putting us through. However, it is worth considering whether using them compensates more, in every sense, than fitting tyres designed to drive on snow.

Snow chains for car tyres: semi-automatic or spider type

These are the most expensive and most innovative, but also the ones recommended for regular use, since, given the need to keep the central disc anchored to the rim, around which the “legs” attach like a spider to the outer flank, hence the name, they can also be placed longitudinally on the tread with metal-link chains.

Given their design, deploying and attaching the arms to the wheel is almost immediate, but this advantage comes with the major drawback of their price, which starts from a couple of hundred euros and can comfortably double, although it must be said that they are recommended for high-performance vehicles that use low-profile tyres.