Recommended Snow Chains

Hi All,

While I am still waiting for the evoque to arrive I have been preparing and already have winter wheels, also thinking about chains incase of significant ice/snow (can get quite a bit in the Swiss mountains).

Any suggestions/recommendations on snow chains/spikes?

According to the owners manual snow chains cannot be fitted to 18, 19 or 20 inch wheels.
Spike-spyder style traction devices can be fitted to 17 inch wheels and then only to the front wheels.

What, cannot be fitted?? Aren't they mandatory in Switzerland if wanting to climb the montains in snowy conditions!?

I am planning a ski trip to Swiss alps in Feb with my 18" wheels... What now?

Any idea what would be the reasoning in not being able to fit to 19s? I would assume the rolling radius is unchanged regardless, is this due to extra width?

(09-01-2012 10:08pm)JiiPee Wrote:  What, cannot be fitted?? Aren't they mandatory in Switzerland if wanting to climb the montains in snowy conditions!?

I am planning a ski trip to Swiss alps in Feb with my 18" wheels... What now?

Tenerife is nice in February, and you can save weight and leave the skis at home

(09-01-2012 09:59pm)rchrdleigh Wrote:  According to the owners manual snow chains cannot be fitted to 18, 19 or 20 inch wheels.
Spike-spyder style traction devices can be fitted to 17 inch wheels and then only to the front wheels.

Awesome - somebody else who read the manual!

Well, went to see the owners manual then!

It mentions "traction devices and snow chains" - what's the difference between the two?

what about the snow 'socks'?
the material based ones?

I am utterly confused with chains, socks and traction devices. Back in Finland I have always had two sets of tyres: one "normal" set for summer use and then around November (due to the law and environment) changed to spiked winter tyres that work great in snow and ice. Then around April back to the summer tyres.

When I moved to france recently, I figured I will survive with normal tyres only. If the rare occurence of snowfall happends then it's best to leave the car to the garage anyway as Paris (or any part of France) will go to traffic chaos with one inch of snow (lol).

Now, as explained above, I intend to get the best out of the European Alps and go skiing (Tenerife is nice too, thanks ytshome ) However, I don't want to invest on winter tyres, if I only use them couple of weeks/year. So I was counting on chains if I run into snowy conditions. I heard that the Swiss Police will make roadside inspections if the conditions in the mountains get rough and they will not let a car through without the chains!? Can anyone from Switzerland comment on this one??

The problem with chains on wheels larger that 17 inches is the clearance between the tyre and suspension and/or bodywork. With 17 inch wheels the clearance is sufficient for Spikes-Spyder type traction devices and a limited number of small sized chains. Land Rover recommend the Spikes-Spyder type for both Evoque and Freelander but they're not cheap.

Snow Socks are a viable alternative and will get you out of trouble. Whether they are an acceptable alternative to chains is something that is not entirely clear. Snow Socks usually come with the German TUV mark but I'm still not sure if they are universally accepted in Switzerland as an alternative to chains.

My Freelander has 17 inch OEM Continental 4x4 Contact M&S all season tyres and I have not had to use chains or snow socks in the Alps with it, although I tend to carry both.

As for reading the manual - it's available on line and a simple case of look at the relevant section in order to answer the question.