Bongo Fury

Hi,

I'm buying some snowchains and wondered if anyone had any advice on 9, 12 or 16mm chain thickness please? I'm running 205/65/R15 tyres and there seems to be more than enough clearance for 16mm chains.

Is bigger better in this situation or will 16mm wreck my standard (not winter) tyres?

16mm is a very big chain for a car sized vehicle, more for an HGV I would have thought.

The various chains I have used over the past thirty years or so have all been around the 9mm size I would guess.

The bigger size will of course last a lot longer but will also give a lot rougher ride and be very heavy to manage as well. The small chain will be a lot better if you have to drive a small amount on tarmac between snow without shaking your fillings out.

Hi there,

We normally ski most seasons down in France.

Rather than chains, which are a nause to fit, have you had a look at 'snow socks' - thats a brand name, but rather than using chains these fit over your wheels (different sizes) and work out approx £50/60 a pair.

I used the same set on a vectra and a zafira as both were front wheel drive, so no real requirement for a rear set.

However with the bongo, especially if it's rear wheel drive and due to it's weight I would recommend a full set for your bongo.

The advantage of the socks is that there is no rough ride and as with chains you are limited to a certain speed.

On a different note, my father in law has discovered a Swedish tyre that's available in the UK. He swears by them as they are an awesome winter tyre, so unless you are going through deep snow they should do.

The issues for the bongo will be the load rating and availability..........once I find out I'll post the info on this.

Cheers now Oz

chinwaa wrote:Hi,

I'm buying some snowchains and wondered if anyone had any advice on 9, 12 or 16mm chain thickness please? I'm running 205/65/R15 tyres and there seems to be more than enough clearance for 16mm chains.

Is bigger better in this situation or will 16mm wreck my standard (not winter) tyres?

Hey, You know something we don't.

Thanks for all the info.

It seems that bigger chains might not be the way to go, so I'll have look at 9 or 12mm. Is there a grip trade-off if using socks instead of chains?

Hey, You know something we don't.

Ho ho, as far as I know, Climageddon isn't happening just yet. I'm gathering all the obligatory kit for an experimental snowboarding road trip to France. If it goes well I'll get some snow tyres for next year too, so the Swedish tyre info would be very welcome.

Cheers folks.

I'd go along with what bongodonkey says about snowsocks.

We've got some for the car and they are great, wont last as long as chains and its definitely a nono driving on tarmac.
Lot easier to get on/off though.

I think they are probably as good as chains on ice (more contact area) but not quite as good in snow.

Keen to avoid this on a mountain hairpin.


bongo ditch 003 by chinwaa, on Flickr

Yes, that was me. *must get winter tyres*

Hells bells that nasty, hope nobody was hurt.

We had a full set of winter tyres on during the bad weather and didn't get stuck once even in deep snow. Out every day even when it was really bad.
Definitely worth having.
My main problem was having a lowish bodykit on the bongo ended up acting as a snowplough.

When talking about winter tyres, just be aware that there are different grades, and the fact that a tyre is good in Scandinavia might not mean it is best for our milder, wetter conditions.

On another forum I am one one guy fitted 'Swedish' tyres, and they were very good in snow, but they were very hard and aggressive on wet roads and slid about a lot, and he ended up taking them off as they scared him.

They are designed for ungritted roads, often untarred too, and where there is often ice, quite unlike our conditions, where water and black ice can be more likely.

Central European tyres are 'on average', better for our conditions.

Hi there,

Sorry it took a while to get back wrt the swedish tyres my father in law is running.

The manufacturer is GISLAVED. I've checked some reviews out and they are good for winter/snow tyres and nowt else!

I have read an earlier post about how the tyres are designed for non-salted roads (scandinavian etc). However my f-in-law swears by them and thinks they are great on the Scottish roads over the last winter......snow and other horrible winter weather.

However like everything else you will need to make your mind up.

The next issue is now finding out if GISLAVED make bongo friendly sizes!

Hope this helps

Oz

Hello

Don't mean to sound funny but we've hung out in some pretty snowy areas (France, Canada) and would always go with decent winter tyres. Chains are for really mad conditions without winter tyres or perhaps unusual loads with no weight on the drive axle.

We bought some chains for our Freelander when it was new six years ago and we didn't know better and have never ONCE even thought about using them. We did 70,000m on the OE Michelins and have replaced them recently with some excellent Vredestein Wintrac Extreme tyres which are suitable for year round use no probs.

On the Bongatron we have Nexen CP641 which seem pretty good in mild snow and ice - I was greatly relieved to discover this capability when descending from the Jura into Geneva last year down rather steep roads with big drops in unexpected snow! The missus and I were rather gripped to say the least......and the kids wondered what was going on, with Mum shouting 'Be quiet! Your Father's got to concentrate!!'. I was busy sh**ting my pants!

Anyway, sorry to ramble on but basically I was astounded what proper winter tyres can do and if you choose carefully then they're OK all year round and can last yonks (70,000m! for us). Good luck.

Hi, we're back from the French Alps road trip in one piece, all good.

I was indeed only buying chains because it's obligatory to carry them and we may have been required to fit them in the resort. Not needed on this trip as the snowline was way above the village.

Thanks to your info and other research, I decided to get some winter tyres for next time and bought some chains for this trip. It seems winter tyres should be enough to cope with most conditions, and I'll only need chains if it's REALLY bad (or the Gendarmerie force me to put them on).

So following this logic, I went for 16mm crazy big chains, figuring that if I have to use them, I want maximum traction. They fit the tyres and arches ok and ride as rough as expected!