January 11, 2025 david parker

Essential guide to installing snow-chains, what you need to know.

8 Tips on how to conquer fitting your snow-chains like a professional ice-man!

I can guarantee you one thing, that even if you actually have snow-chains, then you have no idea how to actually install them when you need them! It's like using a jack for a burst tyre or jump leads for a flat battery. We may have them, but we are bloody clueless when it comes to how to use them.

So, here's a little winter-warmer to get you to look really smug in front of everyone when you need to install those essential snow chains, if you want to stay on the road in very, very snowy conditions.

Before we get started

So, to start you need a set of snow-chains, so how do I select the best for my car. Well here are some initial elements that you need to know about.

Buy some winter tyres

Before you start, don’t fit snow-chains to standard all-round or summer tyres. For a start, they don’t perform at all in low temperatures, below 7C, then you should be switching to a set of winter tyres.

From personal experience, I’d recommend the Continental WinterContact TS870P, I have these on my Mini Countryman in Switzerland, but check out the reviews, there’s options with the Michelin Pilot Alpin 5 and Pirelli P Zero Winter 2. Now none of these are cheap, like 800CHF for a set, but you are likely to be only using one set of snow-chains on the front or back of your car, so you need traction for the set without any chains for maximum control. Believe me, try summer tyres and see how you get on!

Selecting the best snow chains

So, you need to know the size of your tyre, usually these are indicated on your tyres, you need the following. See the image below for your guide.

Now, you know the size which snow chains should I use. Well, check out this link that will give you some idea of the best solution for you. But, to save you time, you can’t really beat the original snow chain. From grip to breaking to the speed you can travel, and even the fitting they provide the most reliable solution. Check out König, they are about the best (reflex cross), with a good range and developing innovations for ease of installation.

Other options are snow socks, which I have seen to be totally useless in real-time reviews and cable-ties, that just rip-off. One thing I do know is that quality is an imperative, if you buy cheap (TEMU) you are putting your safety at risk. In addition, make sure you have a service provider, so buy locally, get your snow chains cleaned after use (there’s so much salt out there, your snow chains will start to corrode)! Your tyre provider/local garage is a good start.

Stuff for installation

In our previous blog we outlined some key winter products that you need, but, here is a list.

A head torch, you need your hands, both of them! So, get a decent night torch with several settings, it will save you so much frustration.
Safety Triangle, you will be putting on your snow-chains in dangerous dark places at some stage, so get yourself a reflective triangle and road warnings, well in advance of where you are.
Pair of Gloves, your hands will get cold, believe me, very cold, so get yourself a good pair of thin, but 100% waterproof gloves, you will thank yourself. Freezing hands are no good at fitting snow-chains, I’ve been there!
A decent floor mat, most snow chain kits come with an absolutely useless plastic floor mat, that sinks into the snow or blows away, totally useless! So my advice is use your All-weather 100% car floor mats (if you don’t have them, get them!). Take out both fronts when fixing your snow tyres, one for your snow chains (so they stay dry), try fitting them once they get into the snow, its impossible. The other for your knees, so you stay dry. I will guarantee 100% that you will get wet-knees no matter what you are wearing.

Practise, practise, practise!

I mentioned this earlier, but my advice is to practise, practise and practise installation before you are forced to install your snow-chains outside in really bad conditions. So, make sure you are somewhere dry.

Read the instructions
Put on your gear, yes, you may look like a “Dick” but this is what you will be wearing, do it! Gloves, Hat, Torch etc . . .
Start out the back of the car, as this is where your snow chains will be and go through each phase set-by-step, including using your car-floor-mats.
Install them, drive to settle them in.
Now take them off, note the position of your snow chains on installation, so you know the stopping phase or mark your tyres with a luminous pen (this is a tip)!

Here's a link to the usual König installation.

5. Back or Front Tyre choice for your snow chains?

Well you need to have them installed on the power source, so for front wheel (FWD) and Rear wheel (RWD) drive, that is fairly straight forward, but for All wheel drive (AWD), then refer to the manufacturers recommendations beforehand. Usually it depends on how much power is put through the front wheels, what the distribution is like, but it's important to find the right setting for the front or back.

It really doesn't make sense to install 2 sets of snow-chains, unless you know you will be in deep snow for some time, but if you are commuting up and down the mountain, this is overkill especially if you have a good set of winter tyres.

In this case, I always opt for the front wheels for the single chains, as this helps you drive the car into the corners.

7. Using your car mats for installation

Now this is just a little hint for you, I have seen so many people struggling to put on their snow-chains not because they don't know how, it's just the environmental conditions. When its snowy, it can be windy and cold. So, you get the snow chains out and put them in the snow, now they get all clogged up.

So one of our tips, is to definitely have a good set of custom-fit car floor mats, that you can remove and use for the job.

1st use one for the snow-chains, keeping them clear of snow and water, use the other mat to kneel on so you don't get wet (it helps your morale)! Then repeat for each side until you are done. It will make a huge difference to how fast you can install and take the snow chains off.

8. Cleaning & Maintenance

Don't forget to clean your chains every time you use them, I tend to put them in the back of the car either on the cargo mat or floor mat, so they can dry-out, but then you must clean them in fresh-water (power-hose is best) and let them dry inside. There is so much salt around, that if you leave them in the plastic box, they will sweat and just rust over the year so check that out, it will save you replacing $200-300 snow-chains every other year.