Guide: Winter tires or snow chains?

Many motorists do not mount winter tires. Then the question may arise: Are snow chains on summer tires a possible alternative?

TCS tested two front-wheel drive cars on snow-covered roads: one with very good winter tires and the other with summer tires and snow chains.

Clearly longer braking distance to standstill
In both cases, the verdict was clear: When braking from 50 to 0 km/h, the car with winter tires needed 24 meters to come to a standstill, while the car with summer tires and snow chains needed 34 meters. A similarly unfavorable result was achieved when starting off.

Further tests have shown that a car with summer tires and snow chains on the drive axle has very unstable handling. In addition, a car with summer tires and snow chains is difficult to steer during an evasive maneuver.

In addition, ESP and ABS have trouble controlling because the grip is very poor.

Winter tires better in wet and cold conditions
In addition to cold and snow, winter also brings wetness and ice. In addition to the fine snow sipes, winter tires have a higher proportion of natural rubber and silica, which gives them better grip in wet and cold conditions. The interaction between the rubber compound and the road surface changes depending on the temperature.

Towards the zero-degree limit, the rubber of summer tires becomes so hard that the tire loses grip, especially on wet surfaces. Winter tires, however, remain flexible and soft enough to mesh optimally with the ground even at low temperatures.

Snow chains are also subject to specifications
There is no obligation to use winter tires in Switzerland. Nevertheless, the rule applies that the motorist must be on the road with a roadworthy car.

Snow chains are also subject to specifications. The chains are only allowed on the wheels when there is snow on the road. In this case, 50 km/h must not be exceeded.

And: It may well be that snow chains are not compatible with summer wheels.

tcs.ch