NikB

Folks,

As the owner of a company car MY99 soob, I've offered to loan a colleague my car for a weeks Skiing trip in Chamonix in early March. He intends to drive to the resort along with his missus from London. He asked me whether or not he needs snow chains for the car....and so to the experts, what do you think?.

p.s 17" alloys fitted.

Many thanks,

Nick.

MarkCSC

I've just come back from Meribel in France and most cars there had chains including a lot of Scoobs and big 4x4 Tonka Toys. Your 17's will probably be summer tyres and not designed for lots of snow. Best bet would be to hire some chains just in case.

Totally off the subject, were any of you in Meribel last week? I saw a UK DBM with a huge sti spoiler do the most fantastic 4 wheel power slide with all four wheel spinning. Looked really funny

mark

[This message has been edited by Mark Champion (edited 15 January 2001).]

Airmiles

Nick,

I wouldn't call myself an expert on scoobs in snow..but I'm going through exactly the same decision process myself, and have driven 2WD extensively in snow in the US. And I know Cham quite well.

I can't give you a hard and fast answer - a lot depends on how things stand with it being a company car, how experienced your friend is, what tyres you have on....

In general, fresh packed snow is not too bad, and slush is OK, it's stuff that's melted and refrozen that's the killer. Big, fat dry-weather tyres are comparativley poor on snow.. and ABS is worse.

By law in France you need to carry snowchains in the mountains. (Although there might be an exception for AWD WITH snow tyres - TBC).

HOWEVER (taking this entirely with a pinch of salt and it's just a personal opinion, I accept no liability for your decision or your friends actions at the wheel, etc, etc):

- in practice, with Cham being so low (1000m), and on a main road (no passes or anything to get over), and your friend going in March when it will be quite a bit warmer, you should be fine without.
The only exception would be if there was a big dump, OR maybe unless you were trying to go up some of the steep & narrow side-roads.

So I would say:

If your friend is staying down in the valley, (e.g Cham or Argentiere town centres) you would be OK without. If staying up a side road or in a hamlet, (e.g. the far end of les Houches) you should probably take them to be on the safe side - or park at the bottom.

If you decide to get them, I'd advise you get the self-tightening ones e.g. Weissenfels (you don't want to see what a loose snowchain does to bodywork, brake lines, etc.)!

There are quite a few places that will hire snowchains/sell them on a sale or return basis if you don't use them (e.g. Snow+Rock, or see the back of a ski mag.)
This could be your best bet. They do make them to fit, albeit at approx 120 quid depending on exact size and model.

However, chains can make a mess of wheels, so you might want to bear this in mind & only use them as a last resort. It will also depend what tyres you have on - e.g. S02's are lot better than RE10s.

Whether with our without snowchains, just remember a scoob has an amazing ability to accelerate on snow..but only an average ability to stop.

I know this isn't a hard and fast answer, just trying to give you some info - at the end of the day your decision will depend on how cautious you want to be - but 120 quid for chains you end up not needing is a lot cheaper than the a prang...unless the company will pay anyway.

Edited to say - see if you can get a sale or return type deal, your best having them & not needing them than vice versa. Just avoid the cheap crappy ones!

Miles

PS Chains go on the front wheels.



[This message has been edited by Airmiles (edited 15 January 2001).]

Steve Howat

Hi Nick.

First, I recommend your mate tries Skis or a board and leaves the Scoob in the carpark! LOL.

Seriously, if you've still got them, fit your old wheels back on. It will probably be easier to fit the chains cos they don't fill the arches as much as the 17s and as Miles said the wheels could get damaged by the chains and by sliding into kerby things.... I think that the 16s handle better in snow too due to the higher sidewall??! (might be talking poo again though ).

Chains can be bought from most of the service stations along the way down. I know the services at Macon have plenty of different sizes (stopped there at Christmas on the way to Chatel). They cost about £30, have a tensioning ratchet and are good enough for occasional use (at least as much as you or your mate need). It's a cheaper way of at least having some in the boot in case the fuzz show an interest. Other than that, Halfords can get any size you need of a good quality set of chains and they will last ages. Cost about £60. And as Miles said, chains go on the front wheels . The only time I have ever needed to use chains in multiple visits to the Alps I parked in a carpark where lots of cars didn’t have chains fitted. When we had finished skiing for the day all the cars without chains had had a £250 fine slapped on the windscreen by the local police….

One other thought. The Mont Blanc tunnel isn't open yet and isn't due to be open until April. I've only driven to the Portes du Soleil at the top end of the french alps so I'm not sure if you need to use the tunnel to get to Chamonix. If you do your mate will need to do a detour through Switzerland or go lower down and come back up through Italy.... Something to think about.

Hope this helps!

Steve.


[This message has been edited by Steve Howat (edited 16 January 2001).]

camk

Better with smaller tyres as it decreases the surface area on the snow so more weight on a smaller patch of tyre.
I wouldn't advise going without chains just for emergency purposes anyway, if you can get them for 30-60 quid it must be worth it. Don't know specifically about Chamonix but have been to Austria twice by car and need the chains on both occasions in St Anton and Lech, only in a 2wd Astra but still worthwhile for Scoob I think.

Airmiles

Steve - useful info on the French prices!

Nik - the Mont Blanc tunnel closure doesn't affect it - it goes FROM Chamonix TO Italy

Jerry Whitney

Drove 300 miles in my scoob around the Alps over Xmas, I was sking at Les Saisies (not far from Chamonix region). Lots of ice and snow and very steep and twisty roads. Car was an ace. I had no problems on standard tyres but did have chains(which must be fitted to front wheels) which I never used. Chains for all wheel sizes were sold in MWay services at approx £20 for standard and £30 for deluxe. I very much doubt that you'd need them in March, just warch out for ice and treat it with respect.

Steve Howat

You may not need chains in March (although the way the weather is going you never know) but you still need to carry them by law, or face a hefty fine. The choice is yours.

I'm off again next week and I hope I need chains (Hmmmm, fresh powder... ).

mmason

I just came back from switzerland in my type R. You won't need chains, passes not clear after snow will have a sign on them and there will be a place to buy chains (garage etc)before you go up/down the pass. They are so efficient at clearing the roads though... be carefull going down especially if you've got no ABS on icy bits.