Tyre aerosol grip "adhesive" spray to temporarily improve grip

it does help, but only lasts a very short while (yards) It is mainly to help get you moving out of the kerb or wherever rather than a general driving aid.

No.

This one claims 50 miles! - poetic licence I presume.

Do Halfords stock a version of this?

It claims to work by creating a layer of laquer. Are there any that work by temporarily making the tyre rubber tacky - ie as a rubber solvent? It would be bad for the tyres I expect but not as bad as chains breaking and wrapping round driveshaft.

If you're worried that you're not capable of fitting chains properly then snow socks are fairly simple.

Snake Oil ... except in very limited circumstances and as a very last resort in a real emergency 'cos it can seriously f*ck your tyres up unless instructions are followed to the letter.

The worry is the quality of the chains I have - the joints seem inadequate and discovering a badly bent fastener further undermines confidence. There is also the fact that when you need them, conditions tend to make fitting an extremely unpleasant job.

I haven't come across snow socks. Are they a good solution? (For increasing traction in snow on the extremely rare occasions when it is necessary)

In what way?

They effectively soften the rubber to get grip. At colder temperatures the rubber doesn't regain it's hardness (something to do with the Hysterisis of the rubber I believe) as well as it should, so they can wear more quickly.

We used to use this stuff when racing model cars, I know not the same but similar, and had to be extremely careful with it .. it only lasted one lap or about 100 yards. We have also used it on a (normal size) dragster, but that didn't matter as the tyres fecked up quickly anyway.

Personally, I wouldn't use it even in an emergency. I distrust it and would distrust the integrity of a car tyre that's used it.

And think, if you need _that_ much help to get going, how are you going to stop?

I've had a shovel and a stiff brush in the boot since the heavy snow arrived.

From a quick glance at the one I was asking about at

- it claims to work by applying a layer of laquer. I asked if there was one available that worked a different way - in the way you describe.

The Ebay seller may have it all wrong, but it is possible it is a different product/method of action from the one you have experience with?

Brakes.

Definitely possible ... I didn't read all the thread before my reply .. ;) We didn't spray it on, we brushed it on, and it was definitely a solvent of some sort.

in that case you could just get a spray bottle and some cheap cellulose thinners, that will soften rubber nicely, or do it the way the dragsters do it: bleach and spin the wheels.

Something like tyre buffing solution perhaps?

I think it was some sort of thinners we used, can't recall .. ;)

I dunno. I know it was some kind of solvent that we brushed on is all I recall (this was around 1984-88 ish) ... but it rotted tyres pretty quickly, within weeks if left on, which wasn't an issue for racing as we replaced them regularly anywya.

They're fine for getting you up that slope that would otherwise defeat you, I presume they wear out faster than chains, but we don't get that much snow, and if they do fail they're soft so whilst you could wrap them round something it'd be very unlucky & they won't trash your wheel arches the way chains can. You still end up with cold knees & fingers though.

strassenbaum wrote on 03/12/2010 :

I've not heard of it for 20 years, but back then the answer was yes. It gave a marginal improvement for a short while, but that might be all that is needed to unstick yourself.

strassenbaum brought next idea :

The stuff I bought 20 years ago just made the surface of the tyre sticky. It stuck to the tyre and was supposed to stick to the snow/ice. The ebay add claims 'new to the UK' - not if it is the same as I was using 20 years ago.

strassenbaum was thinking very hard :

It does not soften or attack the tyre, it only coats the surface. The ebay seller suggests it coats it to around a mm thick - to coat just one tyre to that depth would require several tins of the stuff.