Why it's important to select the correct vehicle and tyre size

Vehicle

There are a surprising number of vehicles that cannot use traditional snowchains, the types that put chain on the inside of the wheel as well as on the tread. This is usually because there is not enough space between the wheels and the shock absorbers; this can be a problem for ordinary SUVs and 4x4s as well as for high performance cars.

You will find this important information in your car handbook - please check this before using your snowchains! Our database is intended to do the basic work for you but, with so many new vehicles and tyre sizes, it should only ever be treated as a guide.

Tyre size

Please also check your tyre size - if you buy incorrectly-sized chains they will be either too tight or too loose.

Ladder track chains

The good news is that car handbooks usually only refer to "traditional snowchains". Ladder track chains such as the Polaire GRIP and Spikes-Spider range only put chain over the tyre tread, so are not subject to these restrictions. They are also ideal for use on rear wheel drives where there is minimal space between the top of the wheel and the wheel arch.

Can we help you?

We are sorry that we cannot accept visitors. We are a mail order business only, and do not have a showroom or a shop. Due to the need to protect our workforce we must not accept visitors at this time. Thank you!

We can be contacted in all the usual ways, but please note that the demand for car racks this year is unprecedented, huge, due to more people ordering online, and more people driving to UK holiday destinations. We are lucky to be so busy, but at the moment we cannot answer every phone call, or answer every e-mail or ticket on the day it's received. All our staff are keen to do their best, and are working very long hours, but there are not enough hours! Please be patient.

In particular, and especially because some of our staff are working from home, answering only written requests, please only contact us in one way or the other. In other words, if you e-mail but also phone, and then we research an answer to an e-mail and write a reply, only to find that you dealt with the matter by phone, it's not an efficient use of our time.

We ask that, where appropriate, you check the link on your confirmation e-mail for the latest status of your order.

We know that we have a significant number of back orders to deal with, and are working to get these products out to our customers ASAP. It is unfortunate that our supply chains are also struggling, with deliveries not happening as planned, often both late and short of the expected stock. We will do the best we can to help as many of you as possible, as soon as possible. Thank you!

Our phone lines are available 9am - 6pm, Monday to Friday. If you can't get through, please send a ticket (pre-sales enquiries) or an e-mail (after-sales enquiries)

Please be patient if it takes us much longer than usual to answer - we have unprecedented numbers of enquiries at the moment.

Are you looking for pre-sales advice? Please send us a ticket, but first of all it makes sense to read our buying guides and recommendations, and check out our FAQs and knowledgebase, to see if there is an answer to your general questions.

If your enquiry is about the status of your order, please check the Follow your order here link on the confirmation e-mail we sent you. This is an area that we are working on, aiming to provide you with more detailed information about the progress of your order.

E-mails are most appropriate for after-sales enquiries. Please include your customer code, or order reference, but even just your post code is very useful for us.

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