Dalle1985

Hi guys,

We are going to Switzerland this coming winter and I am trying to find some proper chains for the car. Any suggestions or experience - do you use steel or fiber? And would you put them on all 4 tyres or just the rears? Couldn’t get anything useful from the local dealer as NO ONE uses chains in Denmark.

jim04clk

Get dedicated snow tires and rims. No chains. Please.

Dalle1985

Of course I have winter rims... 19” winter rims actually - just because it is snowy, doesn’t mean the car can’t look good 😉

But several European countries, including Switzerland requires chains. It is not an option to not have them as they will ban you from driving and you will be fined... and trust me, you do not want to be fined in Switzerland.

Best solution I’ve found so far is the Michelin Easygrip, they are soft fibre rather than steel chains, so they don’t ruin my rims... but they don’t come in 255/35-19 - so still looking for options.

RichardCranium3

While I don't live in an area that requires chains, I've traveled in areas that do. Much like parts of Colorado, Switzerland has laws requiring appropriate equipment for the road conditions. This could mean AWD, snow tires, chains and/or a combination of the three. There are mountain areas of CH and northern IT that require snow chains if you're on the road.

Let the man ask for help.

gcurnew

Here's info from the equivalent of the AMA in Switzerland. TLDR; yes chains are required on some roads, AWD/4WD or not.
https://www.tcs.ch/de/testberichte-r...igatorisch.php

Info from Mercedes on chains: https://media.daimler.com/marsMediaS...ml?oid=9903478

RUD chains site: https://www.rud.com/en/products/tyre...suvs-vans.html

zibby43

SZ143 should fit with those specs.

Check these out:

Sailorlite

Chains for rear wheels or for all wheels? Any benefit to installing chains on the front, if it's even possible?

gcurnew

At a minimum 31% of torque is going to the front axle in the C43, so chains up front would provide additional traction. Need to check my owners manual when I get home to see if MB recommends chains on just the primary drive axle in a 4MATIC car, or both front and rear.

Dalle1985

Doesn’t look like there is much experience to be found here, ao I’ll go ahead and post what I’ve found out. So the big issue is that the normal chains might mess up the alloys. So you are either left with accepting that fact or buying “snow spiders”. I looked at spiders because they are easy to fit and don’t ruin the rims... but they cost a fortune - 1000$ for an AWD car.

So what I’ve ended up with is two sets of chains (since there are two different widths of tires) and then I’ve bought protective rubber covers for the wheels which just zip ties to the rims. Not the most elegant solution, but only 1/6th the price. And since I always use winter tires in the darker half of the year and I have no plan on ever actually using them, I should be okay. I’m used to driving in snow and winter tires will do just fine unless it is very mountainous. If you plan to drive regularly in mountainous terrain on a regular basis, I would really consider the spiders.

Lars T

Hi Dalle

you can get the chains in Thansen for 599-699,-
i have a set for my MB’s 255/40-19