Volkswagen Enthusiast
For those going to the snow - be careful!
Australian police chopper nabs 56 speeding snow bunnies
2018 Allspace 162TSI R Line
Dubber
Used konig K-summits at Hotham on Friday, found them to be perfectly fine and they actually drove better than diamond pattern chains... a lot of scare mongering going on that they can fly off during driving etc, I can tell you they weren't going nowhere in a hurry. A bit of common sense driving coupled with a follow up inspection of the chain after a few mins of driving to make sure everything is as it should be and you'll be fine.
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Volkswagen Enthusiast
Don’t you need diamond pattern chains for Hotham?
2018 Allspace 162TSI R Line
Dubber
Yes you do, but there are hardly any checks at Hotham.
I'm sure so many people go up without any chains being carried most days!
Dubber
Yes, they only accept diamond pattern there, the feel there is some politics getting played there regarding these chains, globally K-summits are accepted everywhere from NZ to Europe/Swiss Alps , even thredbo and Perisher, however dispite this, Hotham has outlawed them as illegal and dangerous, there reasoning... ??? They can come off in driving, ( Even though they are tethered to a wheel nut ) , 2nd excuse I've heard is, in Europe these K-summits are fitted to winter tyres not summer tyres like we have... ( I specifically wrote to Konig and asked this direct question to them , with there response being " Our K-summits are designed to be used with both winter or summer tyres" ) now that's the manufacturers response to a product used globally.... you be the judge of which response holds more weight, the manufacturer or some hear say rumour that keeps getting thrashed around with no real statistical data to back up the claims....Originally Posted by iDiesel
3rd excuse I've heard is, chains can come off when fitted to cold tyres ??? ( I can maybe believe it, if it was the other way round, tight fitting chains on warm tyres in which as the tyres gets cooler, the chain may get looser ? Because of the cold climate shrinkage)
4th excuse I've heard.... chain contact point onto tarmac is only 60-70mm wide, therefore not a lot of chain contacting the tarmac which could result in your car getting into a slide in a slippery situation.... now if you look at the diamond pattern chain, that chain to tarmac contact point is even less than the K-summits, but deemed safer ????
So all in all, there is something going on up there at Hotham, and I can't figure it out, when I used them chains last, they worked a treat, didn't damage my tyres/rims, there was no un- authorized slippage, car behaved totally fine in adverse conditions....
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Dubber
Hotham are the most strict of all resorts... on the weekend because it was snowing, resort officials were out in force together with police ready to pounce on anyone being rogue and trying to drive up without chains...
Having said that, I seen many cars up there with clearance issues on the wheels hampering there ability to put diamond pattern chains on, so these guys either took the gamble and drove up without chains or they drove up with chains that didn't necessarily fit there car, but had them in the boot as per legislation...
Ironically Audi is a sponsor of Hotham and I'm pretty sure the Q5 and Q7 in their "S" range with the bigger wheels also can't fit diamond pattern chains, so how that works out I'm not sure, but I did see a lot of SQ5 and SQ7 up there, none fitted with chain to make a observation.... so notice sure how they navigate around the rules ???
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Volkswagen Fan
OP here. Apart from expense, is there anything wrong with fitting 0mm clearance chains on the front (e.g. konig K-summits) and, if going to Hotham, to also add diamond-pattern chains on the rear (where clearance isn't an issue)?
Dubber
That's exactly what I did, to satisfy the requirements, I hired diamond pattern for the rears ( although hoys in harrietville) bitched and moaned about not being legal to fit chains to the rears, made me get the owners manual out, fluffed around telling me what I already know, that VW advises to put diamond pattern on the front wheels etc etc Alls I wanted was these diamond pattern chains to meet the requirements, I had no intentions of using them, I used my k-summits and they worked perfectly fine... I know they are not allowed at Hotham, but I suspect some politics going on.
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Volkswagen Fan
Excellent. So spider chains on the front, plus diamond on the back (for Hotham only). Safe, legal, meets all resort regs, doesn't require buying/storing an extra set of wheels, and avoids hassle with the chain hire shops. Only downside is the expense.
Dubber
1st option, try get as far as you can with K-summits chains... they are a quality product, and will work fine... if pushed, only then do you put diamond chains on rears... that's how I would handle it.
If weather is good, even better, no need for anything.
1 observation I have made when using K-summits.... even though the manufacturer says, 1 stop... a good idea is 500m down the road, stop and check everything is hunky dory and the chain has settled where it needs to on your tyre
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