I have just returned from a trip to France in my FL2. Horrendous conditions, but as far as traction was concerned it could have been mid summer. I have fitted Pirelli Ice and Snow winter tyres which were superb. I also have a set of Land Rover Snow Chains which cost me nearly £500. I need these as they are compulsory in Switzerland during winter, and I will be going there in February. Quite honestly I cannot forsee a situation where I will need to use them, unless the Police insist on them being fitted. Fitting is extremely difficult, and requires each of the front wheels to be lifted. To be honest, if the situation required this, and it was freezing and snowing; I think the task would be beyond me.

Has any one got any experience of these chains; or suggestions as to how I should deal with it. Would for example AA roadside assistance (five star European ) give assistance.

Many thanks

You never need chains on a FL2!  2008 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Automatic, Caspian Blue, Alpaca, Moon roof, Exclusive pack.

are these the plastic spikes that you have the adapter attached on the hub or actual chains?

I ask as LR only advertise spikes for the FL2? and these are supposed to be quick fitting type and looking on the owners info there is no jacking

If they have sold you actual chains then i would seriously have a check on whether they fit as so far i have heard only one type of chain fits, but even this was untested Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

also to add,

if your running proper winter tyres with the Triangle(?) Mountain with snowflake symbol you maybe allowed to proceed without chains, but as you say if the police are making it a chains only road you'll have no choice

Maybe, if you do need to jack it up,(i can't see why you would need to with chains or spike spiders) they i would suggest a small trolly jack, safer and easier to use that the thing in the boot

PPS.
Looking at the instructions for the spike spiders, I thought it looked as if you need to jack the car up to remove the chains, but closer inspection it is the collapsed chains on the floor which you drive off.

Normally fitting them, you have a section at the bottom which will pop into place when you drive forward slowly when fitting

Quote:

Ensure green section of spider is at base of wheel (it slides outwards on spider arms).

Thanks. There is a plastic adaptor fitted on the hub, which incidentally I keep in place all the time. The chains have a plastic framework, but the actual chains look very flimsy; they are invoiced as part number LR005169.

That number is the spike spiders, I don't have the
But I am pretty sure that you don't need to jack the car up Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I have the Spyke Spiders for my FL2 and they are a quick easy roadside fit assuming you already have the carriers fitted to the wheels. They are more than adequate in strength and do the job well (assuming you are not attempting Defender terrain). No wheel lifting required for any of the fitting. The wheel fittings are steel BTW, with just a plastic cover. Have you actually tried a trial fit yet? You will probably have to adjust the number of links from the "out-of-the-box" setting.

Quick edit - I agree with VIKING, you are unlikely to need the use of chains with a Freelander 2. Bought mine just in case of extreme conditions (including mud) or police requirement but only used them once as a test run.

Thanks Ahoy; sound advice. The LR dealer tried fitting them, but got in a bit of a mess. They seemed too short for the job, bearing in mind my Pirelli Ice and Snow tyres. Lifting the wheels made fitting possible, but if the links can be adjusted, I will try that when the snow clears !!!

Thanks to all of you for helpful comments; including Viking, who is very reassuring. I am travelling to the Swiss Alps in February, and bearing in mind they deal with snow effectively, I guess I may have experienced the worst of the weather in the last few weeks

I'm just having fun with these now. Trying to fit them Xmas morning as driving up to Andorra tomorrow - from Toulouse. I ordered them with the car - in case I needed them. Now I may do if the local rules say so. I'm glad I did as I now read that standard chains either don't fit or could damage the car. Seem bloody complicated though! Can't get them over the wheel just now. That's why I came here for some tips. I probably need to adjust them as I have 18 inch wheels.

Good luck. I have the 17 inch wheels, and these Spike Spyders are supposed to fit 17 and 18 inch. I too struggle, and have serious doubts as to whether they will go round the wheel !!

I've done it now. I expanded the chains by two links. And to get them fully on the wheel, I had to role slightly forward and back to be able to slip them fully over. Beats jacking the car up. Now I know what to do, I'm not expecting too much trouble to fit them once in the snow. The base plate thing is on and will will stay on.

I feel relieved now. When I first opened the box, it was like opening an Ikea kit. Lots of bits and screws in little plastic bags, and a set of cartoon instructions with minimal text. And the canvas bag supplied to keep it all together is barely big enough. That type of design limitation is infuriating. You have to assume the bag designer never tried it out, or if they did, had a good half hour in a warm place to carefully jiggle all the bits together.

Oakwood; every single word of your last message completely echoes my own thoughts and experience. I also experimented with extending the links on my 17 inch wheels; but after one extension gave up because it was biting cold. Your idea of rolling forward and back is presumably with the engine running; I have 30 cm of snow surrounding my FL2 at the moment; and for a 66 year old pushing is a non starter.

I am still hoping that my Pirelli Winter tyres will get me through the Alps ok; but at least I now understand the principal of fitting the chains; and could present the theory to a garage or road patrol.

One further point which concerns me. The chains will be subjected to a lot of stress; particularly if you hit a section of road with little snow on it. Do you think there is any chance of the links being damaged and making it impossible to remove the chains !!

I have used mine a couple of times and are a fantastic design. As long as you have the bracket fitted to the wheels it takes about 30 seconds to connect the actual spikes. Remember you should have a fingers gap between the chain and tyre once on and that the green section should be at the bottom and left off. This will then self centre as you drive, it also takes a good few revolutions for the spike spiders to actually ride themselves to the correct position. If you go to the spike spider website there is a downloadable video which shows the whole fitting procedure.

This is a long version but gives you a good idea of fixings;

&feature=related

Thanks. The link to the video was excellent help.

JOHNTYWYN wrote:

I have 30 cm of snow surrounding my FL2 at the moment;

30 cm of snow is no match for a FL2 provided you have proper winter tyres.
Pirelli will do!  2008 Freelander 2 HSE TD4 Automatic, Caspian Blue, Alpaca, Moon roof, Exclusive pack.