Can Off-The-Shelf Traction Aids Make a Civic As Good In The Snow As a 4x4 Grand Cherokee? 

Excellent illustration of why it's so cringeworthy to hear people profess they don't need winter tires because they've got AWD. Being able to stop is the most important part of driving!

Excellent lesson about braking. A lot of SUV drivers get into trouble because they can get going a lot faster, but braking distances are a lot longer.

i'm legit impressed with those auto socks, always thought they were an overpriced gimic.

It would have been nice to see how this would compare to another similar civic with designated 3 peak mountain snowflake tires, and compare that with the autosock/chains etc.

In my half a century of driving in snow and ice I have seen far more 4wd vehicles in the ditch than 2wd with chains. I think the reason is that chains do one simple thing that 4wd does not: they make you slow down!

My ‘05 Corolla with Blizzaks is better in the snow than my 4Runner with all seasons. Good winter tires are a game changer.

Last winter I was driving up the California mountains in my GTI with chains on and had no issues at all. I was even passing by wranglers and other 4x4s that were stuck going up steep inclines. Their are better chain designs then the ones they bought but they are tricky to put on low cars with minimal gap in the wheelwell like my GTI.

I bought my first set of blizzaks this year. I am absolutely amazed at what a proper snow tire can do. Hard to explain, you have to experience it.

Teaching my daughter how to drive last week in the snow, I said those exact words “4wd helps you get going, but doesn’t help to stop.”

Thank you for including the back to back part about stopping with AWD SUV vs FWD car. Very few people ever seem to think about this when they set out in their 4WD trucks or AWD SUVs/Subarus. Being able to accelerate more easily means nothing good if you’re just going to slide past a stop sign or red light at the first intersection. I learned to drive in FWD cars and I was taught to gauge the level of traction on the road by giving the car some throttle and see how easy it is to spin the tires. I had to forget that technique when I got my first AWD car because it gives you a false sense of how slippery the roads are. I now use the brakes to gauge the level of traction on the road. I consider chains an “emergency use only” type of thing because of their substantial speed limitation, their requirement of constant maintenance and tightening, and the substantial damage they do to the roads.

Great video. Would really have liked to see the Civic with Blizzaks as a "best case" benchmark.

I enjoyed this experiment. Nice to see how these products work. Definitely a positive review for the autosock, not so much the amazon block. Best part about this experiment is that it was real conditions and didn't involve those roller pad thingys that are used in the other traction tests on dry land. I understand measuring the time for comparison sake, but there are some things in life that success is simply measured by how safely you can complete a task. Just like no one needs to tow uphill at 80 miles an hour.

Another great video! Thanks for putting the time in to show the differences in winter traction aides!

Would love to see the civic on snows and the GC on K02's or some other three mountain peak all-terrain

Thanks for the hard work and effort in putting all this together in those challenging conditions.

I prefer snow tires and steel wheels on my Civic to all seasons on my 2001 Ford F-150. Considering that I save my all season tires for non-winter driving, the cost isn’t too bad. I don’t have to replace the all season tires as soon because they don’t see snow and ice.

dang the braking distance difference is kind of insane. considering half of the cars on the road weigh about as much as the jeep and run all seasons. I'll stop in time in my civic just to be reliably rear ended by an SUV

What If... the Civic had actual snow tires like Blizzaks?

I've got snow tires on my Crosstrek...love it in the winter...never had a problem getting through the deepest roughest snow

This was exactly what I was looking for with testing the various traction aids in the snow. The tire sock seemed fascinating, might have to pick one up just in case and much easier to put on than chains too.

Very useful, thanks for sharing. I'm glad you shows the braking as well... its scary how many people i've talked to who legitimately thought 4WD/AWD helped for stopping as well when in fact it does not help. Now I want to see how proper winter tires on the Civic do, and maybe those super praised Michelin Cross Climate 2 all seasons. The ultimate guide to where to spend your money if you are stuck with 2WD.

Awesome show, thanks for sharing. In northern Ontario Canada I use Nokian Rotiiva AT on my Ridgeline trucks and MDX with no issues. I use Nokian H3 on my Civic and Accord 2.0T and have no real issues except we get snow 20 cm or more with bottom out. We had 40 cm recently and my 2018 Ridgeline plowed through no problem, but left Accord at mall parking lot over night because I didn't want to damage body, but traction was very good

Thank you Tommy and Alex, great review of products with an average car.

Keep these up!! Great vid men

Your prowess continues to grow. Great. I can't believe your span of reviews.

Interesting video for sure. I would always recommend designated winter tires though if you live somewhere where it snows. I got some on my Explorer (in my content) and they make a huge difference.

I love my 4X4s, but I have often said that on maintained (plowed) roads, a 2wd with chains will get you anywhere a 4wd or AWD will get you. So, I'm glad to see you do this test. But in the future, maybe you can use a slightly different test. criteria? "How fast can I get somewhere" is a criteria that is really stacked against any traction aid because, as you noted, traction aids aren't designed for high speeds. Maybe you can find progressively steeper hills to drive until one vehicle doesn't make it up. PS - Doing more videos like this can also demonstrate that with even minimal practice, the tire chains will go on a lot faster. I mean look at the video at 9:18 - I'm sure you corrected that installation before you ran the test, as they would not have stayed on that way. But it demonstrates that a lot of time can be saved once you understand how the lever fasteners are supposed to be used.

How times have changed! Two guys in snow country don't know how to install tire chains! Wow! Chains work well in mud too.

If chains come loose, they can really tear things up. I wonder how many miles those socks are rated for?

Finally some decent video about how to install on low clearance car. i can barely fit my hands in the front fender so normal chains are somewhere between impossible to very hard to put on

Would be cool to see how the Civic does on some Hakkapeliittas vs the Jeep with all seasons. I pass a lot of AWDs in my 2wd Tundra on my way to Timberline.

Awesome to see you guys testing Autosocks! I used these on a Prius in Flagstaff a few years back and was very impressed with ease of install and functionality. I wonder how long they last though.

Nice work guys, great experiment

Perhaps a set of dedicated snow tire. With snow tires there is no issue with FWD

Tire aids are very effective for sure. Many eons ago, I went up a hill road covered in snow to a ski village in the southern French Alps. I had a borrowed Honda Fit (called Jazz in France) with regular tires and chains on the front tires. I had no issues and never got stuck. I remember the chains I had being much easier to install though, I didn’t have to roll the car over it…

Why not test dedicated winter tires like Blizzaks. Tire Rack has a garage rack to keep whatever tires/wheels are stored for the off season. Works great. Dedicated winter tires are the best method, IMO.

Really good job guys! I've seen those "auto socks" at the tire store, but never seen them used. I wonder what the life expectancy is on those, i.e. how many times can they be used.

When I was a kid and 4wd was kind of rare and considered really expensive. (The days when a loaded truck air/tilt/cruise/stereo/power windows & locks, that it!) we had several work trucks for ourselves and the crew (10+) so usually had 2 x 4wd and the rest RWD. We would have chains on the rwd models pretty much as long as there was snow. They lasted longer than you would think and drastically improved the traction. There was no traction control or ABS back then so the 4wd was better still, but in some conditions, like really deep snow, it was pretty close or the chains were better. Now this was in the corrals and in the pastures. The majority being off-road. There was never a problem with clearance or wheel damage, but in really hard winters we would damage the rear tires sidewalls pretty bad. It would cost a couple of hundred dollars (if that) for a pair of rear tires in the spring. Always heavy grip tires going on the back. Those were the days!!! I still often take my 67 C10 RWD with a G80 rear differential and 3:42 gears. I have a set if winter tires on all 4 wheels. It does well enough and with all the experience I have, I am not concerned. (The truck has 4 wheel power disc brakes vs the 4 wheel manual drum brakes it originally had). As proven here 4wd doesn’t help you stop!!!!

I put Blizzaks on my Chevy Volt...and I'm pretty happy with the traction with acceleration, cornering and braking.

All i can say that my FWD cars have always been excellent during my MANY hard North Idaho winters. I use Dedicated studded and syped Snow tires (Blizzaks) and in my experience FWD is the king when it comes to maintaining control over your vehicle as well as stopping the vehicle when you really need to stop it NOW, and thus getting where you need to go safely. Ill take a FWD car with my snow tires over AWD/4WD with all season tires lol. Any day.

Very good video and information, I ordered the snow socks already and I also have snow tires. Great job

Nice informative video. I own a Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. In January 2020 I wanted to go to Yosemite. I tried to buy chains in Merced but the tire store didn't have my size. But they did have the tire socks. I'd never heard of them so I bought them reluctantly. I ended up not using them. But it's nice to know that when the time comes I can use them with confidence. Thanks.

Years ago I used to put snow chains (cables) on my 240SX because it was my only car and I drove it for many years that way I remember passing f-150s that were stuck in the snow just chugging through with my chains.. and the 240 was probably one of the worst in the snow without the chains.

When I lived up north, I always bought a dedicated set of snow tires, mounted on rims. The only time I got stuck was hitting a three foot snowdrift, and got high centered. I enjoyed pulling out stuck 4WD trucks with my 2WD rear wheel drive van.

I was really impressed by the performance of those AutoSocks !!! They really are a great alternative to winter tires or all-weather tires for people who live in an area that has mostly green grass all winter long and only get an occasional snowstorm once every month or two.

Very interesting tests, that's what I wanted to know about 2wd vs 4wd

Great video guys

Since both vehicles have all-wheel braking, the lighter vehicle has a good chance of winning. Very few people think of that when they set off in their four wheel drive vehicles.

The socks work well in the rockies where snow is powdery but they don't work as well in the heavy wet slushy snow. Definitely a much better option for modern vehicles with small tolerances between the tire and fender. Personally I'm more old school with chains and one quite a few occasions I have put chains on the back of my 2wd truck and have had better traction and go better in snow than 4wd vehicles, also have better braking on snow than plain tires as well. Another plus for me for tire chains is they can be used in mud as well, being on a farm it's also quite handy. I do really like the rubber blocks as they are just ment to get you unstuck not as a driving traction aid. I have seen that type of traction aid advertised before by a company called Truck Claws but they are made for heavy commercial trucks

Interesting test guys, nice to see all these products in action. This is also why winter tires are mandatory where I live 😊

Great video for both AWD and FWD cars in the elements. Thanks.

Great video, the Autosocks suprised me. I alone can mount four Pewag Snox Pro chains on my AWD vehicle in 5 minutes and they are REAL chains, self tightening, self centering.

I've always wondered about this, thanks guys, but i would of rather seen the best snow tires on the civic vs 4wd

it's a cool video. I love all the TFL videos and channels. I am from Canada, and in general I drive on paved roads which eventually get plowed. I drive on a lot of hills due to my house being on a rather steep hill, and my town in general has a lot of hills. I literally never want to drive in the snow without winter tires. Heck, I would get studded tires if my part of the country would legally allow for them. I drive a FWD sedan as a daily, and honestly, I've never been stuck in my life. However yeah, AWD / 4WD with a dedicated winter tires is always nice to have. In general, I keep chains in trunk/back in case of emergencies, a shovel and some kitty litter. An old blanket and extra coat in my back seat, and a few snacks and some water in case I just straight up get stuck. I even keep a CAA membership (Canada's version of AAA)

I own a 06 Accord and it has Crossclimate 2 tires. They're an all weather tire. Yesterday my area got dumped with 8" of snow and the car just drove like a normal with that much snow. I lost a bit of traction when going, but the grip was so great. Braking was also great, ABS never was used even though I was braking like what i normally brake in dry conditions. Saw many vehicles (2WD) getting stuck or not getting traction on the road, while I saw AWD vehicles having trouble braking or going slowly to avoid braking at high speeds.

I grew up in the mountains and have only owned fwd cars. I go up the mountains about every weekend for some snow sport or other. I rented a Subaru Outback for a season and did not find a difference until there was 2 inches of fresh snow on the road. My Ford Fiesta with snow tires has never let me down with anything I wanted to do. I love the regulations Oregon has for chain/traction tires. The law doesn’t care if you have awd for main roadways. as long as you have traction tires, (they must have the mountain peaks with snow flake symbol) you’re good to go. When I was in Washington, an awd with all-seasons was (according to the regulations) better than a fwd car with snow tires. I really wish more states would adopt actual traction tire laws.

Great video! Can you guys making another video of all season tires vs winter tires on the Civic ( or any other) under same testing?? I’m sure that the order also who wants to know if I winter tires does really make that much more of a difference! Thanks

Something tells me you boys are familiar with using a “Sock”

You should first put the chain over the tires , tuck them in the front and drive a little then hook at the back. The process is much better and faster

Those auto socks were really cool! I was not expecting that, they looked like a total gimmick. I’d be curious to see how they’d do on total ice though. Snow pack is one thing but Ice is a whole other beast. I feel the chains may have the edge there. But only one way to find out. Time to test it. Great video though TFL!

I think I like the blocks better... something you can buy cheap enough & toss in your spare tire well. & use if ever get stuck to get out of a hole. The fact you can put it on in 30 seconds is nice. The sock is interesting though!

That next video with the winter tires would be awesome

Lived and been driving in the metro NYC area for 35 years. I can count on one hand the number of times that major roads have been "undriveable" to the point of needing chains. Matter of fact, I cannot recall ever seeing a passenger vehicle with snow chains on it. I overstand that there are people like nurses, firefighters, physicians, etc. who "HAVE" to go to work, but I don't have that type of job. If my all-terrain tires won't get me there, then I'm not going. Never used chains, but it certainly seems like a major league PITA. Knew a guy in the 1990's (very well), who drove a 1995 Honda Civic (in the metro NYC area) in EVERY type of snow imaginable. I am 112% positive he was riding on whatever tires the car left the factory with. Half a lifetime ago, I worked with a guy in upstate New York who swore that his 1990-something Saturn was THE best thing on 4 wheels in the snow. 4WD/AWD is GREAT.......I have a 4WD vehicle myself, but I think the overwhelming majority of people grossly overestimate what they "need" to drive in snow. Never been stuck in the snow, even prior to having 4WD.

My traction aid is Nokian Hakkapeliitta 10 studded winter tyres. I mount them somewhere late October, early November and change back to summer tyres in March or April - depending how long the winter is.

Hey guys, awesome review and I'd love to watch the next video. I do wonder what time you would get with a lower powered AWD like CRV for example.

I’ll bet Honda never expected you’d be using their press car like this LOL

Just recently purchased a pair of socks, not these exactly, glad to see the test results go in favor of the socks.

The only way to drive in bad weather is with proper winter tyres and good traction control system

What I’ve always wanted to see is awd with a regular all season tire vs fwd with snow tires. Kind of looking is it worth if you had to choose the money into awd and added fuel cost or to a set of snow tires.

Nice video, I learned about traction aids today.

Interesting tests. I was already looking at the tire sock as an additional traction aid. However, full acceleration in the snow from stop is an excellent way to get nowhere fast. The best snow tires or traction aids in the world are marginally better if you don’t know how to drive in the snow ⛄️ Knowledge and experience will almost always serve you better than any piece of equipment. Slow down your acceleration, learn how your car reacts in the snow and when it loses traction. Practice driving in an empty parking lot, intentionally loose traction and observe how your vehicle moves in different situations when you have no control.

Good to see how these items work to get you unstuck, tho I wouldn’t ever use any of them for any distance. Last thing I’d want is to have to cut away a fabric sock thing from brake lines and tie rods etc if it ripped and got entangled under there. My Audi (1 of 2, an 03 and 17 A4 Quattro) both with winter tires on are virtually unstoppable in snow. Actually works better in all ways than my 19 ram1500 hemi 4x4 in snow.

I’ve got Michelin X ice snows on my ‘14 civic and they work pretty damn good,I drive a lot from British Columbia to Alberta and back for work in the winter.

Awesome video! Surpirsed with the sock. I have winter tires, but I'm interested to seeing how it compares with the sock.

Good video. Scientifically done. Your viewers might look at other vids where snow tires are on the front only, very dangerous. Vehicles swap ends even at mild speeds in curves. Putting chains on after getting stuck would be a Bitc*. 2 sets of the blocks would be my choice in case of getting stuck. I am going to give you 5 stars on a scale of one to four, just for doing this in the cold.

I'm the guy who took the chains out and installed them in my driveway as soon as I got home. TBH when I lived in Colorado I never bothered, but after moving to a mountain town in Oregon where the snow's wetter and there's more ice, I knew I might actually need to use them because chain restrictions on the passes even with three-peak rated traction tires is a regular occurrence. So... yeah, it depends where you are, what kind of snow you're dealing with, and how much practice you get.

Cool video!

I happened to drive FWD Mazda CX-9 and AWD VW Atlas over the same snowy mountain routes during the winter seasons. In the hardcore snow blizzards with layers of ice and fresh snow on the road or just in deep snow FWD+chains performed better. VW Atlas on M+S tires works best in mild conditions, just because I was able to go comfortably with speeds of over 40mph. But there were also roads that I was able to handle on FWD Mazda + chains, but Atlas was struggling on M+S tires, forcing me to put chains on it as well. When you get a layer of ice under the snow, standard tires literally provide zero traction, no matter how many wheels are spinning. Chains are cracking thru the smooth ice surface and get you moving slowly at least. Still, AWD will be my choice over FWD+chains.

Can we put snow tires on the civic next?

I thought the socks 🧦 looked so stupid at first, but I was impressed. They actually work really well. I still question their durability compared to the chains ⛓. Those blocks must have a terrible ride, but they’re cheap and with work in a pinch.

My favorite on my fwd car is winter tires. They are awesome and shine on icy roads

More of these winter snow videos please 😁

I saw that tow piglet uses these and i tried them a few years ago over chains and i can tell you the socks work really well, I still have chain just in case but the socks are great

Interesting video 👍🏽👍🏽

If I lived with snow I’d have AWD and snow tires. I like to be able to go and stop.

If you're really stuck, try reversing the front wheel drive car up the hill. It puts more weight over the front wheels and does help with traction. Interesting video though.

Thanks for showing the importance of turning traction control off.

I would love to have seen the Civic with some good winters. We have some Xice on my daughters 2019 civic and it handles a Canadian Prarie winter very well for such a low car. But our 10 year old CRV with DMV2s far out perform it. Fortunately we don't have a ton of snow so nobody really uses traction aids here. Ice and hardpack snow/ice and -30° Temps rule the day so most people run winter tires.

Good video 👍

I’ve used the autosocks on my FWD jetta for like 7 years, I think they are great!

That civic is a beast with those chains !

Maybe the aids will help in certain situations, but in some states we are not allowed to have chained tires on the normal highways. Didn't there also used to be studded winter tires which I think they were banned by damaging the highways/roads during non winter conditions. I remember hearing them on big Semi Trucks long ago. Plus if you are stuck in the snow, how could I put on these aids by myself if the car cannot be moved. Downhill stops: just be aware and know "how and when" to stop with the car you are driving while coming up to other cars or intersections going downhill. I always use some extra distance when it comes to ice and snow. Don't expect to stop on a dime. I would still invest in an AWD vehicle living in Northern Illinois in the winter time. Now there maybe situations that no car can get out of in the winter. But I like these tests you did. Thanks allot. take care.

I'm using michelin easy grip. Something between snow chains and snow socks. Not cheap but it does the trick very well. One case when they are not good is uphill ice.

Txs for the video..Honda looks like a Kia stinger from the back!!

This is exactly what i was looking for thank you! I wanna know the capabilities of a fwd car!

I agree with many of the commenters that the same test should be done with comparable vehicles of the same model with only Fwd Vs Awd being the only difference.

Back in the early '70s a friend of mine had a Saab that he couldn't put chains on it so he got a cable type system that looked like chains. That thing was a mountain goat in the hills.

Ground clearance. If you get stuck on the frame/subframe, well, you know, what kind of tires, how many of those tires are spinning, and what kind of systems you have controlling the tires spinning dont mean crap

BTW diamond tire chains are super easy to install, one person job. You might fiddle with them the first time, but they slide from the back of the wheel and don't require you to drive over them.

Nice! Would have been cool to see a side by side race up the hill. Jeep Vs Civic with those Socks.