Alan (England UK)

I live in Essex and have been driving for a living for over 30 years, so have had a lot of experience in bad weather conditions, to date I drive 44 ton fuel tankers…

We had some bad snow and I had already purchased some snow chains and thought I would give them a go. They were brilliant and I could get up hills that most couldnt. But there is a downside, once you hit a clear road you really should remove them, which is a pain if you are going back into snow within a few mins.

I was just searching to see if there was anything else that could be used and came accross tyre grip. Well Ill give that a try and ordered a tin. By now my road was sheet ice. I had taken off the chains and had to go out. I left home and came to an upward slope in the road. A little way up the tyres lost traction, even by selecting a higher gear no luck. I tried to roll back then attack it again with no luck and the vehicle sliding a little sideways. I finally reversed and turned to find another way out. I did this ok. when I got home tyre grip had arrived.

Right I thought Im gonna give this a try now. I sprayed it on my two front tyres and waited a few minutes. I felt that seeing as it is only a front wheel drive, they are the ones that need it most and it will last longer. So off to that slope, I must admit it did feel that traction was better , but was I just imagining this? Onto the slope and traction had improved. Half way Up I decided to stop and try to pull away. NOPE it would not work.. but we must realise this is sheet ice not just snow. I rolled back selected a higher gear and off again, yaaaaaayyy no problem whatsoever it went straight up the slope. So from this there is a definate improvement. There was no way I could get up there before without this spray.

Now all these things are tools to help with your problem. If used correctly and with correct driving techniques it definatly works. Chains are great but you get a rumble, they can damage tyres, and you have to take them on and off for different changes in road conditions. This stuff takes five mins to put on, no cold chains burning your hands due to the cold, no tyre damage and although it wears off when back on dry roads, it doesnt take long to use the spray and get more traction if needed . A bonus is that you can spray it onto the bottom of your boots to aid in grip to.

That weather is expected back again :-(, If this does happen, I will test in snow and put up results. So thumbs up so far, If traction can be improved on ice then other surfaces should be a breeze right ? I have already been recommending this to friends.

Scott Kohl
Jon Hahn, Woodinville, WA