Hi, just read the Handbook re fitting chains. LR say fit to rears only not fronts. I was under the impression that with permanent 4 wheel drive you would fit to front to give more steerage. In my old a4 Quattro I used to fit them to the fronts.....maybe I shouldnt Have!!!!!!!!

Does anyone know why you fit to rears only, can't be to do with arch clearance?

Ps just needed to know ahead of ski trip not 1/2 way up the mountain at 0700 am!

Cant remember what but the catch something, might be a brake line. 3 year ago we needed them to get in to Zurs. letters not necessarily in the right order

The reason could be that if the rear wheels start to slide the car can start spinning very easily and when the front wheels start sliding (while the rear still have grip) that won't happen. Someone showed it to me with a toy car years ago and it was an eye opener. That is the reason why rear wheel driven cars are harder to control in slippery conditions because of the spinning as well.

I would still prefer to be driving with chains on all four wheels or studded tires like in Scandinavia (but illegal in a lot of other countries), apart from the work to get them on (the chains).

I do have to say, I never checked above with any experts (never went for the skid courses in Holland).

I loved driving rear wheel drive cars in the snow, hooning like crazy in parking lots. The Herald, Beetle, Alfa's were great for that. Now I am a sedate driving gentleman (with no snow in site), until my right foot gets "cramp" and floors the accelerator of course  MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I think its more to do with the same thinking as fitting newer tyres to the rear, They can dig in more and slow you down and avoid the car spinning round on it self (ie a 180/90' spin) and gives the average driver more control in poor coniditions.

if the weather is that bad you need to use snow chains on a FFRR then you should be getting snow and ice tyres fitted as well as they will give a better chance of getting further without having to fit said chains

With chains fitted you cant go fast anyway, so steering is less of a problem than maintaining forward momentum...

Also when the front under-steers in snow if you apply a lot of lock it will steer the car using the brakes - part of the DSC logic. If you find yourself really in need of turning, it may sound counter intuitive, but brake. This kicks the CBC (corner braking control) into action and will drag you into a turn by whatever means possible.

When it snows it's certainly worth playing in the car park & on safe hills etc to make sure you know exactly how the car handles. Also how to use the safety systems to your advantage... 

Thanks for the ideas all of which make sense. I've come from a karting background where it's all about front end grip, once you are mid corner you just sort out the balance on the exit, however I guess too much front end does mean it will swap ends quicker so I guess that maybe LR's thought process!

Difficult one though, terminal under steer or swaps ends in milli second.........guess I could always drive slower, lol

Land Rover supply a snow traction system for 20 inch wheels only to fit on the front wheels and snow chains for 18 and 19 inch wheels to fit on the rear wheels, go figure.
http://www.landrover.com/gb/en/rr/range-rover/accessories/

you could consider these..

http://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic8539.html

I have the traction system aka spikes spider alpine pro.

More investigation needed!!!!!

rwilson wrote:

Difficult one though, terminal under steer or swaps ends in milli second.........guess I could always drive slower, lol

The DSC will always do its best to prevent the back end stepping out. The only time I had the RR properly sideways was on the M4. It was closed at the time due to all the snow, I just drove round the cones... 70mph on 4 inches of snow/ice probably wasn't the best plan.

I find the trouble with the RR is not the slide, it's the recovery of the slide. It has one hell of a pendulum effect when the rear end gets shifting! 

Had a feeling snow socks weren't allowed in France past the signs where snow chains must be mandatorily carried, but might be wrong.

Autosocks Snow Socks have recently been authorised for France. A certificate can be downloaded from the Autosocks website.
I got a pair. Was going to use them on the fronts in case of need but after reading the above thought maybe the rears would be better. Any thoughts? 2012 5.0L S/C
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the way you drove on the plain i dont think you need any thing on your wheels

Thanks to csk's post the LR traction system is fitted to the fronts so that's way I' ll go.

Trust your instincts!!

I did plenty of sideways stuff! Could have done with the Socks there! Are they authorised?  2012 5.0L S/C
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3.6 TDV8
4.4 HSE
P38 4.6 HSE
Classic 3.9
90 County
Series3 Lightweight