Stu

Its illegal to drive with chains on public roads. Its kills the road.

I grew up driving in the snowy Canadian winters and as an avid skier drove many miles in my parents rear wheel drive, V8 Oldmobiles. My dad was a safety nut and he only put snow ( with studs ) when they were legal ON THE BACK. Thats just what people did in the early 1970s. Never had a problem getting stuck or with the cars handling in the snow because I knew how to drive and took it easy in the winter ! No doubt I could do this in my LS but I don't ... just put my snows on today. Is the car safer the way I drive in the winter ... probably not. But for sure it handle better in an emergency avoidance situation, absolutely. No doubt about it.

My winters ( Hancook winter IPikes ) are 225/65/17 and are narrower and taller than my all season summers and the car rides noticably smoother / better than on the Michelin Primacys ... so glad I got rid of the 18s the car came with !

Tom57

Snow tires (with or without studs) in the rear only was common practice back in the day, and that was before cities/towns had salt and snow removal equipment/budgets - only the major streets were plowed in Chicago.

Tom57

In some upper elevation mountain roads in the U.S., chains are required to ascend beyond certain points, to avoid having stuck vehicles.

NickTee

It might be "easier," but it adds complications. It's mainly for temporary use, such as going through an icy patch or deep. It adds vibrations, reduces the speeds you can go, reduces performance on dry roads, and improper installation or failure of the securing mechanism can have devastating consequences to your vehicle.

All-season vs winter tires:

Winter tires vs summer tires, plus rain handling:

semar

In BC some highway regulations DEMAND dedicated snowtires or chains. For the amount of the fines the extra cost for wintertires is a no-brainer.
Maybe you have not been stuck on a highway where some smart**** cannot go any further and is blocking all traffic and you have to wait for hours until a towtruck can make it up the hill.
All depends where you live and what the weather is like.
Reminds me of all the idiots who think having 4wd is making them invincible. You just get further in and better stuck.

warminwisc

I patrolled at Mammoth, first year 700 inches maybe19993. Girlfriend had these spider spikes on her saturn. They just clicked locked into the rim easy. Way easy on off

LSDoc

"Its illegal to drive with chains on public roads."
As far as I know, it's not illegal here in N TX/DFW. But, I'm no legal expert. I don't see chains in use much, if at all. However, I do see numerous consequences of poor/no traction...

The reason I ask is that we will get occasional snow or nasty ice, but it's gone within a week or so. If chains are easier to install and won't cause any damage, I'd be all for it. I got some for my wife's Land Rover LR3, just in case. However, the wheel clearance and the fit of the chains, which were bought at a Land Rover-specific store, could make a big difference...

If someone experienced could provide some feedback or advice on how to approach this, it would be appreciated.

Stu

Where I live chains are not allowed on public roads. I guess they are allowed in some places, like up in the mountains. However if the conditions are so severe that chains are needed, I wouldn't drive, unless I had no choice

lexman52

For those of u who do not read and understand a post i said i only put my studded snows on my car when there is snow or ice on the road.This is by no means dangerous by any stretch of the word. Takes me less the 15 min. to change over. It's funny to see people with all wheel drive stuck or in the center island of the highway because they think they are invincible in bad weather. I am not suggesting that anybody do anything they do not want to do. I grew up with only rear wheel drive cars and nobody had 4 snow tires on a car.My studded snows will out perform your 4 snow tires any day. So there...Buy the way has anyone seen a car with a broken chain link. It does a helluva job on the rear quarter panel.

LSDoc

" ...a broken chain link. It does a helluva job on the rear quarter panel."

Now, that would be my main concern with using chains! I don't know which ones would actually fit our vehicles without running this risk. "One size fits all" sounds like a disaster waiting to happen!

SW17LS

Not when you have to turn. Thats the point.

semar

chains and studded tires are for very extreme conditions.
As seen on the videos on this thread snow tires are good for the conditions as shown.
If the snow gets to 2foot depth I usually leave the car at home. Not so much that I could not possible handle it but there will be people on the road I do not wish to meet. The possibility that my insurance company will write the car off scares me more
Re chains: also keep in mind that chains will stretch. You think they are tight but they will loosen up. If you have a suspension that is lowered you might not even be able to put chains on.
I left about 2 fingers space from the top of the tires to the fender. This will allow me to mount wintertires that are normally larger in dia than the summertires

warminwisc

The rubber that holds the chains tight should be replaced regularly that's how the links break and they litter the road. I used to go on Avalanche shoots with TNT at mammoth at 5 am. Snow up to my bottom bumper with AWD Nissan to get out. Only tourists needed chains

lexman52

Your right about turning. Just corner slow and we will all be safe

SW17LS

Or you could just mount 4 winter tires and drive around in the snow like a boss