Rhambler

Anyone have any experience with tire chains on this car? It's actually required here in California under certain conditions over mountain passes.

Any particular brand or type?

DJWLDW

Rhambler

Not in a million years would I ever ever put chains on my LS. If the road conditions were that bad that I needed chains the LS would never ever leave the garage. I had a set of chains on a old bread delivery van once and one of the links broke and beat the living #$%^ out of the fender well by the time I could safely exit the highway. I am talking beat a hole in the wheel well into the truck.

Dennis

Rhambler

Well, I may have no choice. Heading to Tahoe and I don't own another car.

Hopefully I won't need them but the summit pass can be treacherous and they won't let you pass without chains if required (as they often are). It doesn't matter if you have four-wheel drive, unless you have snowflake tires, they will literally force you back since the grades are 6% or more.

Just curious if anyone bothers to put them on all four wheels versus just the rear?

I was looking at these since. Hopefully they are thin enough to allow clearance.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OAX7YC..._I3PCybJX4X6T2

I was thinking about the cloth boots, but sadly they don't meet DOT specs for chains here.

SW17LS

I've never put chains on the 460, but I did put chains on my 400 once many years ago when on a highway trip in the mountains. It wasn't the end of the world, and the LS did quite well (it was terrible in the snow). That was back before we had a lot of the modern chains we have today.

You don't want to put them on all 4 wheels.

My main concern for you would be your low profile tires. My LS400 had 60 series tires, chains would be harder to install on your LS460 without potentially hurting your wheels.

Rhambler

That's what I thought. I had to chain up my RL AWD and had to use four chains. It worked well. Just wasn't sure with a RWD car. Back wheels it is. In fact, this will be the first time driving with an exclusive RWD in the snow. Always had AWD or FWD previously.

Yeah, I looked at the clearance between the tire and one of the control arms and suspension mount and it's not much. This is the smallest chain set I could find. In any case, I may have no choice. Just cross my fingers it doesn't damage anything. Hopefully it's clear sailing.

Anyone else chain this car up before?

SW17LS

You can put them on the front also if you want, just not required like it is for an AWD car. I wouldn't though.

Good luck! Never driven a RWD 460 in the snow but my 430 and 400 were...interesting.

ClaytonW

I live in Lake Tahoe area. The roads here are always O.K., just sometimes covered with snow and ice. It's never a big issue - until people from Bay Area etc decide that they will come skiing...Then they slow down traffic and are stuck everywhere. I have LS460 AWD with good winter tires (Bridgestone Blizzak WS 80) and never had any problems here. The traction is perfect.
Please, do us a favor. Rent 4WD with some good tires before comming here. This season is worse than previous seasons.
If you really want to take your RWD with all season tires here, buy some good chains (preferably diamond style). Forget for all these cables - they do not work (I've seen it yesterday on some cars on hwy to Kirkwood). I know that it's quite difficult to find good chains (low profile) which will not damage your car and will work. They will be expensive but it's worth it.

johnnyg66

I dont own any but if i did Thule K Summit are the ones to buy. $400 on up.

Rhambler

I use to drive to Kirkwood a lot, but I had my AWD then. I know us Sacramento and Bay Area people drive like grandma deer-in-headlights maniacs with a heavy lead foot on the brake pedal the first sight of snow, but I've been up and down that hill so many times when I use to snowboard and ski that I'm kind of use to it. Just never had to do it with a RWD boat like this.

Just heading to Tahoe Super Bowl weekend so hopefully it's tame by then, but I know it can stay treacherous for a while so I want to be prepared.

Yeah I saw those Thule chains. Expensive and I couldn't find one that fit, at least according to Amazon's tire size selector. The self-adjusting and the other quick-install models were nice.

I guess ill keep searching.

Still seeing if anyone has done it with success and what type of chains used. Thanks again for the comments and yeah, these storms are brutal.

ClaytonW

California requires to carry chains/cables even for 4WD/AWD cars on winter tires. That's the reason why I carry something although I do not suppose I would ever use them (and chain control never checked if I have chains/cables in my trunk). I have Super Z6 Cable (SZ143) which is the right size for my 245/50R18 tires which I use for winter. I tested these cables. They are quite easy to mount and I did not have any problems while driving a few miles. If they help - I am not sure. I think that with good winter tires, there is no difference. If these cables are enough to drive here for RWD on all season tires - it depends. Some days and on some roads probably not. Thule chains would be better :-)

Rhambler

Thanks. I saw those as well. I'll probably get those. Really don't feel like spending $500 on chains that I may not need.

Guess there aren't many people with this RWD car who had to chain up.

DJWLDW

Rhambler

If it is just for a weekend trip go rent a AWD/4WD unit and be done with it. Take out the insurance. If the pass is bad enough for chains it is way to bad to have the LS on it. If you end up in the ditch or some other joker cannot handle the snow and ice then it is the rental that takes the hit with insurance not the LS.

Dennis

tallcaguy

I live in the Sac area. Went xmas tree hunting in Reno a few weeks ago. Predict was snow. Rented a brand new F-150 4WD from Enterprise. Cost was $250 for the weekend. Deluxe interior and it was great in heavy snow. Chain install/remove is a PIA and takes time. No way my LS gets driven in the snow (or even rain unless necessary).

Rhambler

Yeah the chains that Clayton mentioned aren't available. I searched everywhere and Amazon won't ship them for a month. I'm just going to buy those even crappier cable chains and just wait and see what kind of weather is in store. If it's bad, I may indeed just rent a 4WD truck. If it's hit or miss, I may risk it with my car and those cable chains. Hopefully it's clear sailing.

ClaytonW

Currently, it's really bad around Lake Tahoe.Today I went from hwy 50 to Truckee and then on hwy 80 to Boreal. I was happy that I left my LS460 AWD in a garage and took my LX :-) The roads are covered with snow and unfortunately, also quite bumpy. SUV or pickup truck is a much better choice right now.