Matt16

Any comments on buying snow chains?

V-bar or diamond chains for snow-wheeling/ towing Civics out of snow drifts?

It seems diamond chains are meant to be easy to use, but are as toughly built as V-bar chains.

Diamond link


V-bar

hostile

Diamond look like they'd stay in place better if you happened to not get a perfect fit. I'm sure both will perform well on a 4x4 though.

just a 22re

what do chains do even i never used them and when i pull out full sized dodges and chevy on the street in winter i just use 4low and i never have a problem

hostile

better traction on ice. I have a pair that i use in the winter when we go up to the national park. You can't even enter the park unless you have chains with you.

just a 22re

ah i guess the old days of putting long bolts through the tyre and sealing it from the inside is no longer?

abecedarian

the 'diamond' chains tend to resist lateral movement (sliding to the side)better than standard chains due to the chains running either parallel to the tire centerline, or at around 45 degree angles to the tire centerline, as opposed to the 90 degree angle to the tire centerline the typical tire chain operates.
In practice, appropriately studded tires perform better than any chain.

Ezrider_92356

the problem is any dot allowed studs don't do much and then your stuck changing your ties in the spring or pulling all the studs out

Matt16

That was my impression, which is important IMO as I have a rear locker.

toyota4x4907

I concur. Studs help a lot. Chains help more, but you can't really use chains all day every day, especially for faster speeds. You CAN use them all day every day, but its not too fun. It does suck having to change tires in the spring and fall, but its not that big of deal, IMO. Plus, you get more years out of the tires because you don't use them year 'round.

Matt16

Studs don't help in deeper snow, which is why I need chains.

Yoda

For my DD I have studded tires on in winter, and I carry cable chains in the trunk.

For my landcruiser I have BFG AT tires year round, and carry a set of V-bar chains, and a set of heavy truck chains cut to fit. I have driven over 150 miles with chains on to get home during a freezing rain. (that means 25 mph max)

Just tried the chains on my 33" tires and found they wont fit (had 31's), so I'm looking for new ones..

space-junk

iTrader: (1)

i still have the OEM Toyota chains that came with my truck in the pockets in the back... but, i never see snow, so i dont think ill ever need them...

Alex 400

Matt: One way to help keep that back end from kickin out on ya, is to leave the truck in 4 wheel drive. if you need to put chains, it probably wouldn't hurt to have it 4 wheel drive. THe front wheels will keep the truck tracked in pretty well. My dad has a 3/4ton 2wd ford and he has v-bar chains for it. we throw some broken concrete in the bed or some sand bags and that baby is damn near unstoppable around here when we actually get a fair amount of ice. THe diamond chains might help more with keeping it going straight though.

abecedarian

I've been up to Anchorage, Alaska, and the preferred traction device according to the people (residents) I spoke with, is studded tires. The people I spoke with say that chains are good in snow, but if there's ice on the road they want studs in their tires. Allegedly, the chains distribute the weight of the vehicle 'too well' across the chain thus fall short of full traction on iced roads. Take that for what you will.

I will agree though that keeping the truck in 4wd will help keep the truck tracking straighter, and a LSD or similar up front will help even more. In the snow / ice, I'd rather have an open rear and LSD up front than have an open front and LSD/locker in the rear.

Matt16

I put it in 4wd all the time in wet weather as soon as I notice the roads are too slick for my liking. I usually end up towing a lot of people out of ditches in the winter and rubber just doesn't have the grip, which is where the need for chains comes in. I used to just take a bit of a running start pull them out, but it occured to me that those little hooks on the "frame" of a Civic probably aren't designed for off road recover practices. I'd rather just put it in 4lo and slowly pull the vehicle out.

I would strongly suggest you use sand instead of concrete chunks in the bed. If you run into anything, those concrete blocks are going to slam into the back of the cab or worse, go through the rear window. Some friends of ours were in an accident a while back and there was a loose deck of cards (cardboard playing cards) on the rear seat. In the impact, one of the cards embedded itself halfway through an apple that was on the dash.

GorgeRunner

I live in a fairly snowy area and do a lot of driving to mountains around the western US to go snowboarding so I've gone through all the traction devices.
Currently, I have studded snow tires for my 90 pickup. They are on Ford Ranger rims so I can run bigger tires than stock. For packed snow and the occasional icy spot, they work well. I usually throw at least two sandbags over the rear wheels for extra traction. They don't work in deeper snow (including the road to my house and the driveway), so I use V Bar chains. I think this type of chain is also called "Service Chains" or something like that because trucks use them. With chains, I can make it through snow until it gets so deep that the truck can't push against it, usually about 1 1/2 to 2 feet of snow. The studded snow tires wear out and you can only use them here for a few winter months.
I hate dealing with chains, that's why I got a 4Runner. I haven't done so yet, but I'll get chains for it as well, because once or twice a winter, we get a knarly storm and you have to at least, have chains to show the staters or you can't get on the road. We do go to some places where I would use chains on the front of the 4Runner just to be safe.
In some cases, 4WD and chains won't do the job. While off roading through the Colorado Rockies, I had a 54 Willys Jeep in compound low, going about 5mph with four Armstrong Norseman snow tires and chains on all four wheels when I slid off a patch of ice and hit a tree.

Alex 400

the concrete was in small chunks and we did one layer all the way across the bed of the truck. every piece was locked in and didn't move at all. I completely understand what you are saying though.

stagger_lee

The z cable by sure grip is by far the easiest and toughest chain I have used. I lived in Big Bear, CA and had to chain up the wifes car every winter. Standard chains are hard to keep taught on the wheel and will flop around and hit paint, and most of all break if not completely in snow or ice. Not to mention the pain in the a$$ they to put on. The Z cable you can put on in 5 min and don't have to move your car at all. Trust me I went through 3 sets of chains in 2 winters until I found these and have had them for 5 years now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ZT741...21210009r33483

4biker

My experience agrees with this statement. If the ice is warmer (very close to melting temp), it is soft enough for chains to push into and get traction. If the ice is really cold (20deg or more below freezing - which is what most road ice is at), chains won't be able to dig into the surface, and it will slip more readily than rubber. It would be like going to an ice rink with chains on your shoes, vs. track spikes. Chains are for snow, cables are for cars (usually for that soupy stuff that's a mix of snow and salt), and studs are for ice. When I was living in Portland and we went skiing at Mt. Hood, I never felt more secure than with the studded tires on my friend's rig. We saw people sliding off right and left, but we stayed put.

To answer your initial question, I'd go with easier (diamond) any day of the week. Putting on chains is probably the most uncomfortable process I can think of, especially if you find you're already stuck.

Alex 400

THat was my thought when i bought studded snow tires. Though the tires I bought were mud terrains with some siping. I haven't gotten to really test them yet, but this weekend, a few friends and I are going to trek up into the higher elevations and see how they work

This what i got.

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-tires-159502/