I was reading the post about tire chains I need to know what to go with.

My wife and I are driving from SLC to Bend, Oregon for Christmas. When we drove up there for Thanksgiving last year, we had snow 60% of the way. The 4Runner did great, but I am a little more worried about driving in December.

I have Michelin LTX A/T's with 3/4 tread left. I am want to get something that I can use in case we hit ice or packed snow. Should I get a set of 4 studded snow tires, or a set of 4 tire chains.

The pros of the snow tires is that I won't have to put them on/off.

The Pros of the cables is that they have better traction than the snow tires.

 

I would get a good set of cables. If you encounter snow/ice that's too severe for your A/T tires, then you'll probably need cables/chains anyway. Plus, you don't have to hassle with remounting your old tires after the trip. I would also throw in a good tow strap in case you need to be pulled out, or pull somebody out.

 

I would go with the chains only. IMO. You may only need one set of chains too.

The bad thing is you have to get out and put them on.

Here in Washington you MUST carry chains, it may be the same for Oregon.

 

Get chains. Don't get the cable chains, they suck and they break. Get real chains and they will work great and last a long time.

 

Chains will be cheaper. Check out www.tirechains.com. They sell V-bar chains. I had a set for my '92 and with those on, even with open diffs, I was unstoppable.

 

In Oregon there is no requirement that anyone have chains, but there will be times when passes or certain roads are closed to people who don't have chains. You can always buy them from a store that will let you return them if you don't use them...

 

Thanks for your help guys! I heard that the cables are smoother and easier to install than chains, but if they don't last as long, maybe I should get the most for my money and get chains.

 

Cables are easier on your tires too, but famous for being cheaply made and coming apart and beating hell out of your car. Consider spending the extra money and getting the quality european type that go on tight and don't flog around.

 

I was looking at the SCC Super 2 LT cables. Those suckers are around $129 for a pair. Are these good?

http://www.scc-chain.com/Pages%20Tra...ucts/szlt.html

Any other brands that are recommended?

 

I was in Les Schwab the other day and they had some that I liked, a lot. I think they are called the Quick Fit chains and they have a diamond pattern. They looked to be somewhat quality material.

I don't like the ones you have in the link. There is a rubber band holding those cables on.............the faster you go, the centrifical force will sling those cables off and beat the ˟˟˟˟˟ out of your Runner.

 

go with the chains. You won't need them if you have them.
BEND is awesome... Love that town. Got married there a few years back... Deschutes beer is the best... Hmm gunna have one right now, Black butte porter.
Drive safe
adios
snowman

 

Get chains but make sure you have something to tie down the extra links. When I got my Runner, the guy I bought it from already had chains for it, but they were too big. During a nice storm in Mammoth I decided to throw them on. On the way to the lodge, the spare links on the passenger side came loose and tore up the front of the running board and some of the wheel well.

 

live in oregon, do lots of skiing. check out the goclaws.com website. Bought these a few months ago, super happy. I have AS tires on my rig (great for our wet weather) but hate swapping out for AT when I go to the mountains. Soultion-go claws. kinda spendy and I was a little apprehensive at first, but the website is pretty convinving and so far they have been awsome.

steve
2000 4Runner

 

Those are interesting. I saw the videos and it looks like they work. My question is if they work as good on ice as chains....

 

Both chains and snow tires is pretty extreme IMHO. If conditions were that bad, I wouldn't attempt the drive. I have been over Snoqualmie Pass I-90 in some pretty bad conditions with neither -- just my 4wd and BFG A/T's and never had a problem with that combination. I think that I was supposed to carry chains, but was never asked about it by the state patrol.