ever used tire chains in the winter?

jT · Post by jT » Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:42 am

just wondering if anyone has.. and the results/thoughts of doing so?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?ur ... in&x=0&y=0

and are they street legal? heh

glasswars · Post by **glasswars** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 12:05 pm

Those are illegial in NJ, not sure about other places.

Post by **racer12306** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 3:55 pm

It really depends on the state if they are legal. I would doubt they are. I'd reather run studded tires than chains.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 11:08 pm

They are legal, and required in some mountain passes. But for other places, no. The thing with chains is you are limited to under 30 mph, or some insane slow speed like that. Otherwise you'll have some nasty fender/wheelwell mods. They tend to fly off at higher speeds. I could imagine the road noise would be quite intolerable on any thing less than 3" of snow on pavement. Deep snow/mud are where chains thrive.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:14 am

It is my understanding that our cars are incapable of using chains without risking serious damage to your suspension if a chain were to break.

With that said I know of two options.
1) studded tires
2) spike spiders ( i have these and they are extremely awesome).
http://www.spike-spider.com/?crtag=Google

jake_tim · Post by **jake_tim** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:43 pm

hansken_yo wrote:It is my understanding that our cars are incapable of using chains without risking serious damage to your suspension if a chain were to break.

With that said I know of two options.
1) studded tires
2) spike spiders ( i have these and they are extremely awesome).
http://www.spike-spider.com/?crtag=Google

Wow, those spike spiders are cool. I haven't seen them before.

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:18 pm

They are extremely cool. Way better than any chain or studded tire since you can put them on and off very quickly and only use them when you absolutely need to.

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:11 pm

dang, those things are pretty cool! never heard of them before.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:06 pm

Damn, those are sexy! Out of my price range, but so are most women!

Altho a woman's fury may get one motivated faster than those!

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 5:13 pm

I've had a set since my 98 neon. Still works even now, but I can't go with a larger tire size if I still care to use them.

jT · Post by jT » Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:04 am

theres not much of a description on the websites ive seen and the pics arent that good to see.. what exactly do they do? do they make the ride bumpy or anything? and it says effective up to 30mph but are you limited to driving 30mph or can drive normally just without them being effective over 30?

do look cool but yeah expensive. maybe worth it though if they are good.. last winter my gf slid on the road (black ice) while taking a (slow) turn and blew out a tire hitting the curb... $400 for safety.. hmmm..

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:40 pm

essentially, you have a set of lug nuts that a plate connects to. this is your initial setup and you run around with this plate exposed during the winter time. From there you are able to put the spiders on and off with a locking mechanism. What the spiders are, are a plastic/rubber compound that reaches over the wheel over top your tire's tread. These legs have huge studs in them to help give you traction as well as gappage between each leg which also gives you traction.

You ask about your speed. If you have to put these on or even chains or any other traction device that may exist you should not be going over 30mph at all. The nice thing about these over chains in general is that it take literally 30secs to put on and about 1min to remove. So if things start to get hairy you pull over put them and be on your way safely. when things clear up you pull over and remove them.

These are a chain alternative (and since I believe that we can't run with chains due to how close the suspension is it is the only alternative that I'm aware of).

Depending on the severity of conditions the ride can be bumpy or fairly smooth.

They will not aid with black ice... nothing really will. Compact snow and ice, yes. deep snow, yes. thin snow, yes.

They are expensive, but if you do a lot of driving in the snow the are worth every little cent. I swear by them, and have been using the same set for 10 years now. Even with my lowered car

We are expecting snow here by the weekend, I'll try to remember to take pictures for you guys when I go to winter setup

... winter setup

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:47 am

jT wrote:just wondering if anyone has.. and the results/thoughts of doing so?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?ur ... in&x=0&y=0

and are they street legal? heh

Yes, on a tractor-trailer unit.

You better check the applicable legislation in your area as they may not be legal to run on regular surface streets.

As well...

You'd better practice putting them on when the weather is fair and get to the point that you can do it with your eyes shut... because putting them on when the weather is nasty will not be fun.

Get a set of waterproof insulated gloves... 2 sets actually.

If you need chains... it is time to park it and wait it out.

NiteHawk · Post by **NiteHawk** » Sun Dec 14, 2008 12:49 pm

i cant believe nobody can find good pics of these things... a quick google search gave me the company's MAIN site, and here's a picture i grabbed from it. This is the "Compact" model

Here's their site: http://www.spikes-spiderusa.com/

This would be the ultimate model for those in say.....Alaska and Canada

it's their Alpine series

2GN.ORG

ever used tire chains in the winter?

ever used tire chains in the winter?

Re: ever used tire chains in the winter?