Chains or Cables

[gover151]

So I know chains are the better choice, however since I plan on buying 2 sets, so each tire has one. I was thinking that due to price and ease of use 4 cables on a 4X4 with A\T snow rated tires should more than adequate. Anyone have any advice/experience or suggestions. I am not in snow everyday however I do travel to a ski resort almost every weekend and where I am (Kamloops, BC)storms can blow in at anytime

 

[Ozwynn]

http://www.tirechain.com/car_chaininstallationinstruction.htm


I like these..... about 100 bucks for a 235/75/15

 

[Will]

Cables are easier to put on and work okay. Chains are harder to install--a lot harder, and work a lot better. I've used both putting cables on the car just to get it up the driveway and taking them back off at the bottom. They are easy enough that you can do that. I think cables will be good enough for what you want, and a lot easier to deal with.

 

[ronclark]

http://www.tirechain.com/car_chaininstallationinstruction.htm


I like these..... about 100 bucks for a 235/75/15

I have used those diamond chains and thy go on fast and work great.

 

[BLOODBANE]

Chains if your in deeper snow or going to abuse them, cables for highway. I asked some of the drivers that delivered to the store I used to work at (Gunnison, CO) and they said the cables work better on black ice because they would roll just a bit and help grab a little better, and would give a better ride. Like I said though, if your gonna get rough with them go for the chains.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I ran V-Bar chains wrapped over MT tires on my 2wd Ranger for a little while. It took a lot of screwing around to get them worked on the tires and tightened properly, but once on, it turned my Ranger into a tank - once for the fun of it I drove off into a snow covered parking area along a road, blew through snow as high as my hood, and it just plowed right through no problem.

But it would get old in a hurry when you had to take them off and put them on, even on AT tires. If you're looking for something easy to use, cables would be my choice. Unless you're in some really crazy snow/ice, IMHO, cables would be just fine. I went with chains because the place I went to college at was in the snow belt (6-12" in a day's time was normal), they plowed ONCE a day (between 3am and 6am) and never used salt. Ice and hardpack snow was a way of life, you usually didn't see blacktop until the spring thaw when they'd take a road grader around to scrape the accumulated ice off the roads.

 

[Captain Ledd]

They've got rubber ones too:

http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/FTAT7947/mycustompage0026.htm

there's others, that's just one of the brands that came up. I can't think of what they're officially called but I searched Google for "rubber tire chains"

 

[DavidY]

Yesterday, I bought a pair of Cobra Jr. tire cables (245/75-16) for CAD$100 plus a $15 spider tensioner (taxes extra) at a Canadian Tire store. Other stores like Lordco wanted $220-$254 before taxes. Company that makes the cables is from Surrey, BC.

If I was on the mountain highways a lot, I would probably get a second pair of tire cables. A 4x4 with four studded winter tires should get me through most stuff. The tire cables are for emergencies.

If you are driving the Coquihalla, the Okanagan Connector, or Rogers Pass a lot, I would definitely get four tire cables/chains for your 4x4. Better safe than sorry.

SCC is another good brand. http://scc-chain.com/Traction Pages/Trac_comparison.html

Dave