Tire chains? Cables? Socks?

[scotchyfletch]

I have a 2019 ES hatchback. The manual says not to use tire chains due to inadequate clearance. Has anyone tried them anyway? Are cables a solution? Socks solve the clearance issue, but any experiences as far as effectiveness and durability? I don’t drive in snow and ice often enough to justify snow tires.

[Mark]

I have a 2019 ES hatchback. The manual says not to use tire chains due to inadequate clearance. Has anyone tried them anyway? Are cables a solution? Socks solve the clearance issue, but any experiences as far as effectiveness and durability? I donÂ’t drive in snow and ice often enough to justify snow tires.

Ironically, studded snow tires aren't even legal in Wisconsin.

Instead of tire chains for my Mirage, I have an AWD Forester with decent snow tires on it. If I can't get somewhere with that vehicle, I shouldn't be on the roads.

I have rear tire chains on my Honda ATV, which I am going to plow snow with here soon, & I have rear tire chains on my Kawasaki Mule. I don't currently have tire chains for either of my two vehicle, but I am curious if someone else responds to your question just the same.

Where I live (on a ridge with winter hill roads to deal with) in SW Wisconsin, I can justify owning an extra set of winter/snow tires for my vehicles.

If I only had to deal with snow & ice a few times a year, I would consider an all-weather tire instead of an all-season tire. The closest thing to that in a 165/65r14 size is the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires carried by Tire Rack.

Speaking of 165/65r14 Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires - I just looked them up to make sure they are still offered by Tire Rack before typing this.

I noticed Tire Rack was offering an instant $100 rebate on a set of 4. I was planning to buy a pair of these tires some day. I want to try them out during the winter months in the future. The instant rebate made them $272.28 = $68.07/tire with free shipping. Thus, I just ordered a set. I will use them eventually, & I have a pair of steel rims with sensors that one pair can go on right away. I have 8 pairs of steel rims, & one pair has my worn out original factory Dunlop tires on them. I have my Nokian Nordman 7 snow tires up front (6th winter for them & they are still doing well). If I get the Quatrac 5 tires mounted up this winter, they can take the place of my Kumho Solus TA31 tires on my rear axle.

The catch is the Quatrac 5 tires are on backorder, but I don't need them today or tomorrow. I have never seen these tires at that price. If anything, I was kicking myself for not buying them last year (because they had gone up in price & are out of stock quite often).

The nice thing about these tires - If they don't thrill me as winter tires, I can still use them as summer tires. They will get used regardless of their performance. At $68.07/tire, I look forward to trying them. If I like them, I may own 8 of them some day. I will use the newer ones during the winter months & use up the older ones during the summer months. That seems like the best use of tires for my situation at least.

[Wallythacker]

I have a 2019 ES hatchback. The manual says not to use tire chains due to inadequate clearance. Has anyone tried them anyway? Are cables a solution? Socks solve the clearance issue, but any experiences as far as effectiveness and durability? I don’t drive in snow and ice often enough to justify snow tires.

I see you live in Cape Coral, Fla. Get a lot of winter storms down there? Lol, but seriously, where are you planning to drive? that determines what you need. You can't, to the best of my understanding, fly down an Interstate with chains doing 60 mph. Nor can you climb the mountain passes in the Appalaichins during a blizzard. I imagine even with the best studded snow tires getting around Boston during a nor-easter would be near impossible, at least no fun.

[Wallythacker]

Ironically, studded snow tires aren't even legal in Wisconsin.

Instead of tire chains for my Mirage, I have an AWD Forester with decent snow tires on it. If I can't get somewhere with that vehicle, I shouldn't be on the roads.

I have rear tire chains on my Honda ATV, which I am going to plow snow with here soon, & I have rear tire chains on my Kawasaki Mule. I don't currently have tire chains for either of my two vehicle, but I am curious if someone else responds to your question just the same.

Where I live (on a ridge with winter hill roads to deal with) in SW Wisconsin, I can justify owning an extra set of winter/snow tires for my vehicles.

If I only had to deal with snow & ice a few times a year, I would consider an all-weather tire instead of an all-season tire. The closest thing to that in a 165/65r14 size is the Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires carried by Tire Rack.

Speaking of 165/65r14 Vredestein Quatrac 5 tires - I just looked them up to make sure they are still offered by Tire Rack before typing this.

I noticed Tire Rack was offering an instant $100 rebate on a set of 4. I was planning to buy a pair of these tires some day. I want to try them out during the winter months in the future. The instant rebate made them $272.28 = $68.07/tire with free shipping. Thus, I just ordered a set. I will use them eventually, & I have a pair of steel rims with sensors that one pair can go on right away. I have 8 pairs of steel rims, & one pair has my worn out original factory Dunlop tires on them. I have my Nokian Nordman 7 snow tires up front (6th winter for them & they are still doing well). If I get the Quatrac 5 tires mounted up this winter, they can take the place of my Kumho Solus TA31 tires on my rear axle.

The catch is the Quatrac 5 tires are on backorder, but I don't need them today or tomorrow. I have never seen these tires at that price. If anything, I was kicking myself for not buying them last year (because they had gone up in price & are out of stock quite often).

The nice thing about these tires - If they don't thrill me as winter tires, I can still use them as summer tires. They will get used regardless of their performance. At $68.07/tire, I look forward to trying them. If I like them, I may own 8 of them some day. I will use the newer ones during the winter months & use up the older ones during the summer months. That seems like the best use of tires for my situation at least.

you have 8 pair of steel rims and have just bou.... oh, forget it You are into tires and rims like I dig oil.

[scotchyfletch]

I travel for work. I’m in Seattle right now. Don’t need to drive much because the public transit is pretty good here, but occasionally need to drive some. Some areas will require traction devices at times.

[Mark]

you have 8 pair of steel rims and have just bou.... oh, forget it You are into tires and rims like I dig oil.

Yes, I have 8 steel rims. I don't get your point at all? How else would you do 4 summer tires & 4 winter tires? 4 + 4 = 8

I have 8 alloy rims for my Forester, too. I am not going to run my awesome snow tires for that vehicle during the summer months.

I don't have 16 tires for two vehicles, because I am into tires. I have 16 tires so I can use snow/winter tires during the winter months. I live in a very hilly region called the Driftless area. It was never leveled by the glaciers like other areas of Wisconsin. I climb a small hill as soon as I leave my driveway. I see 4WD pickup trucks not make it up sometimes. I've seen snow plow trucks with rear tire chains back down the hill dropping sand, because they can't keep their front end on the road going forward more than once.

Having 8 tires for each vehicle with cloned sensors in the extra rims is a good investment where I live.

[Mark]

I travel for work. I’m in Seattle right now. Don’t need to drive much because the public transit is pretty good here, but occasionally need to drive some. Some areas will require traction devices at times.

That makes total sense. I hope someone responds to your specific question, because I don't think it has been discussed before on the forum. If something simple existed, I would go that route myself. I was caught once where I couldn't climb my ridge road going home with my Mirage. I could not only not climb the hill, but I couldn't keep my Mirage from sliding backward with the brakes locked. It was dark & some freezing rain hit. Thankfully my rear passenger tire caught the edge going backward, & I was able to spin the car around. It's not an experience I would want to repeat. The other side of the road is a drop off somewhat. I crawled down as slow as possible & left my car at the bottom for the night. If I had tire chains, they would have gone on that night.

[Fummins]

I’ve only used tire chains once on my old side by side. Ive been running cheap snow tires on my car year round for a couple years. Still get 40mpg in the summer without trying hard. Only trade off is they’re a little noisy.

Snow tires aren’t mandatory here but I rarely see anyone without them.

We didn’t run snow tires on the fleet mirages for the first winter iirc… They all ran stock Dunlop’s. Did ok but they suck compared to basically any winter/snow tire.
If your tires are junk I’d consider a ”4 season “ or whatever they call them. Winter tread pattern but should last longer than a normal a/s I guess? Khumo makes a few like that, nexen does too but they don’t wear well.

[Mark]

IÂ’ve only used tire chains once on my old side by side. Ive been running cheap snow tires on my car year round for a couple years. Still get 40mpg in the summer without trying hard. Only trade off is theyÂ’re a little noisy.

Snow tires arenÂ’t mandatory here but I rarely see anyone without them.

We didnÂ’t run snow tires on the fleet mirages for the first winter iircÂ… They all ran stock DunlopÂ’s. Did ok but they suck compared to basically any winter/snow tire.
If your tires are junk I’d consider a ”4 season “ or whatever they call them. Winter tread pattern but should last longer than a normal a/s I guess? Khumo makes a few like that, nexen does too but they don’t wear well.

I drove my 1990 Ford Festiva hatchback for 14 years, & I never found 12" snow tires for it. I've lived on a ridge since 1994, & I value extra traction up front. I used 6 steel rims for that car, & I purchased tires in pairs (spacing them out). During the winter months, the newest pair were up front. The 2nd best pair were on the rear axle, and the worst pair were pulled off. During the summer months, the best pair were pulled off & the other 4 were used. Eventually, the worst pair would become the new pair. I don't think I ever had a major tire brand on that car, and it did extremely well in snow with its narrow 145SR12 tires. I would climb hill roads that our VW Golf & Plymouth Colt Wagon couldn't climb very well with snow tires. There were a few times when I drove home with Festiva & got the tire chains for Plymouth Colt (if we were caught at school with both cars and conditions were bad).

Even though the Festiva was extremely light (1700 pounds), it was amazing in snow. My Mirage has had snow tires up front during the winter months. I bought my Mirage in October & realized I needed snow tires up front by December of that same year. Even with the snow tires, the Mirage is not as good as the Festiva was. That doesn't bother me much, because I have an AWD vehicle for those really bad days now.

[Cobrajet]

I travel for work. I’m in Seattle right now. Don’t need to drive much because the public transit is pretty good here, but occasionally need to drive some. Some areas will require traction devices at times.

We don't get much snow in the Seattle area. Helps to be prepared, though.