Snow Chains

stickshifter · Nov 10, 2023

We live in snow country, but we also can get pretty radical swings in temps during the winter, resulting in changing conditions: snow covered roads, icy roads, etc. We have run two sets of tires on our vehicles for decades (summer and winter). There are a lot of good snow tires out there, but after trying many of them, we have settled on Nokian tires. I've run them on sports cars (Audi RS4), sporty sedans (Audi S4), as well as a bunch of different 4x4s (Jeep Wrangler, Toyota pickups, and Toyota 4-Runner). They make non-studded winter tires, as well as studded winter tires (we have non-studded ones on the 4-Runner).

Never tried their summer tires, but I'm a big fan of Nokian winter tires.

On the S4:

On the Tacoma:

Tinerfeño · Nov 10, 2023

Good winter tyres are best choice for road use. I've had more than ten different makes during the years, including Nokian.

But in deep snow winter tyre is not at its best because it is fairly smooth. Then tyre chains are super good option and they work as well over any tyre.

For winter road + off-road conditions I have made couple of special cut versions that combine winter and off-road tyre performance.

235/85R15 winter classified non-studded tyres for year round use on a Land Rover Freelander:

And 265/75R16 studded winter tyres for Land Rover Defender (here before studs are installed with glue, a acing trick):

ChasingOurTrunks · Nov 10, 2023

For folks in the world looking for tire chains, they are mandated on some roads here in British Columbia between October and May (as in, big signs that say "must carry chains" and apparently there are tickets if you don't do it). That means Canadians buy chains, so folks having trouble sourcing them might be able to both take advantage of our abysmal dollar value while also contributing money to my government's coffers via the sales tax by looking to Canadian companies which will be a good bit cheaper than some of the prices I've seen on this thread so far. Here's some examples:

Buy Tire Chains from CanadianChains.ca

general-vehicle-plp-template

www.canadiantire.ca

Tire Chains

Shop for Tire Chains in Tires & Wheels. Global Industrial is a Leading Distributor of Vehicle Maintenance supplies.

www.globalindustrial.ca

- Tire Chains

Tire chains provide extra traction and grip when maneuvering a vehicle over icy or snowy roads. Here at ohcanadasupply.ca, we carry a range of tire chains from brands like Dynaline, Security Chain Co., and Trygg. Browse our selection of heavy-duty fleet products and enjoy fast shipping across...

ohcanadasupply.ca

The Best Canadian Tire Chains | Kal Tire

Conditions in mountain passes can change unexpectedly. Canadian Tire chains are your best option when conditions change for the worst.

www.kaltire.com

Tire Chains

Tire chains provide extra traction and grip when maneuvering a vehicle over icy or snowy roads. Here at Gregg Distributors, we carry a range of tire chains from brands like Dynaline, Security Chain Co., and Trygg. Browse our selection of heavy-duty fleet products! We are your Canadian source for...

greggdistributors.ca

https://www.princessauto.com/en/tire-chains/category/310-035-010-005

Shipping might be a bit costly, but at least the above links will give prospective shoppers some brand names to look for within your own countries to find a source/distributor. As a caveat, I've used chains before but generally do not carry them - never been stopped and ticketed. There are plenty of times though where chains would have made forward progress easier/safer, so in general I do think they are a good idea and plan to pull the trigger on a set before my next big winter adventure over mountains, but I cannot attest personally to the quality of any of the links above.

Wilaspira · Nov 11, 2023

Tinerfeño said:
You won't need chains while on-road.
One good pair on the front tyres should be enough for most off-road conditions.

I would have thought the same but why do Ineos specifically say in the manual to put the snow chains (if only one pair) on the rear?

rovie · Nov 11, 2023

Wilaspira said:
I would have thought the same but why do Ineos specifically say in the manual to put the snow chains (if only one pair) on the rear?

With a four-wheel drive vehicle, it is usually sufficient to fit the snow chains on one of the two axles. There are advantages to both variants. If the chains are fitted at the front, the weight of the engine provides more power on the road. If you are worried about the rear end shearing off, you should fit the chains on the rear axle. Some manufacturers, including INEOS, specify on which axle the chains should be fitted. In this case, the rear.

Driver8 · Nov 11, 2023

rovie said:
With a four-wheel drive vehicle, it is usually sufficient to fit the snow chains on one of the two axles. There are advantages to both variants. If the chains are fitted at the front, the weight of the engine provides more power on the road. If you are worried about the rear end shearing off, you should fit the chains on the rear axle. Some manufacturers, including INEOS, specify on which axle the chains should be fitted. In this case, the rear.

I always put on the front, but wonder if they recommend the rear because of clearance issues with turning. I’ll keep watching this thread- thanks in advance!

Tinerfeño · Nov 11, 2023

In off-road conditions I always put first set to front. Then I have maximum traction, steering and braking.

On an icy road it is little bit tricky. If speeds are low I may put first set to front if I expect harder conditions ahead. But at any higher speeds one set of chains need to be in the back. Otherwise you loose traction from rear and the car spins. This has happened to me couple of times. If you tow a trailer, chains to the rear axle, otherwise you are not able to reverse the trailer at all.

It's the same with tyres: If you have uneven pairs, put the best to the rear. I had year ago bad alignment on front of my L322 and the tyres wore at no time. As the rears were good I just bought 1 pair and it was easiest to put into the front. But after a week in winter conditions i needed to rotate the tyres because the handling was so bad. After this no problems.

Barttraeger · Nov 12, 2023

I finally decided to order a pair of Austrian Pewag Brenta c 4x4 XMR 82v s for just over 200€ new. Will report here on any experiences with them! Maybe I will add another set for the other axel another winter.

stickshifter · Nov 12, 2023

Tinerfeño said:
Good winter tyres are best choice for road use. I've had more than ten different makes during the years, including Nokian.

But in deep snow winter tyre is not at its best because it is fairly smooth. Then tyre chains are super good option and they work as well over any tyre.

For winter road + off-road conditions I have made couple of special cut versions that combine winter and off-road tyre performance.

235/85R15 winter classified non-studded tyres for year round use on a Land Rover Freelander:

And 265/75R16 studded winter tyres for Land Rover Defender (here before studs are installed with glue, a acing trick):

For sure - off road in the snow you need chains. I was just writing back to the guy who posted about his good experience with Nokian winter tires. On road, Nokian tires have been great for us, providing tremendous confidence when regularly driving icy or snow-covered roads.

Off-road in the winter is tricky around where I live, and you need to have good info on snow depth, and trail type before committing. If you are on a trail that you know is not technical, then chains can get you through snow of a certain depth, but once it gets really deep, the only thing that would work are some of those giant balloon tires that they use in Iceland that provide flotation. A 40-50 inch tire is not practical for me. If the snow is less deep, but the trail is technical, chains can work, but can also contribute to breakages when traction suddenly changes. I bent the front axle housing on a Jeep JK when the front right tire dropped into a rock-trap hidden by snow, stopping the rotation of the tire rather suddenly (though that was a great excuse to slap in a Dynatrac ProRock 44, and some new front end components that made the front-end handle really well). For anyone wondering, they improved the strength of the axle-housing in the JL.

The right tool just varies depending on terrain and conditions.

Barttraeger · Nov 12, 2023

Tinerfeño said:
In off-road conditions I always put first set to front. Then I have maximum traction, steering and braking.

On an icy road it is little bit tricky. If speeds are low I may put first set to front if I expect harder conditions ahead. But at any higher speeds one set of chains need to be in the back. Otherwise you loose traction from rear and the car spins. This has happened to me couple of times. If you tow a trailer, chains to the rear axle, otherwise you are not able to reverse the trailer at all.

It's the same with tyres: If you have uneven pairs, put the best to the rear. I had year ago bad alignment on front of my L322 and the tyres wore at no time. As the rears were good I just bought 1 pair and it was easiest to put into the front. But after a week in winter conditions i needed to rotate the tyres because the handling was so bad. After this no problems.

Interesting thoughts here and in the thread on front versus rear for chains. I’m tending to rear fitting, particularly on hills, to push up and stop being overtaken by the rear end ! You remind me my only crash in snow was caused by loosing the rear of a Land Cruiser and spinning through 180 degrees. Had almost forgotten that. And the manual of course- RTFM..

ECrider · Nov 12, 2023

ChasingOurTrunks said:
For folks in the world looking for tire chains, they are mandated on some roads here in British Columbia between October and May (as in, big signs that say "must carry chains" and apparently there are tickets if you don't do it). That means Canadians buy chains, so folks having trouble sourcing them might be able to both take advantage of our abysmal dollar value while also contributing money to my government's coffers via the sales tax by looking to Canadian companies which will be a good bit cheaper than some of the prices I've seen on this thread so far. Here's some examples:

Buy Tire Chains from CanadianChains.ca

general-vehicle-plp-template

www.canadiantire.ca

Tire Chains

Shop for Tire Chains in Tires & Wheels. Global Industrial is a Leading Distributor of Vehicle Maintenance supplies.

www.globalindustrial.ca

- Tire Chains

Tire chains provide extra traction and grip when maneuvering a vehicle over icy or snowy roads. Here at ohcanadasupply.ca, we carry a range of tire chains from brands like Dynaline, Security Chain Co., and Trygg. Browse our selection of heavy-duty fleet products and enjoy fast shipping across...

ohcanadasupply.ca

The Best Canadian Tire Chains | Kal Tire

Conditions in mountain passes can change unexpectedly. Canadian Tire chains are your best option when conditions change for the worst.

www.kaltire.com

Tire Chains

Tire chains provide extra traction and grip when maneuvering a vehicle over icy or snowy roads. Here at Gregg Distributors, we carry a range of tire chains from brands like Dynaline, Security Chain Co., and Trygg. Browse our selection of heavy-duty fleet products! We are your Canadian source for...

greggdistributors.ca

https://www.princessauto.com/en/tire-chains/category/310-035-010-005

Shipping might be a bit costly, but at least the above links will give prospective shoppers some brand names to look for within your own countries to find a source/distributor. As a caveat, I've used chains before but generally do not carry them - never been stopped and ticketed. There are plenty of times though where chains would have made forward progress easier/safer, so in general I do think they are a good idea and plan to pull the trigger on a set before my next big winter adventure over mountains, but I cannot attest personally to the quality of any of the links above.

Interesting, I learnt to drive in snow while I lived in Quebec for 14 mos around the turn of the millennium. Great state and gorgeous women. Happy memories of driving my Mitsubishi Colt to Le Massif with winter tyres. Guess they never mandated chains in that state or perhaps I was oblivious. Come on les Nordiques!

Tinerfeño · Nov 12, 2023

The depth of snow you can handle varies a lot. Hard packed, but not sufficiently to carry the weight of the car, need not to be very deep to stop the progress. The worst is soft snow with heavy crust of ice on top.

Here is about 35 cm of snow packed by snowmobiles and I'm stuck:

But on a same trip I managed this about 70-80 cm deep snow wall. I could pack the snow under my tyres without digging in. This is one thing you can't do with automatic transmission. The auto converted Defender behind didn't clear this because it dug into the snow:

Here is about 70-75 cm of soft snow and I'm stuck but perhaps 60 cm would still go.:

Here still going uphill on 40 cm virgin snow (or it's actually my daughter, then 21 years):

The deepest snow I've driven was about 80 cm of wet spring snow that no more packed under the car. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of that.

Tinerfeño · Dec 1, 2023

Tinerfeño said:
But on a same trip I managed this about 70-80 cm deep snow wall. I could pack the snow under my tyres without digging in. This is one thing you can't do with automatic transmission. The auto converted Defender behind didn't clear this because it dug into the snow:

I accidentally found the video of the Defender with automatic transmission on the same spot:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jebk4DqWErU

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