chains versus cables

[rdub]

hey guy's and girls im wondering about your opinion on snow chains and cables,im having a delema because because ill be needing to cross over the Coke to pick up my daughter from now on and ive priced out chains at crapy tire for $139 or cables for $90 i was thinking for that price i ill buy two sets of cables for front and back (precious cargo on the way back) so whats your opinion cables or chains better or worse.

Thanks Rich

[jessef]

Chains front and rear.

Cables are go for putting around the city in going slow. They slip and slide. Chains will get you from A to B period.

The $80 difference should be worth the precious cargo.

[flyfishn]

Check out what Noel has for sale.



"V bar HD tire chains" is the search.

[Profister]

I used http://www.scc-chain.com/Traction%20Pag ... _SZLT.html out of town last winter and was really happy with the result.

[FalcoColumbarius]

I had chains made up for the MLB at Quality Chain, out in Surrey ~ very good.

I think cables are pretty null & void on the tyres that typically carry a Delica. If you can't move with your tyres then I doubt that cables will be of much use. Don't get your chains from Canadian Tire. $35.00 (+tax) per set waste of money. Jay and I took 45 odd minutes just to untangle them. Spend some money and get good ones.

Best to chain all four wheels/4x4 ~ With my chains and in four wheel drive I have climbed 20 degree hills with two feet plus of snow. Reference: http://www.delica.ca/forum/chains-3904.html

Falco.

[delicabits]

anyone run just snow tyres? never used snow chains and only snow tyres on the delica.

[docsavage]

The only real use for chains is the bags of sand they replace. Sure at slow speed in deep snow or on sheets of ice they will give you traction, but who would actually want to use them on the highway. Before spending money on chains, see how long they take to put on in good conditions, then try again in typical chain conditions with cold, wet hands. They don't get tight enough to use at speeds more than 20 km/hr (except maybe Falco's custom ones) which generally results in damage to your vehicle as they slap around the wheel wells. I've carried chains for 15 years, and only used them once.

A good set of winter tires is a far better investment for driving than $300 of chains.

Just my two cents, from a northern perspective.

[Green1]

chains are great for getting you to places nobody else can get to... they aren't so good for highway use... just get some really good tires and you'll be much happier on the highway.

[mararmeisto]

Chains aren't really meant for the road, not for extended periods anyway. They'll chew the ever-living-5hit out of your tires if you drive with them on the pavement for too long. Chains are, however, good for non-paved roads, dirt roads, off-road, completely snow-packed roads, or roads that don't generally have pavement on them. Short distances on paved roads are good, but you should remove them after you're back on clear pavement. And by clear I mean that when you drive over the snow-covered road, your tread goes all the way or nearly all the way down through the snow to the pavement (say 5-8cm).

Cables are really meant for paved roads. Snow tires with studs are meant for paved roads (or ice roads). Snow tires are meant for roads. And both cables with snow tires are meant for lightly covered snowy roads. I'm not talking the Trans-Siberian Highway (you should use chains), but downtown Calgary or Kamloops or Saskatoon with roads that get plowed on a regular basis. Driving from North Battleford to Fort McMurray (sp?) in the dead of winter, you should probably have chains.

And NO! "All season" tires don't count for nothing when the sign says "winter" tires. Some A/T tires will count if they've got a snow rating (and some of them do), but "all season" tires is a real misnomer. It's one of those wonderfully-misleading phrases in English that doesn't really mean what it should, like "near-miss", or "pre-heat", and everybody's favourite: "military intelligence".

[FalcoColumbarius]

Don't get me wrong. If there is six inches of snow on the highway then I won't put the chains on, except in special circumstances ~ whatever that may be. I'm sure a decent set of tyres and four wheel drive will cover that. If I have my chains on then I do not exceed fifty kilometres per hour. As far as slapping goes I have baling wire for that, also, in the picture you might notice "D" shaped links in the chains (three on each). These come with a key and are meant to tighten the chains to a very snug hold on the tyre.

I agree with Doc Savage and you should put them on first in pleasant conditions so you are accustomed to what is entailed ~ it is an art. Also, it will involve you crawling under the vehicle to bind the loose links with baling wire. I keep an all purpose mat in the Van that I purchased at Princess Auto (thanks Jay & Christine), along with a pair of blocks to drive onto for chaining up (makes it a lot easier, although there is a learning curve to driving successfully onto the blocks).

Falco.

[rdub]

Thanks guys,it is still something i want to get for off road winters your probabley right and i dont think the coke will be to bad anyways,i do know however they wern't letting people go on without SNOW TIRES or some chains ,and i dont have the money to buy new tiers,so i was waying some options,but if anyone has a set of snow tiersthey want to part with? i know at this time of year its a bit of a stupid question.

Thanks folks
rich

[BCDelica]

Agree that James is right.

Man it sucked as once with cable chains, and not the cheapies, destroyed a wheel well on our 6 month old Camry.

[Erebus]

but downtown Calgary or Kamloops or Saskatoon with roads that get plowed on a regular basis.

Only if you mean by "regular" once a year. Calgary seems to think that summer is a type of snow plow. They will send a plow down the major streets a couple of days after a snow fall -- when everything is already polished to ice -- and leave snow banks all over. But in the 12 years I've lived here, a plow has come down my street exactly once, and gravel or sanding trucks come through maybe twice a year.

Sorry for the rant, but I come from Montreal, where within 48 hours of a snowfall, ALL streets have been plowed and cleared. And that includes the sidewalks.

[mararmeisto]

but downtown Calgary or Kamloops or Saskatoon with roads that get plowed on a regular basis.

Calgary... will send a plow down the major streets a couple of days after a snow fall -- when everything is already polished to ice -- and leave snow banks all over. But in the 12 years I've lived here, a plow has come down my street exactly once, and gravel or sanding trucks come through maybe twice a year.

It's good to know that some things haven't changed since I left Calgary for the Navy 20 years ago.

[josh]

I've carried chains for 15 years, and only used them once.

A good set of winter tires is a far better investment for driving than $300 of chains.

Just my two cents, from a northern perspective.

Agreed 100%. How many of you ever go anywhere serious to ever need chains? I mean really. I do tons of driving on logging roads in the winter, and a lot of off-the-beaten track. Snow tires serve me just fine. Chains are a last resort, and it never seems to come to that. I do run studs on my minitruck, but thats just because I have that option. Yet I am still not convinced the studs are any better than a good snow tire.

And we have had snow for over a month already.

Josh