Auto tire chains

[puckgrinder85]

I know tire chains aren't allowed here, im sure you could get away with them in a storm but who wants to take them on and off all the time. If you can, stud, if not get some winter tires, not all terrain. The rubber needs to be softer and that's what the winter tires are. My wife's buick regal outperforms my 4x4 truck in anything up to about 4-5 inches, that's locked in 4x4. I'd ballast the **** out of the rear too and you should be pretty good.


The 4x4 systems of today aren't that bad, we get maybe 5-10 issues a year on customer cars, same as with manual lockout hubs, they are no better or worse really. Some manufacturers don't even disconnect the front axle anymore, its just the transfer case that gets shifted in and that's it.

 

[kevinwak]

I have heard the cooper discoverer are perfect snow tires! Just as well I am still considering studded tires. They just sound unbeatable. I have two old rims to install the studded tires on as well. Is it okay to drive with studded tires on dry pavement if the ice were to melt? For instance, if I were to drive to work with ice and snow and then on the way home the roads were clear and melted would it be extremely harmful to the studs to drive on pavement? And yes I have read that studs cause tires to not stop well on pavement

My Cooper discovers were studded. Put them on in the fall and took them off in the spring. The studs lasted the life of the tire, and probably 70 percent of winter is clear dry pavement.
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[diesel lover]

My Cooper discovers were studded. Put them on in the fall and took them off in the spring. The studs lasted the life of the tire, and probably 70 percent of winter is clear dry pavement.
Sent from my iPhone using TractorByNet

Great to know! I had no idea the studs could last that long on pavement! Makes it sound like quite an investment! Might be the perfect solution when I need to drive on bad roads so I can get to work or get to a side job and plow snow

 

[RedNeckRacin]

My wife's car runs studded tires on all 4 (for stopping and going in the direction the car is supposed to) and they are going on their third year. Studded tires will last quite awhile.

 

[doxford jim]

The studded tires are a little more expensive than non-studded (maybe $20 each for the studs), but there is a big improvement over non studded all season. I have managed to do a doughnut while pulling away from the drive in winter, with studded tires ! I had just put them on the truck and pulled out of the drive on sheet ice and forgot to be easy on the gas. After that pucker move I was good for the rest of the winter.
Our driveway has a slight incline up to the house (1/4 mile back from the entrance) and when there is ice (from thaw and freeze cycles) the studded tires had no problems, where as the Goodrich AT's would slip and slide even when newish.
If you have a couple of spare r ims to put the studded tires on, then you will be absolutely fine and they should last a long time.

 

[diesel lover]

We'll it happened, I ended up with a 4wd! My ford truck has an intake manifold leak, and with needing other things it will cost too much to be worth it. It has been producing 7 psi of oil pressure at 600 rpm lately. I installed a new oil pump and that did not fix it. Sometimes it is time to move on.

My dad has offered me his 2000 gmc purchased new in December of 2000. It has a 4.8 v8 and 4wd which has a manually engauged transfer case from a lever in the cab. I already used the 4wd to drive into a muddy area and do some target shooting on a friends property.

 

[Capricious]

which has a manually engauged transfer case from a lever in the cab. .

The last time I had 4Wd (1977 to 1982) it had a manually-shifted transfer case, manual hubs, and a "solid" front axle. If (when) I get another 4WD I would like to get the same set-up, but I don't know if it even available anymore.

 

[Diamondpilot]

The last time I had 4Wd (1977 to 1982) it had a manually-shifted transfer case, manual hubs, and a "solid" front axle. If (when) I get another 4WD I would like to get the same set-up, but I don't know if it even available anymore.

Ford Super Duty can be had this way. Not sure about Dodge, they still have a solid front axle but not sure about the rest of the goodies. GM does not have a solid front axle truck. Either does Nissan or Toyota.

Chris

 

[BKBrown]

I will NEVER own a set of Bridgestone or Firestone tires ! We had a new Subaru that came with Bridgestone tires - all 4 went out of round by nearly 1" on the same day - at that time Subaru had Bridgestone handling everything to do with their tire warranty. Bridgestone would do NOTHING about it and claimed we must have hit pot holes or something - all 4 out of round and it was our fault ???? NOPE ! We had to buy a new set for a new car and they were NOT Bridgestone or Firestone ! The next car that came with Bridgestone tires only went from the dealer to a tire shop to have them changed to another brand. (just because the dealer did not have another brand that would fit).

Let me offer this alternative to the chains or studs for your 2wd pickup.. How about getting a set of Blizzak tires?. If you will research them the reports are rather positive. The downsides are that they are extremely soft, and don't perform well in hot weather. You would only want to put them on when snow is predicted and take them off when you feel the last snow/ice event is over for the season. Check them out and see what you think.

Bridgestone Winter / Snow Tires

 

[BKBrown]

WeissSock Tire Sock Passenger Car Series | Tire Chains Required | The Traction Specialists

An alternative to chains - if they have not already been mentioned.

 

[k0ua]

I will NEVER own a set of Bridgestone or Firestone tires ! We had a new Subaru that came with Bridgestone tires - all 4 went out of round by nearly 1" on the same day - at that time Subaru had Bridgestone handling everything to do with their tire warranty. Bridgestone would do NOTHING about it and claimed we must have hit pot holes or something - all 4 out of round and it was our fault ???? NOPE ! We had to buy a new set for a new car and they were NOT Bridgestone or Firestone ! The next car that came with Bridgestone tires only went from the dealer to a tire shop to have them changed to another brand. (just because the dealer did not have another brand that would fit).

I have a set of Blizzaks on my Chrysler minivan, so far so good. I had a set of the Firestone "shredder" tires on my 2000 chevrolet pickup. I never had any trouble with them, but they were 10 years old when I replaced them because of their age, Then the truck was wrecked (with the brand new tires on it) about 2 weeks later. mad:

 

[RobertN]

Best truck was a '64 Ford F100 a friend gave my Dad. Truck was beat up, Bazillion miles. At Idle, no oil pressure. Ran like that for a couple years till broke the tranny. Ran great, got good mileage for a 292 3 on the tree. When you revved it up, the oil pressure gauge was like a tach!

Dad gave it to someone else who put a used tranny in it and continued to use it as is, for a ranch truck.

We'll it happened, I ended up with a 4wd! My ford truck has an intake manifold leak, and with needing other things it will cost too much to be worth it. It has been producing 7 psi of oil pressure at 600 rpm lately. I installed a new oil pump and that did not fix it. Sometimes it is time to move on.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

The last time I had 4Wd (1977 to 1982) it had a manually-shifted transfer case, manual hubs, and a "solid" front axle. If (when) I get another 4WD I would like to get the same set-up, but I don't know if it even available anymore.

Dodge has a manual transfer case and straight axles are standard in 2500 and up. Why in the world would you want manual Hubs? I have seen conversion kits to get that but crawlingout of the truck to lock them in sucks and they never seem to want to engage easily.

 

[Loadstar]

Dodge has a manual transfer case and straight axles are standard in 2500 and up. Why in the world would you want manual Hubs? I have seen conversion kits to get that but crawlingout of the truck to lock them in sucks and they never seem to want to engage easily.

So your front axles and such are not always spinning. Plus they are always reliable. Typically you lock them out before you are at the point of crawling out.

 

[aczlan]

So your front axles and such are not always spinning. Plus they are always reliable. Typically you lock them out before you are at the point of crawling out.

Not sure what is current, but our 1997 Dodge 1500 has a axle disconnect. The axleshaft spins, but the driveshaft does not.

Aaron Z

 

[HHR]

Not sure what is current, but our 1997 Dodge 1500 has a axle disconnect. The axleshaft spins, but the driveshaft does not. Aaron Z

Starting in 2013, Ram added an electronically actuated Central Axle Disconnect (CAD) to all 4x4 3500 models. This feature was also added to 2500 models in 2014.
I don't really like the idea because the only thing you are stoping is the driveshaft and ring & pinion. The outer axle shafts are turning and the spider gears inside the differential are spinning a million miles an hour because the CAD only disconnects the "long" axle from the diff.

 

[aczlan]

Starting in 2013, Ram added an electronically actuated Central Axle Disconnect (CAD) to all 4x4 3500 models. This feature was also added to 2500 models in 2014.
I don't really like the idea because the only thing you are stoping is the driveshaft and ring & pinion. The outer axle shafts are turning and the spider gears inside the differential are spinning a million miles an hour because the CAD only disconnects the "long" axle from the diff.

The older 1/2 ton models (like ours) have the same thing, but its vacuum actuated rather than electronically actuated.

Aaron Z

 

[Diamondpilot]

So your front axles and such are not always spinning. Plus they are always reliable. Typically you lock them out before you are at the point of crawling out.

This is why I like the Ford ones. You have Auto, Locked, and Unlocked.

Chris

 

[RedNeckRacin]

So your front axles and such are not always spinning. Plus they are always reliable. Typically you lock them out before you are at the point of crawling out.

I think you are over glamorizing them. I always remember having to get out in the mud to lock them in because Noone ever thinks to lock them in before hand. I had a 3500 ram that I took to 180,000 miles and currently a 2500 with almost 120,000 miles and never had a u joint problem. Like I said, there is a conversion kit to change them to manual hubs if your heart desires. I'll just reach down and pull in 4wd.

 

[Loadstar]

Noone ever thinks to lock them in before hand.

Don't drag me into this.