Auto tire chains

puckgrinder85 · Sep 19, 2014

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 · Sep 19, 2014

diesel lover said:
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 · Sep 21, 2014

kevinwak said:
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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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 · Sep 22, 2014

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 · Sep 22, 2014

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 · Dec 25, 2014

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 · Dec 26, 2014

diesel lover said:
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 · Dec 26, 2014

Capricious said:
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 · Dec 26, 2014

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).

k0ua said:
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