Talk:Snow chains

Help with ice?

Basic research and common sense would seem to indicate that chains should not be used on a hard surface, like a road covered with only ice. Only in deep snow, or maybe offroad mud, et cetera. Surely, regardless of their effect on traction, chains will get damaged on an iced road which is not also covered with sufficiently deep snow (which keeps the chains away from the hard ice!). I.e. it would appear that chains are not a replacement for winter tires. Winter tires are needed for proper grip even on bare asphalt, at low temperatures. Winter tires are the first line of defense; chains are the backup for deep snow, when the winter tires are not able to cut through to the surface (ice or asphalt) to obtain traction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 154.20.32.179 (talk) 04:59, 21 August 2009 (UTC)

snow chain law?

http://data.opi.state.mt.us/bills/mca/61/9/61-9-406.htm

would this be a helpful link for citation? thanks 74.47.19.251 (talk) 05:54, 29 August 2009 (UTC)jml-inmt

ABS braking cars?

Is it true that some chains are incompatible with ABS cars, and that thinner chains must be used? Diego (talk) 18:28, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

Snow chains and alternatives

Use of snow chains was common in the UK in the 1950s but now seems almost to have died out. I think this is because vehicle speeds have risen so much. In the 1950s many people drove at only 30 mph, even when there was no speed limit, because of the low power and poor handling of the cars of the time. Several friends of mine have said that, next time they buy new cars, they will buy 4x4s specifically to cope with the snow problem. This will not please environmentalists but it seems a logical decision in the circumstances. I am also astonished to see 6-axle lorries with only one driven axle - I think that two driven axles is a sensible minimum for a 6-axle vehicle. I am planning to expand on this and put it in an article entitled Inclement weather management. There is already a category of that name. Biscuittin (talk) 16:11, 19 December 2010 (UTC). A lot of alternatives to snow chains are available, such as, snow socks, traction cables, et cetera but they are not as good as snow chains when it comes to providing traction in deep and heavy snow. Some of the best snow chains are listed here. Always study about the snow chains laws of your country or state before setting off if you don't want to get in any sort of trouble.

U.S. Tire code

This code does not determine the overall traction that a vehicle can deliver under varying conditions. It only determines wheel size. Traction is based more on tire tread than wheel size. The point of this article is to provide the added traction that tire chains (or cables) can provide when added to the wheel, so this is out of place. --71.245.164.83 (talk) 04:15, 29 December 2010 (UTC)

Tire chains and snow tires provide metal cleats that can penetrate ice and allow movement on icy surfaces. Although some tires use rubber that becomes "sticky" at cold temperatures (and harder at higher teperatures i.e. summer highway driving)(Goodyear Tires product page), the thin film of lubricating water (see [hydroplaning]) at or above freezing temp of ice makes the use of flat surface tires unsafe. Ice near freezing temps is a soft substance and the traction provided by chains and snow tires is lower than rubber against dry pavement. The traction of metal against pavement is also lower, which condition occurrs with chains against slushy roads or areas of dry pavement between ice patches.

I originally looked up this article to see if they included the law/recommendation that front wheel drive vehicles have chains on their rear wheels also, not just the driven wheels. The Discount Tire website notes that the wheels with the higher traction should be the rear wheels because a car will "spin out"; if the front wheels lose traction one can turn into the skid to recover it. When I drove a bus, only the outside pair on dual wheels required chains (the additional wheels on duals are required for load-bearing).

Although tire chains are harder than asphalt and concrete they are incapable of being used at high speed, therefore only used during icy conditions. Snow tires are used for several months and contiually scour the road surface. Asphalt suffers from photochemical embrittlement and the scouring action exposes fresh surface to Summer damage. The hydrodynamic affect of water on the roadway (improper roadway drainage during the rainy season)(c.f. the cutting action of high pressure water jet on concrete similar to compression of water on roadway by multi-ton vehicles) is more damaging to conctrete than snow tires or chains. Roadway damage (as opposed to surface wear) is effected by vehicles of over 10 tons per axle (e.g. large semi trucks) that cause flexing of the concrete roadbed itself (from a textbook in the Engineering Dept Concrete class I took).

Shjacks45 (talk) 19:17, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Rename

After doing some research I see that some chains are intended for use in mud and some for use year-round on heavy equipment. Should this article discuss only snow chains or should it be renamed tire chains? Jim Derby (talk) 22:51, 4 February 2015 (UTC)

Image placement

Can this go somewhere? Anna Frodesiak (talk) 01:47, 14 December 2016 (UTC)

@Anna Frodesiak:  Done Peter Horn User talk 18:34, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

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