Alternatives to tire chains?

[Lil Foot]

Does anyone have experience with those tire chain alternatives?
Tire socks, cable types, plastic zip tie styles?
Effectiveness? Longevity? Cost?

I'm thinking about something like that if we get caught in the high country snow in our '08 Kia Rondo.
(I know, what the hell is a Kia Rondo?)

 

[GeoHorn]

HOW….. are tire chains …etc…. gonna help you when you’re CAUGHT IN A KIA..!!!

 

[chim]

HOW….. are tire chains …etc…. gonna help you when you’re CAUGHT IN A KIA..!!!

Swing 'em hard to break the windows so you can climb out?

 

[P0234]

Tire chains are tried and true. I know some of the other alternatives have some good use cases but I can't believe anything works better on ice than an actual chain.


Peerless autotrac are super easy to install, two minutes per side. They're fairly priced and have good support. They even sell matching gloves meant for keeping your arms clean.

 

[DustyRusty]

KIA = Kick in the ass.

 

[jyoutz]

Chains are indeed the best for traction but can be problematic for small vehicles like the Kia with limited space in the fender well. Cable chains are best in that situation..

 

[hagrid]

Does anyone have experience with those tire chain alternatives?
Tire socks, cable types, plastic zip tie styles?
Effectiveness? Longevity? Cost?

I'm thinking about something like that if we get caught in the high country snow in our '08 Kia Rondo.
(I know, what the hell is a Kia Rondo?)
View attachment 120857

For you, I would look at a spare set of steel rims shod with studded tires.

Many vehicles have suspension components so close to the inner sidewall that chains et al can't be fitted.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

We can't use chains or studs here in Ontario.
saw that 'tire socks' do NOT work for snow in BC ( Highway thru Hell tv show...),it was really,really funny to see semi spin...like having 'slicks' on.
so is the KIA actually 4WD ?
aggressive mud snowtires, like good old 'Suburbanites' would be GREAT...

 

[chim]

KIA = Kick in the ass.

Always wondered why they'd use the acronym for "Killed In Action" for a brand name.

 

[Lil Foot]

so is the KIA actually 4WD ?

No, 2wd. (front wheel)
In AZ, when roads get snowy/icy, DPS requires 4wd OR chains.

 

[Lil Foot]

Double post, sorry

 

[Lil Foot]

Peerless autotrac are super easy to install, two minutes per side. They're fairly priced and have good support. They even sell matching gloves meant for keeping your arms clean.

These look impressive.
Not sure I like the plastic parts, but otherwise they look good.
I will check to see if they are available for the extremely odd & weird Rondo.

 

[Lil Foot]

Not a lot of clearance for chains, but if all else fails, I might check to see if my Yamaha Rhino SxS chains might fit.

 

[GeoHorn]

Tire chains are tried and true. I know some of the other alternatives have some good use cases but I can't believe anything works better on ice than an actual chain.


Peerless autotrac are super easy to install, two minutes per side. They're fairly priced and have good support. They even sell matching gloves meant for keeping your arms clean.

I’ve driven in snow and ice using tires with installed “Studs”…which worked very well.

(I also once owned a weirdly unique car that proved troublesome to support…. 2000 Saturn LS-1.

Wife hit a deer with it the second day of ownership. Since it was a newly introduced model…it sat in the Body Shop for Six Months awaiting parts. There’s nothing like making payments on a new car you cannot use for six months AND rental fees on a substitute-compact-car because insurance only covered 30 days of rental.
Later-on…the alternator went out on that car. It could only travel about 20 miles on a fully charged battery before the engine died and the steering and transmission shift-lever locked up.
(Of course, the wife just HAD to stop at the rural post office (a mile from home) to check for mail on the way home…. so that’s where she discovered the car was shut-down/locked-up.

I KNEW better than to purchase an introductory-model car in it’s first year….but she so WANTED that particular car.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Living in the land of snow and ice and now slush and snow and ice.
I've seen them all.

This is what you need!


Yes that's a joke!
That chain probably weighs more than the entire car!

Any of the plastic versions fails, and they usually pick the worst time to fail.

Cable chains are ok if they stay on the tire, come spring you find them everywhere.
But people around here will run them for a lot of miles and usually not really properly fitted to the vehicle they are using them on.

Socks only work good in certain snow conditions.

Studded tires are wonderful on ice and packed snow, they don't help on fluff.
And studded tires are a blast on just wet and dry concrete and pavement, might as well stay stuck in the snow it's safer.

A good pair of good flitting light weight chains will really do the best for you, but second would be cable chains and they store in a smaller space and are lighter.

You're not going to be running them long and they are light and easy to put on.

 

[P0234]

These look impressive.
Not sure I like the plastic parts, but otherwise they look good.
I will check to see if they are available for the extremely odd & weird Rondo.

The tensioner is the only part that is actual plastic IIRC, its pretty beefy plastic too.

Peerless | Tire Chain Finder

peerlesschain.com

 

[jyoutz]

For you, I would look at a spare set of steel rims shod with studded tires.

Many vehicles have suspension components so close to the inner sidewall that chains et al can't be fitted.

When I lived in Flagstaff, AZ I did exactly that for a small car I had. Studded snow tires from November through March. All season tires the remainder of the year.

 

[Lil Foot]

Well, I bought a set of these:

Peerless | Traction

peerlesschain.com

Hopefully I won't need them, but if I do, I'll report back.