How to Fit and Install Snow Chains
Put your snow chains on like a pro with these simple steps.
With winter weather upon us, depending on where you live, you might need tire chains this season. While chains are sometimes not allowed in cities, on mountain roads and in more rural areas they can be a life saver. Here’s a helpful set of tips to get you going with your snow chains snugly in place.
Find the right size chains
The first step to snow chains is choosing the right size. While there will be a little bit of variation, getting the right size for your vehicle’s tires is important to make sure they stay put while you’re driving. To determine what size tire you have, look for the label on the tire’s sidewall with a three-digit number, then a slash, then a two-digit number. The first number refers to the width of your tire. The second number is the percentage of the width and refers to the depth of the tire. Chains are often made to fit a range of tire sizes, so you can look for a set that includes your tire size in its range on the label.
Do a dress rehearsal
To prepare for a successful snow-chain installation on the road—where it’s wet, cold, and possibly dark—it’s a good idea to get your chains out and do a dress rehearsal in your garage or driveway before attempting a real-time installation. Although you should avoid driving on your chains if there isn’t snow on the road because they can damage the surface (and also your driveway or garage floor), putting the chains on in a comfortable environment first before trying to use them for the first time in a snow storm—or on the side of a highway next to a mountain pass—will make your live-action installation go that much more smoothly.
Lay out your chains for the drive tires
The chains go on whichever set of wheels drives the vehicle, so on a front-wheel drive vehicle, they go on the front; for rear-wheel drive, they go on the back. Lay out the chains on the ground to make sure they’re untangled before installing them. There should be a cable or a straight chain on one side and a series of criss-crossed chains attached to that. Place the chains so that the hooks holding them to the cable are facing out from the tires. This will prevent them from damaging the side walls of the tires. If your chains came with instructions, now is a good time to get those out, since not all tire chains are exactly alike.
Attach your snow chains
Once you have the chains laid out and untangled, pull them behind the tire and then drape them over the tire, with the open end towards the ground. Next join together the two corners of the snow chains that are on the underside of the vehicle. There will be a hook or other device to attach the two. Then, you can join together the two corners of the snow chains that are on the side of the tires facing the road.
Tension your chains
Tensioning the chains is the final step before driving. Most people will find it easiest to tension their chains if they drive forward just a little bit, allowing the chains to fall under the tires. A quarter to a half turn of the wheels is all you should need. Different chains have different types of tensioners, but in general you will have another chain, a stretchy cord, some clips, or some combination of those. The idea is to pull the chains a little more snugly around the tires, and this is done by pulling the outward-facing chain towards the center of the wheel, allowing it to evenly distribute the chain treads over the surface of the tire. If you’ve lost your tensioners, some people will use zip ties (make sure you have a way to cut them off to remove the chains), bungee cords or quick links to tighten up their chains. While these fixes might be okay as a last resort to make it out of a snow storm, it’s generally recommended to use a tensioner meant to be used for tires.
Drive on your chains
Driving on snow chains is a little different than on regular tires. You shouldn’t go faster than 25 mph on snow chains to avoid damaging the road or the chains themselves, and you should avoid fast stops and starts to keep the chains from skidding. If you see bare pavement, it’s time to take the chains off, as they can break if you drive too much on bare pavement with them; it’s bad for the roads; and a broken snow chain can damage your tires.