tire chains

[98outbackpdx]

is anyone familiar with any certain tire chains. i have the quick fit tire chains for my van and i can put those on in less than 2 minutes. i stole some chains out of the van, the vans size is 215-75-15, and my outback size is 205-70-15, will they fit? they are the put over the tires and connect, the ones from the van.
could i get a set of quick fits, and use those, or do i have to use "S class" chains?
i don't currently have the money for snow tires maybe xmas time/January, but last year we had a big storm before xmas and it was a pain, too many people panicking like it was the Apocalypse.
well any help would be apricated.

[j_saffron]

i drove in that snow storm last year, i bought some used chains(not actual chains, but the cord style. $35 used from craigslist). i never put them on. got around fine with all season tires. i only carried them in the car because of the law requirement. thats city driving, not mountain.
if you have the original package the chains came in there should be some literature about all the tire sizes it'll fit.

you could also throw them on one tire right now just for fitment confirmation. ya know while the weather is decent.

i can look at mine and give you the list from my package. however, Subaru dosen't recommend using chains at all...

[rougeben83]

check with subaru, I don't think they recommend you using chains with the AWD system. Also, in terms of the law where youre required to carry chains in certain areas w/ police checkpoints, subarus are one of the few cars that are exempt from carrying chains all together as long as they have the right tires.

[98outbackpdx]

yeah i could not figure out how to get the chains on. i am going to try to get studded tires by x-mas

[98outbackpdx]

i drove in that snow storm last year, i bought some used chains(not actual chains, but the cord style. $35 used from craigslist). i never put them on. got around fine with all season tires. i only carried them in the car because of the law requirement. thats city driving, not mountain.
if you have the original package the chains came in there should be some literature about all the tire sizes it'll fit.

you could also throw them on one tire right now just for fitment confirmation. ya know while the weather is decent.

i can look at mine and give you the list from my package. however, Subaru dosen't recommend using chains at all...

my mom drove in her AWD astro van up and down the columbia river gorge last winter till they closed the highway. she drove about 200 miles a day, from The Dalles to Wilsonville 5 days a week. so yeah i fondly remember that winter. also if i remember correctly they (odot and the news) said if you have some form of 4x4/awd and snow tires you were exempt from chains

[Sarra]

I've gone in some... Well, scary places. I actually had 3 sets of tire chains at one point on my LGT. I was getting stuck in the mountains in places where I could die if I didn't get unstuck in a hurry, and tire chains got me free a few times.

For the Outbacks with the 235 70R16 or whatever tires, tire chains will not clear the suspension or fenders. I think any Suby with 70 ratio sidewalls won't be capable of running tire chains, actually. One way to test is to put them on, turn the wheel to full lock, and creep forward with a friend looking in the wheel well. Make sure NOTHING scrapes or pinches the chains. Turn full lock the other way and repeat. If you have clearance, you should be okay.

If you really, really, absolutely need it, you can try fitment in the rear as well. I got some low profile cord style chains, and used them several times (all wheel chains rocked my world a few times on some amazing mountain roads). Just be VERY careful with tire chains, I completely destroyed two of my three sets.

Later this year, I'll be buying another set, and going back up into the mountains in my WRX. I have more than enough clearance in the rear to do all wheel chains again, which is how I will do it. Add in some narrow snow tires, and I should be able to go just about anywhere. Also buying a winch, come-along, several tow straps, cable, tent, cooking supplies, etc. I got stuck last year in a place that I don't know if snowmobiles could even get to safely, much less my car. :p

[rougeben83]

I've gone in some... Well, scary places. I actually had 3 sets of tire chains at one point on my LGT. I was getting stuck in the mountains in places where I could die if I didn't get unstuck in a hurry, and tire chains got me free a few times.

For the Outbacks with the 235 70R16 or whatever tires, tire chains will not clear the suspension or fenders. I think any Suby with 70 ratio sidewalls won't be capable of running tire chains, actually. One way to test is to put them on, turn the wheel to full lock, and creep forward with a friend looking in the wheel well. Make sure NOTHING scrapes or pinches the chains. Turn full lock the other way and repeat. If you have clearance, you should be okay.

If you really, really, absolutely need it, you can try fitment in the rear as well. I got some low profile cord style chains, and used them several times (all wheel chains rocked my world a few times on some amazing mountain roads). Just be VERY careful with tire chains, I completely destroyed two of my three sets.

Later this year, I'll be buying another set, and going back up into the mountains in my WRX. I have more than enough clearance in the rear to do all wheel chains again, which is how I will do it. Add in some narrow snow tires, and I should be able to go just about anywhere. Also buying a winch, come-along, several tow straps, cable, tent, cooking supplies, etc. I got stuck last year in a place that I don't know if snowmobiles could even get to safely, much less my car. :p

Maybe you should just stop going to secluded places to bury bodies in the winter time. The cops close mountain roads down for a reason.

[Sarra]

I've gone in some... Well, scary places. I actually had 3 sets of tire chains at one point on my LGT. I was getting stuck in the mountains in places where I could die if I didn't get unstuck in a hurry, and tire chains got me free a few times.

For the Outbacks with the 235 70R16 or whatever tires, tire chains will not clear the suspension or fenders. I think any Suby with 70 ratio sidewalls won't be capable of running tire chains, actually. One way to test is to put them on, turn the wheel to full lock, and creep forward with a friend looking in the wheel well. Make sure NOTHING scrapes or pinches the chains. Turn full lock the other way and repeat. If you have clearance, you should be okay.

If you really, really, absolutely need it, you can try fitment in the rear as well. I got some low profile cord style chains, and used them several times (all wheel chains rocked my world a few times on some amazing mountain roads). Just be VERY careful with tire chains, I completely destroyed two of my three sets.

Later this year, I'll be buying another set, and going back up into the mountains in my WRX. I have more than enough clearance in the rear to do all wheel chains again, which is how I will do it. Add in some narrow snow tires, and I should be able to go just about anywhere. Also buying a winch, come-along, several tow straps, cable, tent, cooking supplies, etc. I got stuck last year in a place that I don't know if snowmobiles could even get to safely, much less my car. :p

Maybe you should just stop going to secluded places to bury bodies in the winter time. The cops close mountain roads down for a reason.

They aren't mountain roads, they're logging roads. :lol: I tried driving up a 45 degree inclined gravel road that was covered in 3" of snow with ice under it, a 200 foot drop on side, a small ditch on the other and a hill beyond the ditch. That... Was the scariest fucking ride I have ever gone on... I got halfway up, got stuck sideways, and slid down the hill, sideways. I survived, and didn't hurt my car.

[j_saffron]

^^you're lucky
i drove on a logging road at night in the rain(summertime) west of Eugene and it was gravel just a lil wider than the car, 100ft drop on both sides at one point. know a girl that didn't make it and rolled her Hyundai and killed her dog passenger.

logging roads are waaay worse than mountain.

[Sarra]

^^you're lucky
i drove on a logging road at night in the rain(summertime) west of Eugene and it was gravel just a lil wider than the car, 100ft drop on both sides at one point. know a girl that didn't make it and rolled her Hyundai and killed her dog passenger.

logging roads are waaay worse than mountain.

I know these logging roads pretty well. I used to drive them rather frequently during the summer. And, rain really isn't anything here, you just have to pay attention. Also, the more popular logging roads get asshats driving trucks at high rates of speed frequently during the summer, so going slow really is key. I nearly got in a wreck because some redneck was going 40+ over a blind crest towing quads on a trailer behind him, and it was only a one and a half width road at that point. I put the car in the ditch and he slid past me, everything locked up. Luckily, my car wasn't hurt. He flipped me off. I grabbed my 5" long KBar and held it up, and he floored it out of there.

I've also nearly killed people on quads, bikes (both motorcycles and mountain bikes), and snowmobiles. Actually, I take that back, I nearly killed two people, both on quads. After that, I never went fast on the popular logging roads again. I nearly got taken out by a motorcycle, and I always crawl past mountain bikers so I don't suffocate them with dust, same with hikers.

Anyway, a friend is a part of the local area Search and Rescue volunteer group, and she sends me email alerts in the winter if anyone is suspected of being stuck in the mountains on a logging road in the snow. They have about 1400 miles of logging roads up here to cover, 10,000 square miles of quad/snowmobile accessible terrain, and not nearly enough volunteers to cover it, so I head up on some of the more popular ones if I can and check them out. If it's too dangerous, I turn around. If not, I go up and explore. I've never found anyone. But, I do email her back with reports on fresh tracks, heavy snow, or whatever. I guess there's a bunch of people that do this here due to the sheer size of the area.

If I can ever get the money together, I will modify my car and put some mattracks on it, and become a winter specialized SAR volunteer. Seeing how they cost $40,000 a set, and the modifications to my car would be extensive (lift kit, trimming some lower body parts, you get the idea), I don't think it'll happen any time soon.

Getting stuck in the cross country skiing area on Mt. Ashland at midnight sucked. Digging out, and then having my car die in the parking lot due to a fuel pump failure REALLY sucked. It was 2 am before the tow truck arrived and towed me home! I think that was the worst 'stuck' incident... The scissor jacks really got me unstuck though. :lol:

[jey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTDNLUzjkpg