How to Put on Tire Chains
By Marc Howe on Jul 05, 2010 with Comments 0
Driving is almost difficult in severe weather conditions, especially when you have to drive on the roads covered with icy roads or snow. A thin layer of ice on the roads reduces the grip and traction of the vehicle. However, there are snow tires with deep treads and good grip, but yet you have to chain your tires to get better grip and traction while driving on the snow. Following are given directions that help you to fix chain the tires.
Tire Chains
Always choose right kind of chains according to the size of your tires. You can purchase chains from any auto supply store. Keep following two points in mind while purchasing the tire chains.
Link Strength: The strength of the chain depends on its links. Examine every link carefully and see if they are strong enough to hold the weight of your vehicle and stress of the road.
Build and Thickness: Must choose those tire chains which are lightweight but durable. Avoid purchasing the heavy or thin chains with pointed sharp edges, they might puncture or harm your tire surface.
Directions
These directions will help you to fix the tire chains effectively on your tires:
- Park the car on a safe place, away from traffic.
- Tire chains are fixed on mostly two tires on front or rear tires. If you are having a front-wheel drive, then mount the chains on front wheels. If you have rear-wheel vehicle, then chain both the rear tires. Don’t use tire chains on all the four tires.
- Wrap the tire chains on the surface of the tires. Keep the smooth side of the chains on the inner side.
- Move the car forward a foot to pin a piece of the tire chain on ground.
- If you have purchased the right kind and size of tire chains, you will not have any problem to secure the chains around the tire.
- Fasten the tire chains with the help of screws, latches or J-hooks. Fasten the loose ends of the chain along the sidewalls with bungee cord or twist-ties. This will more secure the chains with tire.
- For the other tire on the other side, repeat the same process.
You have to keep this thing in mind that with tire chains on you have to be as slow as possible the ideal speed would be 20-30 miles per hour, anything faster than that with chains on can be dangerous. Keep checking the tire chains daily for any wear and tear to avoid an accident.
Filed Under: Guides/DIY