Snow chains - cheap

[BSM]

Aldi are selling snow chains for $40 a pair tommorow (https://www.aldi.com.au/en/special-buys/snow-gear-sat-17-may-2014/saturday-detail-wk20/ps/p/snow-chains/).

I've read on other threads here that people are paying $500 for snow chains. What does the extra $460 get you?

Also does any body have a view whether just putting chains on 2 wheels on a D3 is adequate?

[rufusking]

Seriously? Where does one begin, size - doubt that they would have a size large enough to go around a D3 wheel. Quality - looks like plain round profile chain that doesn't bit into ice like square does. Fit- check what clearance you have behind the tyre from any suspension components at all wheel movements. Then there's tension mechanism. I'd fit them to your car but not mine.

[FeatherWeightDriver]

I saw that too, damn they can make things cheap...

Might be worth checking how they sit on the tyre even if they do fit. Watch out for things catching on the inside of the wheel and scratching your rims (assuming alloys) on the outside...

[BSM]

Seriously? Where does one begin, size - doubt that they would have a size large enough to go around a D3 wheel. Quality - looks like plain round profile chain that doesn't bit into ice like square does. Fit- check what clearance you have behind the tyre from any suspension components at all wheel movements. Then there's tension mechanism. I'd fit them to your car but not mine.

You don't need to fit them to mine, but thanks for the offer.:)

Yes they are round profile chains from looking at the vid.

Where do you get snow chains of reasonable quality that will fit a D3 then?

[camel_landy]

Round/square profile... Shouldn't matter much when you have the weight of the car on it.

M

[Pedro_The_Swift]

previous thoughts,,
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/130317-snow-chains-mandatory-nsw-4wd.html


http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/151707-snow-chains-d3-rrs.html

search is your friend:D

[Ben_Vapid]

To be honest chains are one thing I wouldn't scrimp on, there's nothing worse than struggling with tangled ****ty chains by the side of the road when you can't feel your hands ;)

Also they need to be diamond pattern now, any other style and they won't let you up the mountain if you get inspected.

I grabbed mine from ARB, Thules, and they've are super easy to get on and off.

[BSM]

Okay, I bought a pair a Aldi chains to see how they fit. Firstly they are square profile chains, and appear to be of reasonable design and quality ( but I'm no expert on snow chains)

However after fitting on the front, there's only about a finger width clearance behind the wheel between the chain's connention catch and the verticle arm on the wheel knuckle. Way too close for comfort.

Mind you Ive got slightly wider tyres than standard (265/65/R17) as a result of my rims. So maybe they could work for others.

Good thing with Aldi is that you can return things.

[101RRS]

I was at Aldi today and they had two pairs that will fit my RRS and two pairs that would fit my Haflinger so I bought one of each.

Now the RRS handbook says to fit the chains on the front wheels only and chains must not be put on the rears. Putting a single pair of chains on the front is sort of understandable as steering is important but I am not sure how the CDL in the car will react.

When driving onroad on ice and snow "Grass, Gravel and Snow" would normally be selected in which case I believe the CDL will normally be 'off' until slip is detected when it starts to lock. So most drive will go to the rear wheels initially but as they will have no grip on ice they will start to spin a little with the cdl then sending drive to the front where the tyres have grip because of the chains.

For those in the know of TR systems, is my logic correct??

The handbook does not say why chains must not be fitted to the rear (under any circumstances) - does anyone know the reason - clearance or another reason? I am considering getting the one remain set but if they definitely should not go on the rear I will not bother.

Haflinger - in 4wd I assume they should also go on the front - but not sure on diff locks. I have diff locks at both ends and am not sure how a car responds with these on on ice - so with chains on the front should I have diff locks on or off?

Cheers

Garry

[rufusking]

If the centre diff lock is engaged there will be the same rate of rotation to the front and rear drive shafts. Hence assuming both rear wheels have the same degree of traction they will turn at the same rate as the front.

[101RRS]

If the centre diff lock is engaged there will be the same rate of rotation to the front and rear drive shafts. Hence assuming both rear wheels have the same degree of traction they will turn at the same rate as the front.

It is a TR system not like a Defender where you select the CDL - in the TR system the CDL can be anywhere between off and on and anywhere in between as determined by the vehicle - you cannot manually select it on or off.

cheers

Garry

[rufusking]

The point I was trying to make was that if you have chains on the front and none on the rear at some point the front will have more traction than the rear(hence why you fitted the chains in the first place). Obviously TR will kick in and limit spin of the wheel/s that are rotating faster than the program wants. At a predetermined point the TR will start limiting the slip in CD to the point where it is at maximum lockup. So basically there shouldn't be a time where there will be drive to the rear and not the front.

[gghaggis]

Initially the system shouldn't bias torque towards either axle, only when spinning occurs and the CDL starts to lock. But in some TR settings it will not fully lock.

Unless you're driving on hard ice or packed snow (unlikely in Australia), your best bet is to use Mud/Ruts for 20 kph ~ 40 kph, and Rock Crawl for lower speeds - you'll have a better chance of not digging in though, if you use command shift and stick to the higher gears (as GGS does).

You shouldn't need rear chains.

Cheers,

Gordon

[101RRS]

You shouldn't need rear chains.

Cheers,

Gordon

Do you know why the handbook indicates that chains are NEVER to be fitted to the rear tyres?

[gghaggis]

Do you know why the handbook indicates that chains are NEVER to be fitted to the rear tyres?

Possibly to reduce wind-up in the CDL, as you can't completely lock it. If you have to, then use it in Rock Crawl.

Cheers,

Gordon

[BSM]

Possibly to reduce wind-up in the CDL, as you can't completely lock it. If you have to, then use it in Rock Crawl.

Cheers,

Gordon

Not sure I quite understand that statement. Wouldn't wind up become a risk when it is put in Rock Crawl and the centre diff is locked?

[gghaggis]

If a diff is locked, it can't "wind up".

Cheers,

Gordon

[BSM]

If a diff is locked, it can't "wind up".

I might have a different interpretation of 'wind up' Gordon but rmp's 4wd Handbook implies that transmission wind up can occur when there is no centre diff or the centre diff is locked.

Also rmp says this (http://www.l2sfbc.com/rmp/blog/should-you-lock-centre-diff-offroad):


So why don’t we drive around with the centre diff locked the entire time? Simple answer – windup. When a vehicle corners the front axle travels further than the rear, and thus must rotate quicker. If the centre diff is locked that can’t happen, so both front and rear axles turn as the same speed. This is ok on loose surfaces as there terrain permits the tyres to scrub slightly to equalise things. It isn’t ok on high-traction surfaces where the tyres can’t do that, and thus stress builds up in the drivetrain.

I can certainly see why having chains on both front and rear might create wind up if the centre diff was locked.

[gghaggis]

You're quite right - I'm using the wrong terminology - "slippage" is what I should have said. And thinking about it, the diff probably has little to do with the LR recommendation - it should cope with rear chains just as well as without. Rock-crawl would be detrimental on ice, but better in slushy snow.

It may have something to do with environmental damage? Front chains are generally easier on the track than rears (as we found out when they were demonstrated at one of the NightOwl 4WD competitions).

Cheers,

Gordon

[101RRS]

I should have learnt from previous experience where 90% of the stuff I have bought from ALDI either does not work as advertised or has failed shortly after purchase.

I bought two sets of chains to fit 165R14 tyres and of course they do not fit as they are a tad too small - the sizes listed on the box has my size listed. Tried to fit them today on my spare and was a no go - admittedly the tyre has never been used but that really should not make a difference.

I will take them back tomorrow but I might check to see if the third larger set I bought to supposedly fit my RRS will fit -based on my experience with the smaller set they may also not fit.

The only thing I have at home from ALDI that actually works is an old GPS and that was returned about 4 times before I got one that worked as advertised. To its credit it continues to work well four years later.

[Dougal]

I was at Aldi today and they had two pairs that will fit my RRS and two pairs that would fit my Haflinger so I bought one of each.

Now the RRS handbook says to fit the chains on the front wheels only and chains must not be put on the rears. Putting a single pair of chains on the front is sort of understandable as steering is important but I am not sure how the CDL in the car will react.

When driving onroad on ice and snow "Grass, Gravel and Snow" would normally be selected in which case I believe the CDL will normally be 'off' until slip is detected when it starts to lock. So most drive will go to the rear wheels initially but as they will have no grip on ice they will start to spin a little with the cdl then sending drive to the front where the tyres have grip because of the chains.

For those in the know of TR systems, is my logic correct??

The handbook does not say why chains must not be fitted to the rear (under any circumstances) - does anyone know the reason - clearance or another reason? I am considering getting the one remain set but if they definitely should not go on the rear I will not bother.

Haflinger - in 4wd I assume they should also go on the front - but not sure on diff locks. I have diff locks at both ends and am not sure how a car responds with these on on ice - so with chains on the front should I have diff locks on or off?

Cheers

Garry

What's the tyre and rim size on your RRS? The one I checked (275/45R20) has no room on the inside for conventional chains. The only type that can be fitted are the Spyke Spiders (with/without landrover badging) and/or Thule versions.

These aren't conventional chains, they are held over the tyre from the outside and clamp onto a wheel-nut. There is no inner chain to get tangled in your suspension links.
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/06/670.jpg

[101RRS]

What's the tyre and rim size on your RRS? The one I checked (275/45R20) has no room on the inside for conventional chains.


Mine is 255/60R18. The Handbook specifically states that chains cannot be fitted to 20" wheels and that if chains are required then you need to go to 19" rims - maybe that is why they did not fit your 20" wheels.

Garry

[Dougal]

Mine is 255/60R18. The Handbook specifically states that chains cannot be fitted to 20" wheels and that if chains are required then you need to go to 19" rims - maybe that is why they did not fit your 20" wheels.

Garry

The 255 should give enough clearance on the inside. With the 20" rims I couldn't fit more than a finger between the rim and ball joint.

[101RRS]

The 255 should give enough clearance on the inside. With the 20" rims I couldn't fit more than a finger between the rim and ball joint.

With my standard rims you cannot get your finger in between the tyres and ball joint - I assume larger rims have a different offset to ensure clearances.

I tried the Aldi chains on my front RRS tyre to day - it helps to be at extended height.

I have no experience with chains and it took me a long time to get the chain on as they kept on getting tangled and also would not centre on the wheel but in the end it did fit. What happened to the chains you laid out on the ground and then you drove over them and just clipped them up as I found it difficult working on the inside of the wheel to connect up and to get the wire ring centred?

The chains did clear the ball joint but with less than a mm clearance - I drove up and down the drive and retensioned them but clearance was still tight - the connector is down at the sidewall where the tyre is the thickest rather than at the up on the side of the tread where the tyre is not as thick.

With practice I think these chains would fit a standard RRS/D3 wheel/tyre with relative ease but I was concerned at the very tight tolerance so have returned these as well.

Garry

[Dougal]

With my standard rims you cannot get your finger in between the tyres and ball joint - I assume larger rims have a different offset to ensure clearances.

I tried the Aldi chains on my front RRS tyre to day - it helps to be at extended height.

I have no experience with chains and it took me a long time to get the chain on as they kept on getting tangled and also would not centre on the wheel but in the end it did fit. What happened to the chains you laid out on the ground and then you drove over them and just clipped them up as I found it difficult working on the inside of the wheel to connect up and to get the wire ring centred?

The chains did clear the ball joint but with less than a mm clearance - I drove up and down the drive and retensioned them but clearance was still tight - the connector is down at the sidewall where the tyre is the thickest rather than at the up on the side of the tread where the tyre is not as thick.

With practice I think these chains would fit a standard RRS/D3 wheel/tyre with relative ease but I was concerned at the very tight tolerance so have returned these as well.

Garry

The old lay flat chains were similar just with link chain instead of the wire band on the inside. Driving onto them for install never worked well. The best way was the same as the new ones, drape them over the tyre, hook around the bottom, tension, drive forward a few turns and retension.