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Tire chains for an RSX for snow/ice driving?

5K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  hqh51 
#1 ·
I don't feel like this is the most appropriate section to post this question, however, I was not able to post in the General RSX Discussion. I thought that might be the most appropriate. At any rate, I wanted to stress that I am trying! And I'm sorry if this is not an appropriate section for this question...

It doesn't snow here very often, but I hate being stuck when it does. Conventional tire chains are difficult to put on, and can snap/break and damage your car (from what I've been reading) and I've found some chain alternatives, but I'm not sure what to make of them after reading several negative reviews of different products on Amazon.

Maybe I'm overcomplicating this, but I really want to be careful with what I get, but I definitely want to get something. Can anyone recommend a type of tire chain or tire chain alternative that they've had great success with on their RSX?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I live in MN. Had to drive my RSX through 3 or 4 winters, unfortunately.

I had halfway decent, used snow tires and I was able to get through anything. Was so solid on the road I couldnt even lose traction when I wanted to(being stupid trying to fwd drift).

I think chains are overkill.
 
#3 ·
Snow tires are unfortunately not a feasible solution for me. It's not good to drive on them on dry pavement (I think it's not as bad when it's cold, but still not advised) and so I'd have to get four more rims and then jack up my car and change tires every time I think it's going to snow.

Chains are significantly cheaper, and easier to put on and take off. Although, traditional chains might be on par or even more difficult to put on/take off in contrast to switching to wheels that have snow tires, they would still be cheaper.

I live in a very hilly area anyway, so chains probably aren't overkill for me.
 
#4 ·
Oh, Virginia. Yeah maybe not. I doubt you'd even be able to find a used set near you.

Unfortunately though, having a second set of wheels/tires is pretty common for states that do see a variety of seasonal extremes.

I think chains are actually illegal here and that being the case I dont know much about whats out there.

Good luck though.
 
#5 ·
Ahh, I got ya. :\ I forgot that there are different laws about chains in different states! (I should remember that, I used to drive a truck all over the country for a living haha). Thanks though, hopefully I'll be able to find a solution of some sort! And again, I might just be over complicating the whole thing and anything would do just fine :p *shrugs*
 
#6 ·
well I am up here in Buffalo new york and although we have not had much for snow this year, last year we had 192 inches fall and I ripped my type s the entire time. I have a set of good year eagle something or other with about half tread on them and they are dry rotted and leak like hell but I'll tell you what, this car get around like you wouldn't believe. As far as driving in snow goes, you want a narrow tire with deeper tread so pretty much any new tire will be great, also try to keep it in as high of a gear as possible since sometimes it is nice to have a fairly low amount of torque.

And always remember, pull that e-brake around every white corner and smile at the people you pass. I have absolutely no problem passing 4x4's and large cars. The trick is simply getting used to driving in those conditions. Find some time when the weather gets bad to take the car out and play, figure out exactly how it handles and what your limitations are in those conditions. Early this winter we had about 6 inches of snow on the road one night while I was headed an hour and a half home and I still had my summer wheels and tires on. The rears are mint but the front ones are bald (I wonder why :p) . There was a bad accident on my road and ended up taking about a ten mile detour through the backwoods of my town and still somehow made it. Just try to stay relaxed and be as confident as you can be.
 
#7 ·
Moved to Aurora, CO last year with my '05 type s. Put some studded snow tires on it for the winter, I roll right through snow passing everyone else on the road. I've been through up to 8 inches just fine. I do have a set of '04 type s wheels I put the snow tires on though, have the stock '05 wheels in storage waiting for the chances of snow to go away. Only downside to the studs is not as good traction on dry roads, tires tend to slip more often. May not run studs next winter.
 
#8 ·
I just saw your post now. I think it's better to post my opinion and observation even though it's clearly past winter season, but at least you'll have an answer for the upcoming winter if you did nothing about your situation. I've been driving my 2006 RSX Type S for about a decade in northern VA and through plenty of snow and snow storms. I've done so in stock tires (Michelin Pilot HX MXM4) and replacement tires (Continental ExtremeContact DWS). Brief review is that stock tires suck but I still managed, and the replacement tires are awesome and allowed me to enjoy my ride even more during a snow storm or drive through snow. Note that it's an ultra high performance all season tire, so it's kind of a one size fits all. I'd definitely recommend the Continental tires. As for driving on ice... Forget about it. Any tires that are not designed for ice are going to perform poorly, which is substantially all conventional tires. Driving in first gear (with the Continental tires) is still possible to get the wheels to slip at times from a stand still (e.g., traffic light), but just control the torque (read: use second gear) and you'll do fine (I still use first gear and can manage to not slip at times). Going up and down hills were okay for me, I didn't worry about sliding. Just learn how to control the car's speed.

Here are the reviews for both tires:
Stock: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+HX+MXM4
Replacement: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ExtremeContact+DWS

I selected Continental ExtremeContact DWS as my replacement tires given the more than good ratings that the tire has earned back then when I was looking for new tires, especially when they're designed for Dry Wet & Snow (DWS). I can definitely vouch that these replacement tires were worth the investment. They worked very well with snow, among other things. If I had to buy a new set of tires again for any future cars, it would be Continential ExtremeContact DWS or their latest updated version, Continential ExtremeContact DWS 06 here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ExtremeContact+DWS+06

Driving with tires that are designed to handle snow is a lot better than generic all season tires like the stock tires that came with the car. Hope this helps.
 
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