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#1
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Chain tighteners for cable chains
Cable chains (as opposed to "chain" chains) seem to be low cost; easy
on-off; pretty effective (at least in Tahoe/Donner Pass snows); and reasonably durable. Also nice to tighten 'em up with the big rubber band plus multi-hook tighteners available lots of places. Problem is, the S-hooks or figure-8-hooks that come with all the brands of tighteners I've been able to find all put a sharp bend or kink in the circumferential cable at the point where the cable runs through the hook; and it doesn't look like this sharp bend in the cable as it passes through the hook is going to be good for long cable life. I've seen on one car up here a fancier form of tightener in which the outer end of each S-hook (the end that hooks onto the cable) has an additional piece of metal that hooks over the wire cable in a broad gentle curve ,something like the way a suspension bridge cable is gently bent over the top of the towers, so the cable only makes a gentle bend. Looked for these on Google; no luck yet. Anyone have any leads on where to find them. |
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#2
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I use 550 cord, tie one end and zig zag and tighten, then tie off, works well.
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#3
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"AES/newspost" wrote in message ... Cable chains (as opposed to "chain" chains) seem to be low cost; easy on-off; Used real chains lately? Konig makes a variety of chains that are much easier to install than any of the cables I've owned. No need to move the vehicle. Fasten both the inside fastener and the outside fastener from the outside, so no need to hug your wet, muddy tire. Ratcheting tensioner. They cost about more than cables though. They're probably available in the South Bay. I bought 'em at Wilderness Exchange in Berkeley. |
#4
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On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 10:24:04 -0800, "David"
wrote: "AES/newspost" wrote in message ... Cable chains (as opposed to "chain" chains) seem to be low cost; easy on-off; Used real chains lately? Konig makes a variety of chains that are much easier to install than any of the cables I've owned. No need to move the vehicle. Fasten both the inside fastener and the outside fastener from the outside, so no need to hug your wet, muddy tire. Ratcheting tensioner. They cost about more than cables though. They're probably available in the South Bay. I bought 'em at Wilderness Exchange in Berkeley. Check out your local Wal-Mart, I have seen them carry a good selection of chains and cables at good prices. Chains tend to grip better in more conditions, and be more repairable. Cables work better when there is limited clearance around the drive wheels, very common with Front WD. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) ------------------------------------------------ at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom |
#5
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article , David wrote: "AES/newspost" wrote in message ... Cable chains (as opposed to "chain" chains) seem to be low cost; easy on-off; - - Only in theory. In practice they self-destruct fairly quickly. Watch the side of the road on the way home and count the number of destroyed balls of cable chains. Cable chains will not last a whole season if you like powder skiing, road salt destroys the tensioners and once they go they whole thing self destructs. Used real chains lately? Konig makes a variety of chains that are much easier to install than any of the cables I've owned. No need to move the vehicle. Fasten both the inside fastener and the outside fastener from the outside, so no need to hug your wet, muddy tire. Ratcheting tensioner. They cost about more than cables though. They're probably available in the South Bay. _ I doubt it, they're hard to find. I bought 'em at Wilderness Exchange in Berkeley. _ These are great if pricey chains. In the long run they are much cheaper than cables if you go up there a lot and IMHO easier to install. The nice part is that you can repair them fairly easily with spare links. They don't work loose and have a nice self-locking tightening mechanism. _ If you really want easy on/off find a quick and simple screw jack that will work with your car. Old volvo's have a really nice one, but you car has to have the square jack points to use it. You don't need to jack the car all the way up, just enough to get clearance. The tire shouldn't leave the ground. Makes the whole thing about a thousand times simpler. When one of the chain guys saw me at work he said "Hey, that's cheating..." _ Booker C. Bense P.S. Buy yourself a $19 PVC rain suit extra large. Road salt does number on goretex. P.P.S Wash and dry your chains after every trip. Spraying some silicon on them doesn't hurt. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQB1D+GTWTAjn5N/lAQECxgP9Gfv7BlTcxTGuONqkeX0ThG3fD4x32980 GihI8euStIo7urm89bPSOtWyoZ3r6thNtm5mVEVLdTr6oqJMpn 5NrunwiPB6iuuu iXxGolhF5Ch5sSMLPofEp7WqFwypOscwyvD26xmgjM28Zw/ZaGRJfpX41EcVR1ey zQ6rIkXrl2A= =sXEZ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#6
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-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
In article , Gary S. Idontwantspam@net wrote: On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 10:24:04 -0800, "David" wrote: "AES/newspost" wrote in message ... Cable chains (as opposed to "chain" chains) seem to be low cost; easy on-off; Used real chains lately? Konig makes a variety of chains that are much easier to install than any of the cables I've owned. No need to move the vehicle. Fasten both the inside fastener and the outside fastener from the outside, so no need to hug your wet, muddy tire. Ratcheting tensioner. They cost about more than cables though. They're probably available in the South Bay. I bought 'em at Wilderness Exchange in Berkeley. Check out your local Wal-Mart, I have seen them carry a good selection of chains and cables at good prices. _ I doubt you'll find the Konig there. You can get the ones with wire hoops which are good, but not as good as the Konig ones. They have a really nice chain ratcheting mechanism that doesn't self-destruct in the presense of salt. Chains tend to grip better in more conditions, and be more repairable. Cables work better when there is limited clearance around the drive wheels, very common with Front WD. _ Recipe for diaster once the cables snap, I've seen plenty immobilized FWD cars with remains of cables snarled in the axle. _ Both the Konig and wire hoop chains can be tightened much better than standard chains. Plus they come in enough sizes that you can match the tires fairly well. They are also less disasterous when they fail [1], but they will do a number on your paint job. _ Booker C. Bense [1]- All chains fail eventually. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQB1GN2TWTAjn5N/lAQGLdwP/XQToVdGeqqdlk8PHsLS43EQPF8cBQHrO 6fkDCtncIbL1gSpQc2vPrfcFfLbB6appzonB1POP+x4Q2XWlAl yZjQZTFSmzd/Mg qEufSQowFxC2vpgsBgxP6Md0sjhzo2rPq72eqlxNW48dN90w5b claqGDmnTN9Py2 BYO6FerVzfc= =4Ahh -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- |
#7
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"Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message ... On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 10:24:04 -0800, "David" wrote: Cables work better when there is limited clearance around the drive wheels, very common with Front WD. In the US, cars with minimal clearance are usually rated for class-S chains. Cables are usually (always?) class S, but some chains are too. Konig has some low profile chains, but I don't know if they're class S, and their website (Italian) doesn't discuss it. My old FWD car seems fine with standard Konig chains, but my new car has limited clearance in the back, and requires class S. |
#8
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On Mon, 2 Feb 2004 09:58:06 -0800, "David"
wrote: "Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message ... On Sat, 31 Jan 2004 10:24:04 -0800, "David" wrote: Cables work better when there is limited clearance around the drive wheels, very common with Front WD. In the US, cars with minimal clearance are usually rated for class-S chains. Cables are usually (always?) class S, but some chains are too. Konig has some low profile chains, but I don't know if they're class S, and their website (Italian) doesn't discuss it. My old FWD car seems fine with standard Konig chains, but my new car has limited clearance in the back, and requires class S. As long as you use a low clearance chain or cable device. Ripping apart the wheel wells from the inside could get expensive as well as dangerous. Happy trails, Gary (net.yogi.bear) ------------------------------------------------ at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom |
#9
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"Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message ... As long as you use a low clearance chain or cable device. Ripping apart the wheel wells from the inside could get expensive as well as dangerous. Yup. Actually my hope is to *never* have to install chains on this AWD wagon. We'll see... |
#10
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I've heard good things about, but never used, "Spike Spider" - see
http://www.spike-spider.com/ - especially for low-clearance cars. I certainly see the hub adapters on a lot of cars here in the Bay Area. chris |
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