Do Snow Chains Damage Tires? Protecting Your Tires from Harm

Snow chains help when snow and ice are on the road but could damage your tires if you're not careful.

Snow chains damage tires if they are loose, installed wrong, or misused. However, if you install them tightly and use them only over snowy and icy roads, a snow chain will not cause tire damage.

Let's learn more about the damage that snow chains can cause.

Do Snow Chains Mess Up Your Tires?

If installed and used correctly, snow chains do not mess up your tires. However, improper installation and usage may cause snow chains to penetrate the wheel, cause uneven tire wear, damage the wheel well, or rip off the brake line.

Each snow chain model comes with an owner's manual describing when and how you should use it. However, tire chains can damage your tires if you don't follow the directions closely. Here is what might happen:

• If you drive over a bare road, tire chains might slowly penetrate the tire and cause damage to its surface.
• Using snow chains under normal circumstances or speeding while they are on may lead to uneven tire wear.
• If your snow chains are loose, they may damage or knock apart the plastic wheel wells.
• If the tire chain becomes undone while you are driving, it might wrap around the axle. In the worst case, it may rip off the brake line to the wheel, disabling the car's brakes.

Do Snow Chains Mess Up Your Car?

When appropriately used, snow chains do not mess up your car. But if they are loose or snap while driving, they might slap against sheet metal, causing damage. Snow chains can also interfere with a car's anti-braking system (ABS).

The snow chains around your tires must be snug and secure. The loose link chains might slap against the sheet metal close to the tires if left loose.

They might create dents or beat the paint off the car fender.

Drivers are strongly advised against installing snow chains on vehicles with a modern ABS. This computerized system monitors each wheel's spinning speed in relation to the car's speed and adjusts braking to minimize chances of skidding.

Tire chains disrupt its ability to register wheel speed, which may lead to ABS malfunction and related damage to your car.

They also limit the speed at which your car can move and affect its fuel economy.

Are Snow Chains Bad For Roads?

Snow chains are not bad for the road as long as snow or ice covers it. However, if you use them on a clear road, these chains can tear bits of asphalt out of the road, damaging it.

Tire chains are emergency safety equipment that you should only use to improve your traction on snowy or muddy roads. If you continue to use them on a bare tarmac road, they will wear out quickly and cause damage to the road surface and your tires.

Is It Better To Have Snow Chains Or Snow Tires?

Although snow chains are better than snow tires in terms of performance in extreme conditions, snow tires will be better in most normal winter conditions as you can drive at normal highway speeds and leave them on all winter.

Snow chains will be better where there is deep snow on remote unmaintained roads, perhaps in the mountains or forest.

Snow tires are better for winter driving in the city or on highways where the roads are regularly plowed, and the main concern is traction due to ice.

Snow tires are softer and have finer threads than all-season or summer tires, giving them better traction in below-zero conditions. A snow tire will have more surface area making contact with the road than a regular tire.

Is It Better To Have Chains On All 4 Tires?

Chaining all four tires gives you the best possible traction and balance.

It is suggested that vehicles with front wheel drive vehicles install tire chains only on the front tires and rear wheel drive vehicles install them over the rear tires only.

But having them only on the front tires may result in unpredictable braking responses. And having them on the rear wheels alone may make it difficult for you to control the car's direction on an icy road.

For your safety, it is better to have chains on all four tires as they will balance the car's traction and help you stay on the road.

How Fast Can I Go With Snow Chains?

The maximum recommended speed for driving with snow chains is 30 mph. It would help if you did not go any faster than this.

When driving with tire chains, you try to stay around 20 mph, not exceeding 30 mph.

Be gentle while accelerating and braking. Driving aggressively may put too much pressure on the chains, causing them to snap.

Conclusion

Snow chains are useful safety gear to help you safely drive on a snowy road.

You should be very careful while installing and using these because, if misused, snow chains can damage your car and the road.

When chaining the car's tire, you should chain all four for the best traction and balance.

It is also essential to go slowly because putting too much pressure on tire chains may cause them to snap and cause damage.