I picked up a set of cables from Wally World tonight. I probably won't use them but I got them just in case for when I go skiing. Now they're supposed to fit 245/75/16 but I couldn't find any that would fit a 265/75/16.

1) Would they still fit?

2) Anyone ever run chains on the front tires with 4wd on? Or do you still put them on the rear?

3) What do you guys with bigger tires do? Or do you just go hardcore...

 

They do make chains for larger tires but you have to get them from somewhere else than wally world. I know people who have gotten them through both tirechains.com and jcwhitney. There is a chance that yours will fit but I doubt it. You can always try.

Which tires you run your chains on is a matter of what you are trying to do. I have chains for all 4 but I usually chain up the rear first. You are less likely to spin when you hit the brakes this way. The advantage of running them on the front is that there is more weight there so you will get better traction and you get more steering control under power(assuming you can keep the rear end from sliding). My recommendation is to put them on the rear unless you are trying to drive through snow over 1' deep which you are unlikely to find on the road.

Just make sure that you have put them on a few times before you need to do it when there is snow everywhere.

 

Thanks for the info. That's what I was thinking about the front, more weight and better traction, but what's the point if the rear end sways around right? Looks like I'll be putting them on the rear if I have to. My truck is a 4x4 so at what point do you think it would be appropriate to put chains on?

I've got Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's on the front and Bridgestone Duravis on the rear (the rears are stock 245/75/16's that came off a new Duramax).

 

I don't think that there is a well defined point where you should put them on. The real disadvantage to putting them on early, besides the hassle, is that you cannot go fast at all with them. If you exceed 25mph or so, they will start hitting the inside of the fender wells and cause damage. You can also break a link and they will do some damage then. Then again, you really don't want to get stuck then have to dig out the tires to put them on.

I generally try to weigh out the effort that it would take to put them on and how long they would be on for with the chances of getting stuck.

 

this might be confusing but are your running 265's on the front and 245's on the rear?

As for chains you can make your own from some old chains, i just found some larger ones and cut them down to fit my tires. a little work but I recevied the chains for free. just bought some new add-a-links and some time of course.

 

lol... Sorry if it sounded confusing. Yea I'm running 265's in the front and 245's in the back. I bought 4 new factory take-off tires from my friend when he bought his Duramax. I installed 2 of them on the rear because they were in bad shape, but I didn't want to waste the 2 front tires I had on the truck cause they were still good. I actually have a set of old chains from another truck in the garage. I'll dig them up and see what size they fit. What you said might not be a bad idea.

 

I remember when I was young (16) the friends, and I would run any tire that we could get a hold of. WE did not have much money at the time. but running different size tires and brands?
According to the vehicle guru's your gas mileage is affected by doing this.
Also for chain tighter's I used those concrete pipe "o-rings" they are about 8" in diameter with some hooks off of those cheap rubber tie downs. They work real nice.

 

Actually you're right, I should change the fronts so all 4 tires match. I hardly ever use 4wd so it's never been a problem but when I do I want all 4 tires to have the same diameter (whether it's on snow or not). Cause there could be some parts that aren't slick on the road, then I'd be stressin drivetrain parts.

 

Ok so I found the old chains I had. They are supposed to fit 215/75/15's. I compared that size to the stock size (http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCal...?action=submit) and the 215's are about 3" less in diameter and 1" less wide. I'm going to try to test fit them. Is there a certain amount the chains are supposed to cover the sidewall of the tire? And if I had to add more links to make the chains longer, can I just use the chain you buy per foot from Home Depot? Or should I get some hardened steel?

 

It all depends on your tire size for how many cross links you will need. I have provided a link here to help you out for the referance.

http://www.tirechainsrequired.com/

As for the links, normal chain will not work for the cross links. They need to be cross link to work right in a truck application.

this link provides proper installation

http://tirechain.com/tire_chainmount...structions.htm

It came from this web site http://tirechain.com/Default.htm
they even sell replace ment cross links
http://tirechain.com/TireChainCrossChains.htm

refitting the ones you have will be cheaper than buying new ones