Has anyone USED chains ?
i have been carryinging a set and read the owners manual that says not to use them, use snow tires.
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Has anyone USED chains ?
i have been carryinging a set and read the owners manual that says not to use them, use snow tires.
I read that as well, earlier in the the manual it says you can use chains but than in the "Do-It-Yourself" section it says "do not install chains on 185/60/R15 or 185/55/R16 tires" which are the 2 standard sizes of tires supplied.
I think this is a "cut & paste" error as Nissan Canada may have just modified a Global manual and added the above comment without properly validating the manual after.
Earlier this week I noticed a Micra S with 14" rims and Kumho snow tires on the front & regular 15" rims & tires on the back, I should have taken a picture of the actual tire size but I didn't.
The front fender/tire clearance did seem better but I don't think this a proper setup as I believe our Provincial insurance agency ICBC says you cannot mix tires like that (at least I think so)
I did a search & in other parts of the world the Micra K13 is available with 14" rims.
I was thinking I could buy 4 more 14" rims for new snow tires but since I already have the 4 original 15" steel rims after my alloy wheel swap not going to buy another 4 rims to have laying around in my garage.
I have 14" alloys on and I can say it REALLY is a tight fit to the caliper, i think most 14" wheels would fit but the stick on wheel weight (at caliper location) are ALMOST rubbing. Its funny in the manual, like you say it suggests you can use them and them says you cant ?? I tried the diamondback chains i have for the 185-65-14 tires i have on and i cant see why they would not work, all round clearance looks pretty good to me, so i will continue to carry the chains for emergency as in an emergency i believe they would work. i wouldn't ever mix sizes front to back, that should screw up the ABS, VSC. that said, its not ILLEGAL.
Sounds to me like you are good to go using tire chains since you already have the 14" rims. As far as mixing tire sizes & type
not being illegal that may be true but I believe there could be insurance coverage implications if an investigator believes that the tires on your vehicle contributed to a collision or loss of control etc. I have had a previous vehicle try to swap ends on the highway with mixed tires (radial front & bias ply snows rear) in snowy conditions.
http://www.icbcclaiminfo.com/node/31
make sure you tighten your lug nuts too :)