[Michelle]

Has anyone out there used snow chains on their latitude?

 

[hoodoo]

Has anyone out there used snow chains on their latitude?

Not yet but I just bought 2 sets of kind of cheap coil type chains for my Latitude 4X4 in case our driveway gets slippery. Snow is in the forecast tomorrow and on the weekend. Will post back how the Jeep does and if I use the chains. I have snow tires but haven't had them put on yet.

 

[syzygy]

The owners manual states that snow chains should only be used on the front wheels and only on certain sizes of tyres.
Interestingly, on the same page it mentions a 2 speed power take off unit.

 

[hoodoo]

The owners manual states that snow chains should only be used on the front wheels and only on certain sizes of tyres.
Interestingly, on the same page it mentions a 2 speed power take off unit.

I never would have expected to see that in the manual. I've always heard that it's best to chain up all 4 wheels when running 4WD or AWD. To me it makes sense that they would all be the same diameter then. It looks like Jeep is specifying this in case people put on big chains with not much clearance and rip things up because of lack of clearance. Not sure why they say to only put the chains on the drive wheels. If I'm having trouble getting out of someplace because of ice and snow, then I will definitely have it locked in 4WD or have Snow mode selected.

I saw this other post for Jeep Wranglers where they say the same thing about not putting the chains on all 4 wheels - http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f96/why-no-snow-chains-sahara-rubicon-1323014/.

At any rate the chains I brought are the light weight ones that are low profile, so I don't anticipate any problems.

 

[hoodoo]

We have a few inches of snow on the ground now and our steep driveway is icy with more forecast for the weekend. The Renegade backed up the driveway with no problem using the stock Continental tires. I put it in snow mode and it worked great. I had the Cooper ST2 studded tires put on today and it grips like a tank now! The tires do have a fairly loud hum on bare pavement - not sure if that's from the studs or the deep treads. We usually get 20-30 feet of snow here so having the right tires is very important.

So anyway I haven't even used the chains. I figured if the Jeep struggled to get up the driveway that I would put 'em on, but no need

 

[Jabber60]

So once again I am amazed or rather taken by surprise by the ineptitude and lack of reasonable foresight by Jeep/FCA.
When I bought my Limited on 18" rims I didn't choose the Limited because of the wheel size. I bought the Jeep with the intention of driving to the French Alps to ski. So in what tiny corner of someone's brain did it seem a good idea to a) provide tyres (on a vehicle with a snow 4WD option, built in Italy next door to France) that can't take snow chains - according to one tiny sentence in the manual - thereby incurring the potential for an instant fine from the French Police and b) fail to mention that anwhere in the brochure.
Okay its fixable by for example buying smaller wheels, maybe chains will actually fit fine and hey I may not need them anyway - but that doesn't alter the fact that in standard form its not fit for a reasonably foreseeable purpose. Strewth you couldn't script this.
If it was an issue with a Fiat 500X I could more or less understand it - but its a Jeep!
Anyone found a sensible cost effective solution?
Jabber60
PS as told by a French colleague and hence not a fair game tourist. He got up the mountain before the snow chain signs were switched on. He parked up and was taking his skis off. Along came the Police who inquired where his chains were. He replied why they were not on and that they were in the boot/trunk. The response was to put them on before they drove back past or he would be fined.

 

[raz-0]

As far as I can tell, the snow chains thing is due to the minimal inside clearance. The renegade is far form the only vehicle with this problem. In theory, you can remedy this issue by buying zero clearance "chains" of one variety or another. Zero clearance chains aren't cheap.

 

[madvinegar]

You can buy tire covers. For example autoshock (no 695) has tire covers for our 18" rims 225/55/18

That's what I did.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/Lifeline-AS695-Autosock/dp/B001MS04JG[/ame]

 

[Jabber60]

Yes I have used Autosocks before but unfortunately the French do not recognise them as being an adequate alternative. I think I need either new smaller wheels or to investigate thinner 'chains'. There is a make called Spider that might be suitable.

 

[White_THawk]

I think there was another thread asking about this already. What I found is this from Mita. But they are really expensive.



Snow chains aren't recommended by the user manual. The reason is the small room you have between the inside of the tire and the strut tube and spring perch. If you can find something that doesn't reach around the inner side of the tire to compromise this area, then your okay. But that's the problem, most snow chain solutions requires use of this area.

 

[Jabber60]

I can't find White_THawk's suggestion but at least for a UK resident I'll need to consider
Thule K-Summit snow chains (pair) no. K-Summit 45 ~ £300
Spikes-Spider Easy SPORT - size SPES3 ~ £300
Spikes-Spider Easy ALPINE PRO - size SPEAP2 ~ £320
Spikes-Spider SPORT - size SXXL with 17mm fittings ~ £350 inc fittings
Spikes-Spider ALPINE PRO - size AP2 with 17mm fittings ~ £380 in fittings
see examples on www.roofbox.co.uk - other sites presumably available but this one gives 10% discount for Ski Club of GB members.

So not cheap compared with normal chains, but at least I get to protect the alloys and can save on a new set of smaller wheels/tyres so overall the better option and much easier to fit!
Jabber60

 

[3006mv]

I drove with passenger cables in Yosemite last week on the rear wheels. they were on factory P215/65R17 GoodYear Wrangler M+S rated tires. they were whatever the guy was selling to people in the park, made in china no brand. they worked fine, I was worried about fit and other issues. no issues, just worried a bit b/c I would hear a clinking noise on the RR but not the other. researching other chains that may fit better. Can't afford smaller wheels and tires as I dont get out there in the snow too often

 

[Nev]

Safest bet if required is to use Spider style as outlined by Jabber60

Roofbox are a good bet in the UK. e.g.:

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/r...hains&query=8294&vptype=&prodid=36769&TID=294



I think Michel Easygrip is available in 225 55 R18 but someone would need to check if it fits.

 

[Mike Labordus]

Hi,

Just got my night eagle a few days ago (second hand with 1100 km) and as we are going skiing in februari was quite supprised that snow chains are not permitted on 18 inch wheels. I found some pewag sevo sport rss 79 chains that according to pewag are compatible. They are a 7 mm chain for wheels with minimal space.

Anybody have experience with these kind of chains? Would 7mm be small enough?

Kind regards Michel