Customer Reviews

Security Chain Company SC1038 Radial Chain Cable Traction Tire Chain - Set of 2

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

For the price that these were going for, I should really give it 4 stars, but its about the product and not the price. These chains will work well enough for a decent amount of snow and has never steered me wrong. They take some effort putting them on and taking them off. They are safe on your tires and I've never had a problem with them rubbing and they are still lasting after two trips to the snow (yeah, it hasn't been that many times) But for 24$ a set, using them twice already paid for itself.

I do want to make a suggestion though. Put them on at home. Figure out how many links it takes to secure the inner part of the chains to have it seat properly. Once you know this, when you install them in the snow, just hook up the inner side of the chains the same amount of links. Drive forward a little and link the outside. If you've done it properly, your chains should be tight enough without having to constantly check if they need to be tightened.

So I got some of these from the local Napa, They were great. Paid 2x what Amazon charges. They are amazing in snow. I drive a low provile BMW 3 series. It cannot handle 3 inches of snow on my street tires. With these chains I was pushing thru ice and 8 inches of snow like it was the race track. Only problem I had with them is even stay under 30mph on bare road, they wore out rather quickly. I need these to get in and out of the side streets I live on, but the main roads are generally clear. They did last about 5 weeks of daily use, then they pretty much fell apart. After you lose 1 link, you might as well junk em, as the rest will go rather shortly. I'm buying my second set now. At this price I'll buy em every 5 weeks if I have to. (BTW i'm a Cali boy, and i got moved to Eire, PA so you can an idea of my problem)

Update Jan 2012:
As I mentioned before, at this low cost, the chains were a pretty good option. At 5 weeks they took on about 500 miles or so before wearing out. Because of the low ride height and upgraded 17" rims, snow tires are way more expensive than what I could afford. This year I did end up getting real snow tires thru the military exchange on credit, but i paid $800 plus $80 to have them installed. While the snow tires handle great, the chains are an amazing option for anyone on a tight budget. I also found that if you make sure to tighten the chains very tight, they don't wear out as fast.

I used these tire chains just once to get up a paved, hilly road with a sheet of ice on it. I was driving about 5-10 MPH and made it up the hill just fine. However, I was pretty surprised to see that one of the cross cables had snapped with just this one incredibly brief use. The broken chain is now useless. (I had to park at the bottom of the hill and walk up for the next few days until the ice melted). I would not trust these tire chains and would strongly discourage anyone from buying them. The tire chains do come with a one year warranty, but I bought them years ago and only needed them this one time. For an item such as tire chains, a one year warranty doesn't seem to make much sense. I wish that I could have rated these tire chains with zero stars.

These have been a life saver here in Oregon. We just had the worst snow storm in 40 years. All local stores are sold out or raising their prices because of the weather. I had these over-nighted to me and I couldn't be happier. They are reasonably easy to get on and they stay in place.I've been using them in very deep snow & ice for about 4 days and have had no problems at all. Great price and an excellent buy!

Good low priced set of tire chains. Not as easy to put on as the more expensive pairs, but easy enough for a couple of times a year. Overall good value.

I have driven in the snowy mountains for many years and this is the worst traction product I have ever owned. I used it once and will be returning it or just throwing it in the trash. I suppose that they will work on level ground, but they do not work on hills. I put them on in a plowed turnout that was basically bare pavement. My tires weren't slipping, but after putting the cables on, I could barely get moving. They slide on the road like crazy! Every incline I found myself spinning the entire time just trying to keep the car moving forward. As soon as we got to a hill that actually had any real snow on it, we got stuck right away and had to call for help. I've used many products and the only other one that was this slick was the SCC Z-Grip product. Both have the same coils around the cables for traction and they are very slick on pavement. I almost got stuck on a wet paved hill because the cables were so slippery. IF YOU HAVE THE CLEARANCE, GET REAL CHAINS. THESE ARE DANGEROUS.

I purchased these chains for the size of my tire, but they turned out to be much too short -- about 2 to 3 inches short for safety. The Highway Patrol guy who stepped in to help couldn't even get them around the tire. He said that one out of four cars that show up with this brand have the same problem.

These cables mentioned specifically in my Civic Si owners manual, so I went with them. They work well and don't scratch the rims (17") unlike other cable chains. I also have a set of SCC Z-Chains for another car which are easier to install/remove and seem to be more durable. If you use cables frequently, I'd recommend the SCC Z-Chain or Z6. But at ~$25 and for infrequent use, its hard to beat the SCC radial cable chains.

These are relatively easy to put on and take off, and do provide some traction. But not as well as chains do. On one occasion I have slid using these cables, but otherwise they have worked OK.

gives great traction with a minimum of rumble lifesaver in the snow. when u use this be sure to retighten it after a couple of minutes of use