# Snow chains



## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

Has anyone put snow chains/cables on their Cruze, my tires are 225 50 17, it seems to have not much clearance for chains or cables. It's going to start snowing soon on my drive to work and I'd like to know what style and size will work best on the Cruze


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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

Chains on a Cruze? 
That should be fun.


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

You might buy a small floor jack from harbor freight. Lift the front tires makes the job a whole lot easier.

Look online for cables. You don't want chains. For a car.

Might even look at autosocks. They're available for semis. Not sure on cars.


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## TDCruze (Sep 26, 2014)

Unless you live in the mountains and require cables/chains I would look into a good set of winter tires instead. Installing cables is a pain and you have to drive much slower with them on. Winter tires work very well.


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

I'm working in Truckee lately, and we have to go over Donner pass to make it to work and there's chain control when it starts going bad, I recently got a cheap set of cable chains on Craigslist for like 40 bucks they are SCC sz139 super z6, I installed them in my driveway they were really easy to put on, and I drove my car back and forth they just seemed to fit kind of loose, like if I got up to 25 mph I might have clearance problems, you guys wouldn't happen to know the model number of a cable style chain that fits the Chevy Cruze would you?


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## CRUISE-CRUZE (Nov 8, 2010)

In Michigan area I have these all the time in my trunk, never got stuck:
NO Winter Tires Solution - Auto Sock | Chevrolet Cruze Forums (cruzetalk.com)
They work great on ice also. The disadvantage is that you have to take them off if the road is clean again, or they won't last too long.


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## TDCruze (Sep 26, 2014)

88gonzo said:


> I'm working in Truckee lately, and we have to go over Donner pass to make it to work and there's chain control when it starts going bad, I recently got a cheap set of cable chains on Craigslist for like 40 bucks they are SCC sz139 super z6, I installed them in my driveway they were really easy to put on, and I drove my car back and forth they just seemed to fit kind of loose, like if I got up to 25 mph I might have clearance problems, you guys wouldn't happen to know the model number of a cable style chain that fits the Chevy Cruze would you?


You will likely not find a lower profile tire cable than what you already have. 

However, it appears Caltrans allows the use of the Autosock. This could be a safer alternative that won't damage the vehicle if something went wrong. 

It may not last as long though?


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## snowwy66 (Nov 5, 2017)

When we put on chains. We make em tight. But after the tires make a couple rounds. They come loose and we tighten them down again.

I'd imagine cables would be the same way. Although I don't own a set so I have no idea if you can tighten em.

What we have to do is disconnect the hooks and grab another link.

You're never going to throw them on and be tight right off the back. But you might have a chance with the tires off the ground.


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

When I tested them out in my driveway I'm pretty sure I had them cranked as tight as they would go. I have the same style cable chains for my pickup truck and it's really tight getting them on and they even compress the tires just a little bit. I emailed security chain company and they said that even though my tire size is listed as a size that the cables will fit, it's still not 100 percent, she said I can try getting the next size down and see how that works, so instead of the sz139 that I have I can try the sz137


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

So on my way to work this morning we went through chain control, I just put my cables on and I'm driving on them now I can do about 24 mph before I hear a slight tick if I keep it at 22 there's no issues at all, I'll probably get a smaller tightener or a small bungee cord to pull the rest of the slack out cuz the tensioners I currently have aren't quite tight enough


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

I'll post some pictures in a bit


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)




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## JLL (Sep 12, 2017)

If I lived where you do, I wouldn't drive a Cruze.
But those look good.


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## marinejk1 (Jul 25, 2014)

88gonzo said:


> Has anyone put snow chains/cables on their Cruze, my tires are 225 50 17, it seems to have not much clearance for chains or cables. It's going to start snowing soon on my drive to work and I'd like to know what style and size will work best on the Cruze


Being that I use to sell tires, that tire size in general is not great in the snow. You might want to consider a snow tire & wheel package. You can get snow tires in that size that will work .Check the internet and figure out what is best for your situation. I have a 16" tire and I still use snow tires.


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

marinejk1 said:


> Being that I use to sell tires, that tire size in general is not great in the snow. You might want to consider a snow tire & wheel package. You can get snow tires in that size that will work .Check the internet and figure out what is best for your situation. I have a 16" tire and I still use snow tires.


I thought about that a little bit, I was almost thinking of getting a wheel that has a bigger offset so it pushes away from the car more giving me more room to put my cables on, but not pushing it out too far so that I have issues with clearance between the fender and the tire, where I'm driving through I'm not allowed to use snow tires on a two-wheel drive when they have chain control, caltrans will make us pull over and wait it out or turn around and go back, they don't even allow snow socks on vehicles


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

What about studded snow tires?


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## CRUISE-CRUZE (Nov 8, 2010)

Blasirl said:


> What about studded snow tires?


I use Blizzak WS90 but _before _changing them I have the socks always with me. Sometimes the snow is one week ahead my time to change these.. 
However, my wife's Cruze gets these first and mine sometimes later....


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## 88gonzo (Nov 22, 2020)

Blasirl said:


> What about studded snow tires?


I have entertained the thought of studded tires but it's just not cost effective enough, and most of my commute to work is driving on wet asphalt maybe the last fifteen miles is in the snow, but I have been thinking about getting wheel spacers for the drive axle, it seems like it would space my tires a little further away from the chassis and giv me just a little bit more room for my cables, and it would be an easy switch to go back and forth when I needed to.


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## Blasirl (Mar 31, 2015)

I have Blizzak WS80's and I have yet to get stuck or lose control, but then I drive in snow a lot. When I was a kid, we had studded tires, but then WI banned them. I have driven on chains, but they are terible on the suspension if the snow isn't deep enough. I have never tried the socks, but at the moment have no need for them. Maybe in the future.


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## CRUISE-CRUZE (Nov 8, 2010)

Blasirl said:


> I have never tried the socks, but at the moment have no need for them.


You can't beat the WS tires in the winter! The socks are the convenient backup, until you change to the winter tires. I also tried these on a very icy hill and, at the slow speed, had no issue to climb at all! I actually think that for ice the socks work better than studless winter tires but they won't last long on hard pavement so they are a good backup solution only.


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