elizaspessard Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 can I use just 2 chains on the back tires of a 1998 suburu outback limited edition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 #1 if your driving is that treacherous that you need chains there's no substitute for snow tires or studded. #2 in general putting chains on your rear tires is a bad idea unless it's going to be entirely driven in the snow (refer to #1) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 If the owner's manual means anything It specificly says "Tire chains should always be placed on the front wheels only" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 If the owner's manual means anythingIt specificly says "Tire chains should always be placed on the front wheels only" If your car is an automatic with AWD, I read somewhere that 90% of the pulling power is directed to the front wheels, 10% to the rear wheels. Guess that explains why chains should always be placed on the front wheels only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 SUbaru says front wheels only. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnuman Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 Chains on the front give you pulling and turning abilities. On the rear only you get just a little go, and no steering. Choose wisely. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98obster Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 #1 if your driving is that treacherous that you need chains there's no substitute for snow tires or studded. #2 in general putting chains on your rear tires is a bad idea unless it's going to be entirely driven in the snow (refer to #1) love this post you must yes, proper winter snowflake tires and if you need chains then you probably have other problems eh? oh, cables on fronts only (who has chains and a subaru?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsince77 Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 I have cables, but have never used them. If i ever do they will go on the front, much better use of the chains. When I chain up my 4wd pickup I only chain the front wheels. It's the only way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 Even the mustang has it down. The guys are right. Says it right in the manual that chains go on the front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NV Zeno Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 That pic above, :lol: ! I live in snow territory that gets a lot of tourists, and I simply can't believe how many Camrys, Saturns and other front-drive cars have chains/cables mounted on the REAR wheels.. (LOTS of Saturns...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted December 24, 2008 Share Posted December 24, 2008 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Now that's just silly... Though I was just talking to a friend who was helping someone buy an older Legacy. And after buying it, they found that the all wheel drive didn't work. Because it didn't have a driveshaft or rear differentials or axles... it was a 2wd. He didn't even think to check whether it was an AWD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durania Posted December 28, 2008 Share Posted December 28, 2008 Now that's just silly... Though I was just talking to a friend who was helping someone buy an older Legacy. And after buying it, they found that the all wheel drive didn't work. Because it didn't have a driveshaft or rear differentials or axles... it was a 2wd. He didn't even think to check whether it was an AWD It happens. A lot of people just assume that Subarus have been AWD since the beginning of time. I got that a lot with my 2WD hatch, "Subaru huh? So it's gotta be AWD". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mugs Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Even the mustang has it down. The guys are right. Says it right in the manual that chains go on the front. Like I have always said and you can qoute me on this one "Ford Owner Really Dumb" I can not even voice how much I had frieking fords. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterD Posted December 29, 2008 Share Posted December 29, 2008 Like I have always said and you can qoute me on this one "Ford Owner Really Dumb" I can not even voice how much I had frieking fords. than you haven't driven a new ford lately i have only chained up my old 82 GL once and I was on a snowmobile trail. other than that i have never needed chains on my legacy, all you need are good snows and common sense:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zyewdall Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 i have only chained up my old 82 GL once and I was on a snowmobile trail. /quote] LOL what were you doing on a snowmobile trail anyway. Nevermind... it's a subaru thing I remember a post on here a few years ago, someone chained up their hatch and went way up in the woods in the snow, and had to get pulled out by an ATV, who was ribbing them for having a car small enough to be pulled out by an ATV. And they returned it by pointing out that they drove all the way there, whereas the ATV owner had to park their big 4x4 truck and switch to the ATV... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsince77 Posted December 30, 2008 Share Posted December 30, 2008 So we took off last week from our home in Western Colorado, for a Christmas visit to the in-laws in Albuquerque. It's about 320 miles, just one mountain pass, then 2 lane roads of various sizes and conditions. We were timing the trip between winter storms that have been hitting southern Colorado, and northern New Mexico one after another - many feet of snow in the last two weeks. I threw in the chains (cables) just in case, but I didn't expect to use them, and never did. The first 100 miles was all snowpacked and icy mountain driving, with a few Bighorn Sheep on the road for fun. We got over the pass and into the San Luis Valley. Down there the roads were cleared of snow, but the area had received a new 16 inches the night before. We were cruising along pretty good, then we hit the New Mexico line and thumped onto solid ice across the entire road surface. It was just like some one drew a line on the road at the state border. Colorado does a stellar job on winter road work - New Mexico not so much. It is often like this. So the next 75 miles were pure ice until we dropped to a lower elevation and left winter behind. But through it all, given the fact that we slow down as needed for road conditions (a concept all the people in the ditch seem to have missed), the Subbie is as surefooted as she can be. This year we actually have snow tires which is WONDERFUL. So now we are back, a new 18 inches in the driveway since we left. Run the Subaru through it, dig out the snowblower, clear the drive and the woodpile, and settle in for a long winter. Gotta love that Subaru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charm Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I must be the one person who has lost in a Subaru. I had done a snow camping trip to Mt Rainier on x-country skis. On the way to the trailhead, up the snowy logging road, I had to pull aside for somebody to pass and picked up a HUGE spike of somesort in my right rear tire. Got to the trailhead and heard a hissing sound and decided to leave it until I got back to the car. Well, it was warm when we got there and got real cold that night and stayed cold the next day...ice. So, I change the tire, load the car, and venture down the steep icy logging road. I got maybe 100 yards before I lost it doing all of 3 miles an hour (which was hard to do without severe braking). Get the car out with the help of some others. I would have chained up the rear because what I needed was not steering, I needed to slow the rear end of the car down. As it was, to get the car out of the snow bank, I needed the chains. I had access to 3 wheels and one of those wheels was the donut. So, the chains went on the left side of the car. They weren't on long, just to the bottom of the hill. It was a strange feeling though. The hill was so icy that the right side of the car was sliding while the left side was in control. The result, the car went down the hill sideways, but in control. The morale of the story, if you're driving in mixed conditions, up and down, side to side, put 'em on the front. If you're going down a steep icy logging road and plan to take them off at the bottom, use the rear. Speaking of which, I need to get chains for my Outback, the above story was in my Impreza. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 If your going down a steep hill, that doesnt make sense. Going down the center of gravity shifts towards the front wheels. The other reason is that from 90-50% of the torque goes to the front wheels while 10-50% goes to the rears. The majority of the torque is towards the front on an auto. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsince77 Posted January 4, 2009 Share Posted January 4, 2009 I have to agree that on a very steep and very slippery hill, I would put the extra holding power of chains on the back. For traction and steering I'd go with the front. I have a manual, so I think it is 50/50 all the time, but maybe that is wrong. Anyway, I would compare it to other situations that I have encountered riving down a very steep hill on caliche soil that was wet. It gets as slick as ice. In a regular 4wd pickup, we used to take it out of 4 wheel to descend that slope. That way you are not causing a braking force on the front wheels. The truck sort of hangs from the rear wheels and keeps going pretty straight. If you used 4wd, it would tend to spin or turn sideways. I might be comparing apples and oranges, but it would seem to me that chains on the back of an AWD Subby, would have the same effect, again, only on a very steep very slick situation like the one described by charm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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