Can anyone advice on which is a good brand of tire chains? After the latest snow/ice storm we experienced here in Atlanta; my 3rd one since moving here and I'm sure more to come. I would like to get a good set of tire chains for the car. I know they might not help in all situations, but better then nothing.

I've lived in northern Nevada for nine and a half years. We get A LOT more snow than ATL. I still haven't bought chains.

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83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
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With the amount of snow Atlanta gets, it doesn't seem to me that chains are warranted. You need deep snow packed roads for chains to be useful.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Deep snow X2

Chains on ice is worse than rubber, especially cornering.

I've owned many sets of tire chains, and for limited/light usage, I would recommend the ones which have the metal hoops with cross chains.
Much easier to put on and take off, but not as rugged as standard chains.

Also, never drive them on pavement which is not covered in snow and do not exceed 15~20 mph

Very likely you would be far better served with a set of cables.

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On some nights I still believe that a car with the fuel gauge on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio. - HST

1983 300SD - 305000
1984 Toyota Landcruiser - 190000
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Will cables help with getting better traction on ice? Saw some police cars with either chains or cables on there tires so I figured they help me stay out of a ditch.

I put a brand new set of studded snow tires on all four wheels and a set of stock MB wheels for the snow and they worked great on my e420 even before the snow plows came.

I had first checked at the local highway patrol office and this was what they put on the Crown vic squad cars for the winter.

Worked beautifully and no need to bother with chains or cables.

It helped that thoughtful and careful driving mattered too. Driving slower than usual helps, and achieving momentum and keeping it going, helps from getting stuck, and keeping all speedcs slower on snowy roads and leaving lots of room in front of you helps too.

A side benefit is that aside from the crunching sound of the studs on dry pavement, once they are on a different set of wheels, you can leave them on the car until spring when the snow time is over and not worry about anything, just drive the car normally. I can only hear the sounds at low speeds with the window rolled down, so I don't think noise matters much.

Keep speeds under 70 mph with the studded snows, as if you go faster, the highway patrol said, the studs could fly off the car.

With sensible or modest use, the studded snow tires can last you 3-4 years usually, I was told by the tire shop that sold them to me. But they said it is BS that the studs would fly off the car at any speed. And that they are so deeply embedded in the tires it would take you 20-30 minutes to just pull out even one stud with a pair of pliers in a new studded snow tire.

These bigger older Mercedes Benzes do a LOT better than you might thin, in snow.

It snows a LOT in Germany, especially in the northern parts - could be a reason why that is.

But for best traction, your tires must be stock size or even a bit narrow or skinnier. Wide tires would be the worst in snow. So shop carefully.

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1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

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X2 on the studded tires. By far better than regular snows.

I must say that I have exceeded 90mph in my studded tires and not a stud ever went flying. Also, you can drive nearly like maniac. The studs really stick.

The noise is a bit more annoying than Jimb is letting on, but after a week it becomes like a white noise in the background.

Final thought; my tires where 6 years old before I had to retire them. Not because they where worn, but because I had a new driveway put in. I sold the tires on craigslist in 30 minutes for 150$

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Eugene

10 E63 AMG
93 300te 4matic
07 BMW X3
14 Ford F-150 Fx2

I have a set of those.

If anyone wants them I would be willing to sell them. I'll have to get the size. I know they for the 190 with 205/55/15.

Pretty easy to use.

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Open dif rwd is the worst possible drivetrain for snow or ice. I got mine stuck in my plowed driveway (3/4" of hard packed snow over dirt) with brand new snow tires. This was before three 60lbs sandbags in the trunk; this helped considerably.
The good news is you got a few days of warmth depending on your fuel situation should you slide into the ditch.

From the dept of fwiw, I use Nokian WR tires on my 2wd and 4wd vehicles and the tires are awesome because they provide *great* traction in all conditions and last for a long time. I just replaced the WR’s on my 2wd after they were on the car for 8+ years. The last set on my SUV lasted nearly 90K miles and the current ones have been there for about 40K miles or so.

I travel into snow country nearly every week for about 7 months of the year. The rest of the year there usually isn’t much new snow.

Yes, they really stick. I once was traveling to ONtario where studs were banned and I had studded snows. Had to pull the studs out with vice grips. It's not an easy task. For icy roads, studded tires on all 4 wheels are hard to beat for both braking and traction.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13