SCC ZT729 Super Z LT Light Truck and SUV Tire Traction Chain - Set of 2, Silver

(UPDATE 12-5-2013.... I sold my 2010 Silverado and purchased a new GMC 4x4 2500 HD Sierra and the tire/wheel size is larger than my old pickup... I got onto Amazon late yesterday, ordered two new sets for the GMC, front and rear, and less than 24 hours, here they are. This makes my 5th set of these. Needless to say, they worked well for me and anyone that has provided a less than favorable review, I have no idea why they are not as satisfied as I am, except to believe they are not installing them correctly or driving way too fast, or they don't remove them soon enough as they drive off of snow/ice onto payment that is dry or free from snow.) BELOW IS MY ORIGINAL REVIEW.................. I purchased a 2010 Chevrolet 2500 4X4 last year and from previous experience of driving 4 wheel drive pickups as a civilian and in the Army, I knew 4x4s gave inexperienced drivers too much confidence in certain snow conditions, especially on roads having hidden layers of frozen ice underneath snow. I would have purchased 2 sets last year, but I read several bad reviews about the cables and decided just to try one pair. When my first set arrived, they were in use a few weeks after Amazon sent them. I was very impressed with the ease of installing these compared to conventional heavy tire chains I've used in the past. I'm pretty darned decrepit but it was very easy installing these. I practiced first in my driveway on a "nice" warm day. It is a simple matter of laying the cables in front of or behind the tires on the ground and then pulling your vehicle directly over the cables and "draping" them on top of and over the tires and fastening a small hook on the back, and a "clog" like catch about the size of a pencil eraser on the outside. I have a torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder and bursitis in both shoulders as well as arthritis, and I was concerned when I ordered these from Amazon, if I would be able to install them by myself, but it literally (and figuratively) was a snap. The rubber tension bands easily connect on the outside and they snug the cables up tight on the tires. When the first snow came last year, I found the cables worked like a charm on my farm. I used them hard-packed dirt roads covered in snow, in mud and slush and as well on the highway having both snow and ice. I was so impressed, I bought a second set to use on the front wheels. Today (exactly one year later), the second set was a life saver. (In the Army, we were trained to use chains on the front and the rear on 4x4s... and chains on all 4 wheels on a 4x4 makes a lot of difference in going forward, stopping and side-slip control and I'm glad I had these cables on all 4 wheels today! See my photo I shot on the day I wrote this review.) I had to make an emergency run to a town 50 miles away (2-3-2011 in Central Texas) and the roads were mostly covered in two inch thick ice. In some places, there were patches of exposed asphalt and in other spots, large chunks of broken ice accumulations about the size of cinder blocks covered the road and I was concerned about damaging the cables. I made the 50 mile trip to town and 50 miles back and saw more than 40 vehicles (some were 4x4s) that had spun off into ditches or fences or off of culverts. As I took the cables off this evening, they were easy to remove and I saw no evidence of damage, despite running them in the conditions I described above. As per the instructions, I'll rinse these off with fresh water tomorrow morning and I'll spray them with WD-40 before putting them back in their plastic box. In reading other unfavorable reviews about these chains, I can only imagine that people were driving faster than 30 miles per hour, or may not have installed the rubber tension bands correctly. The maker claims "Light Truck & SUV" and some of the people giving low opinions were running these on one-ton trucks pulling heavy trailers, not what these cables were designed for. I'd suggest that they invest in chains designed for heavier rigs. In reading complaints about these cables, I also might believe that there could have been some manufacturing defects in the crimping process where the cables bind at the ends or at junctions. China has some work to do in ensuring their products are made properly, but in my experience with these cables, I have no complaints. I'd suggest if you buy a set of these, look at the junctures (crimp connections) very carefully and if you see any frayed wires, contact Amazon for refund or replacement. As for me, after my 100 mile "adventure" on two-inch thick ice and snow and driving partially on exposed asphalt, I am extremely impressed. They provided great traction, allowed me to slow down and/or stop easily and they offer a much smoother ride than conventional chains. I will be ordering a pair for my wife's Volkswagen Jetta. I'm sure she would be able to install them as easily as I was. I'd like to add, avoid making tight turns on exposed asphalt with these because the stress-loads and torque factors might be too much for the multi-strand cables. Avoid rapid acceleration and do not "spin" your tires as one reviewer said he did. Mine never, ever failed to "bite" in snow, mud or ice and I can't understand why someone said he was "spinning" his tires while these were installed. These are not solid "bar chains" and thus if someone needs something that will never fail, get a heavy pair of conventional chains... I am totally delighted with the performance of these on my 4x4. Please see my picture, where I helped pull a driver out of a ditch while having these on my pickup.

Great cable-style tire chains, works effectively on heavy snowy and iced roads. Works great on my 4WD SUV with all-season tires. Really easy to mount and dismount. Just slide under your tire through the back and connect the 2 latches + 1 interior hook and you’re ready to go! Takes about 5 minutes. Must have for your next winter mountain trip!

The carrying case it comes with is weird. It’s a hard plastic box that looks similar to a tool box, except it opens, for no good reason as far as I can tell, on the diagonal, which is impractical. It’s very difficult to fit the chains back inside this strange box, and even though there is some room to put a few helper accessories in, like gloves, knee pads, pliers, etc, it’s very troublesome to close. I’ve seen such positive reviews about the chain system itself that we may keep them if I can find a good carrying bag (and find them as easy to install as I’ve read), but I hate that I have to provide my own, and can’t even find a good use for the strange original case. Update: I’ve practiced installing the chains, and indeed they are fairly easy. I’ve never installed chains before, and I was able to figure it out and get the pair installed and uninstalled in about half an hour, including moving the car before removal so the rear fastener would be in a more challenging position. They do require somewhat more strength, patience, and technique than the snow socks, but for the superior durability and performance, I think it will be worth the extra effort. I found a suitable carrying bag, so I will keep the set after all. Although much heavier than a set of snow socks, the whole kit isn’t actually that much bulkier than the socks after their first use, crammed back into their packaging. A couple of tips I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere: - Don’t worry too much if you can’t get the suggested “sweeping” motion down. If you don’t mind getting your arms and possibly face dirty, you can just reach around the back of the tire and pull it around. - After you figure out the correct starting orientation for installation, use a permanent marker to write TOP, BOTTOM, and TIRE SIDE on a few of the metal tabs. The tabs are stamped “TIRE SIDE” but it could be hard to see in poor light. - Take extra care to adjust the chains so they are as even as possible before you put on the tensioner. They’re supposed to go past the edge of the tread at least 2” all the way around. - Attaching the tensioner: the yellow clip wants to spin around while you’re pulling. Use your palm to stabilize the clip while pushing it toward the cable with the heel of your hand, and grasp the cable with all four fingers of both hands as you pull the cable and tensioner together. - Uninstalling: park with your wheels positioned so that the rear fastener isn’t all the way at the bottom. You don’t want it to be buried in mud or snow, and you don’t want your tires to be resting on either of the crossmembers nearest the fastener. It will probably be easiest to reach if it’s at 3 o’clock or 9 o’clock. It’s going to be directly behind the black keyhole fastener in front. - Count your yellow clips before you put away the tensioners. They can fall off the rubber ring. - Connect the bottom/middle/front fastener before you roll up the chain, and it won’t tangle as easily.

Fit my Honda Ridgeline and easy to install. Never got a chance to use them so I can’t say anything about their functionality, but this is the brand that Honda recommends.

After trying to figure out what size to order for my after market wheels and tires, I tried this out. I watched a few videos and read the instructions and did a dry run installing these before needing them. I did not want to mess around with these on the side of a wet road with dangerous traffic buzzing by on a slick surface. Never before using chains or needing them I found this worked fine, not terribly hard to install. The tip I found was lining them up and driving the car onto them symmetrically so I can drape them up hook them up at the top of the wheel well. Spending a little time lining them up or having someone help visually line them up on the ground is the way to go. Driving on and off them worked for me. I did not have to do any additional adjustments or fittings. Stayed on tight, no flapping around, I drove over pure ice in a controlled test and the traction is impressive. The did not damage my after market wheels. 2WD, chains go on to help control which is your front for steering. If you place chains on the back tires of a 2WD you may get more power but you have not control. 4WD, I would go front again as you will get control and power. Once set is all you need. One thing no one talks about is spotting your pull out area that can give you some since of safety. Kinda like swimming in the ocean, never turn your back to the traffic as they too are slipping and don't assume they see you. Go out of your way to try to get out of the way when doing this install.

These are an Amazing product and make a huge difference. I've found my 2x4 Ford E-150 can go places that my father-in-laws 4x4 Suburban can, and it does considerably better on ice. I put these on all four wheels for maximum stopping and turning traction (front wheels receive about 80% of the braking and steering forces). The only problems with them are 1) the rubber bands can break, so get some extras 2) though about as easy as can be to install/remove, it is still much more bothersome than pulling a lever or pressing a button for a 4x4 system INSIDE the car 3) they will rust if you do not dry them off and oil them after use. A spray-type water displacing oil (WD-40 type) is best. It is much more helpful if you live in a place that DOESN'T plow down to the ground and does things like pack it down or apply sand. These are not good on pavement, though technically you can drive on pavement with them, it does cause them damage and makes for a bumpy ride. Stay under 30MPH with these at all times. Don't be fooled by so-called SNOW TIRES. The simple fact is that chains/cables will outperform ANY SNOW TIRE and it is simple physics. These traction devices dig deep into the snow/ice and use leverage to gain traction. ANY ROAD TIRE (that is not studded) relies on friction, not leverage, to achieve traction, and snow-rubber contact produces little friction, even when special low-temperature rubber formulations are used. There is a reason why farm tractors have either really deep-lugged rubber tires or steel wheels with metal studs/lugs...they use leverage, not friction, to work, and it is obvious how much more traction is developed as anyone who has driven even a small tractor knows. Even with deep lugs on such tractor tires, many people will put chains on in the snow to boost the traction.

These chains are exactly as advertised! I have never installed, driven with, or removed tire chains. I ordered these chains based on the reviews here claiming how easy they were to install and remove. I watched the installation video and made a dry run at home before leaving for the snow. Once I had to install the chains, installation went as fast and as easy as the video. Removing them was easy as well. Just follow the installation and removal process as shown in the video. It took me about 5 minutes to install chains on two tires and about 2 minutes to remove them. And remember, I have never installed or removed tire chains before (except for the one dry run). We did notice that we saw about a ratio of 5/1 of other cars using these chains versus any other style chain so I guess everyone else likes these chains too. The chains performed great in the snow. We never slid or lost traction either on ice or fresh snow. One thing to note, Amazon claimed that the chains I ordered "did not fit your vehicle". However, they did fit our vehicle. Just check the sizing chart and make sure you buy the right chain for your tire size. I have 275/55R20 tires and purchased the ZT751 chains (for an SUV). They fit perfectly as promised. Now I can't wait for our next trip into the snow because I am no longer anxious about using chains! I did take a couple pair of latex gloves, a plastic trash bag, and a towel along with me. I used the gloves and towel to kneel on when installing and removing the chains, and then put the chains in the plastic bag when I removed them. They were still wet when I took them off and I didn't want them leaking dirty road water and gunk on the interior of our SUV. The chains do come with a plastic case, but the case isn't watertight. These chains also come with a pair of very flimsy plastic food handling-type gloves to use, but they're very thin and would probably only last for one installation.

I own a 2WD Ford Ranger. I don't have a locker installed. I slapped some BFG's on and felt like I could drive up a mountain. I had been dreaming of going and seeing Yosemite in the snow and on 12/23 I loaded up the Ranger and went for it. We stopped in Oakhurst and went grocery shopping and took just long enough for a storm the start right as we headed into the park. I had never driven in snow and a few miles up the road from Oakhurst the snow started coming down hard. For practicality the chains get a 10/10. The leads and hooks are very indentifiable and relatively easy to get to on the inside section. I had never put chains on a car before so it wasn't fast at all but fortunately we figured it out. As we approached the entrance to the park via the Wawona road the snow came down hard. With the combination of new all-terrain tires and the chains I was kept safe. It was a very long drive from Oakhurst to our cabin inside the park and I kept traction the entire time. I kept these on for 5 days and 4 nights and had little to no loss of traction going up and down the grades and throughout the park roads which were completely iced over for a couple of days. I'm really thankful I had these as the chain requirements were up the entire time I was in Yosemite. Post trip I noticed some surface-rust build-up on the rings and possibly some rings missing. Still they're reusable and I'll be keeping them for my next snow trip. Very well made and easy to use. They kept me safe and prevented me from sliding off those windy terrifying roads in the park and that's all I can ask for. I would buy this product again.