More grip in mud/sand, how to.

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PigSti

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More grip in mud/sand with chains?

My tyres are getting near the wear markers and I'm away from home so I can't swap out to the duellers on the steelies. But I am carrying a set of tyre chains!

If I need more grip in sand or mud is it worth fitting up the chains? I haven't done it yet because I don't want to scratch up the alloys just in case.

It could be an option but.. so anyone tried this?

:)
 
Doubt it would do you much good in the sand but in the mud I think it would help. I've thought about this myself but in sand I think it might just dig holes.

Let us know if you try it!
 
more grip in mud/sand
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You need to decide which...they need totally different tyres. The guys over west keep talking bout even road tyres are fine on sand, they just need to bag out so they float across the sand rather than dig through it. Thats where our lightweight Subies really come into their own :monkeydance:

Mud & clay is totally different. You need a tyre with big lugs to bite into the mud & big gaps between the lugs to shed the built up mud.

Geolander AT-s do sand well & are OK for light mud work but the tread fills up quickly, making it virtually a slick. This makes for lots of fun sliding around but you may not make it through.

Muddies give lots more grip in mud/clay but have poor grip onroad esp when wet, are noisy, give bad fuel economy, & wear poorly. Thats why I now have 2 sets, My Geolanders for onroad & general offroad & my muddies for when I hit the mud :lildevil:

I havent used chains in mud personally but a few others have & have been happy. The concept is the same as the big lugs with big gaps to bite into the mud.

On sand I think they would just dig big holes...
 
Hey PigSTi,
If the chains are fitted correrctly they should not in any way damage the alloys. I assume the chains you have are snow chains ? I don't see why they would not work in mud.
Cheers
 
Chains in mud work great don't even need to be in mud, chains work great in a lot of situations slippery climbs clay, loose pack dirt. You need to make sure that the chains are rated for mud/4x4 use as well, snow chains don't have strong enough fittings and are known to break and fling off.

Down side is using chains also really tears up tracks, worse than a pack of yobbos with mud tyres in my experience.
 
I will second the use of snow chains in mud.

We use to put on front wheel drive Honda to get in and out of remote surf beaches down wet clay tracks in NZ - always fun driving past a heavily equipped mud tyre based large 4wd going nowhere while me and my mates hung out window going ... Ohh you look stuck , do you want a tow? Needles to say they were never happy and often never worked out we had chains on the front:lol:
 
So did you help them get out, or did they decline the offer due to major embarrassment :lol:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
The normal reply we got was "we are Ok" one chap asked for a lift to the local farmhouse to get a tractor - none were ever keen to try the tow, they were almost always too stunned to say much - go the $30 chains ( no longer that cheap)

I have a set of 4 for the foz - and almost needed all 4 this winter up near Arbuckle junction on some ice.

Interesting note when in NZ I have seen several psycho drivers in prados, cruisers etc go straight off the road coming down ski field roads because they thought the beefy 4wd would keep them safe on ice - sometimes all you can do is shake your head and be thankfully natural selection is still working:iconwink:

Warning to all slippery surfaces are lethal one of the cars I have seen go over the edge had all occupants killed, fortunately the Idiot had passed many other cars in front me on the way down the access road so I was not the witness to it sliding and disappearing into thin air
 
^ yes, I've experienced the roads into Cardrona and Treble Cone ski fields in NZ - bloody scary!!
 
Bald tires are probably better for sand than a chunky tread
 
^ Spot on, Kevin.

A really good tread pattern makes an excellent trenching tool in sand, and often in mud too. Digs a nice deep hole for the wheel to sit in ... :poke: :lol:.

A good mud tyre should clear its tread completely in the time between when it comes out of the mud and when it goes back in. Even so, must be used with caution, or it will dig itself a nice deep hole ... :(.

It is very hard to beat the oldest design of the lot - an offset full bar lug tyre. Absolutely useless on made roads though, or even hard packed surfaces. Lousy braking and steering too; and I really do mean LOUSY! Great for farm/station vehicles, and the military for general use, and that's about all. I had them on the back of my '68 LC, but had decent light truck tyres on the front.
 
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