SCC Peerless 0154705 Auto-Trac Tire Traction Chain - Set of 2

TL;DR: This is one of those products that have exceeded expectations. Every time I use them I am more and more impressed. When they wear out I'll buy them again and feel just fine about it.PACKAGING: The heavy bag that they come in has held up well getting moved around from storage bins to trunks to floorboards, getting the chains taken in and out. Very convenient. Also the plastic sheet with instructions on it is a very thoughtful include in the package. I'm kneeling on the ground to get these on and off and this keeps me dry. It has held up as well.FIT: I used the manufacturer reference tables and bought the size indicated for my tire size on two different vehicles, a '19 Camry and '13 Smart (tiny tires). It was a perfect fit on both. Close enough that installation is a bit of a chore but with enough slack to make it doable. Once installed the fit is perfect, no slippage, no flopping.INSTALLATION: The process can be a bit of work but it isn't bad at all. When the chains are laid out flat they're designed vaguely like a ladder, with straight rails and chains webbed between the rails. The rail on one side is a plastic coated steel cable, with a hook on one end and a knob on the other that the hook will catch. (The other 'rail' is chain, reels, and steel cables between the reels and chains. See install drawing, lower panel.) Hold one end of the steel cable in my left hand so that the reels are face down on the ground as the chains are laid flat, draw back the other end of the steel cable with my right hand and then sling it under the car from aft of the tire. The free end wraps around the tire and comes out from under the car fore of the tire. (See my install drawing, upper panel.) Find the end of the cable that went under the car and wrapped around the tire and lift the two ends of the cable up to the top of the tire so the ends can be coupled together. This will mean that for the moment the cable is wrapped up tight against the suspension/axle. Once the steel cable is secured, drop it back behind the tire so it is off the suspension/axle and drape the chains over the tire so the reels are in front of it where you can get to them. Rotate things around so that the gap to be taken up by the reel/cable is at the bottom of the tire contact patch. (See my install drawing, lower panel.) Pull the cables from the reels with the locking handles flipped up so you can work with the slack and hook the ends of the cables to the chains, closing the gaps in the chains. Release the reels to take up the slack by folding the locking handles back down. Wiggle and work things around so that the amount of take-up is even between the two reels. That's it. Drive a few dozen feet and check to make sure everything is tight and take-up is still even. Adjust if needed. Good to go.REMOVAL: This one can be a pain. You never know where the coupler on the cable on the back side of the tire is. Pull slack from the reels, unhook from the chains on the outside of the tire. Grab the steel cable on the inside of the tire and pull it up or back or something till you can get the cable over the tire and find the coupler to release the main cable. Sometimes it's packed with ice and in an inconvenient spot. If you care enough to do this you could find out where it was at prior to starting the removal process and roll the car till it gets to a good spot. About half the time I can uncouple it with nothing more than some strategic shaking, a few times I've had to chip ice and thaw with my hot hands, most of the time it is somewhere in between. Once everything is unhooked lay the chains out flat on the ground and move the reels to a safe spot where they won't get run over, pull the car forward a couple feet to get off the chain so you can pick it up. Shake off the ice and water and lay out to dry before re-bagging.PERFORMANCE: I've used them through three winters now, driving on hard ice, grainy piled up sleet, wet packed snow, and deep dry powder. Total mileage is about 50mi, about 2/3 of it on hard ice with grainy sleet on top of it, the rest of it in snow and slush. Probably less than 2mi total on bare asphalt. Without the chains the poor rear wheel drive Smart car is nearly worthless. The dumb traction control uses braking instead of power vectoring and the result is it becomes immobile pretty quick in slick stuff, bogging down the motor with braking. With these chains on it drives almost as sure-footedly in the slick stuff as it does on dry pavement. (See the image from inside the car. That is hard ice with dry snow on top of it. The car drove as smooth, stable, and controlled on that stuff as it does on dry pavement.) It is actually very impressive, much better than I expected given the relatively small diameter of the chains. On really hard ice they will slip if I try to put too much power down or try climbing up a very steep hill, but if I am being careful at all they don't really slip much. Even when they don't feel like they're slipping they throw up a rooster-tail of ice behind me as I drive. Very grabby. On hard ice and pavement it is a very rough ride, but with a little bit of a soft surface from slush or powder they're very smooth. I can comfortably do 25-30mph on snow and grainy ice and feel like they would work well as traction beyond that but I don't want to stress them beyond their structural capacity. We live at the base of a hill that is steep enough that in ice and deep snow one we stand at the windows with our coffee and make bets on who's going to get up the hill and who's sliding backwards to try again and again. With these chains our cars zip right up that hill in those conditions.DURABILITY: I've been worried about this based on other posts but so far they've been great. No rust, no broken parts, reels still work well. The only issues I've had are minor things which have little to no bearing on performance and utility. One of the reel cables has a slight permanent bend in it, presumably from the cable being pulled at an extreme angle from the reel while in use. It doesn't affect the reel take-up or performance, it just looks like it might could become a problem some day if it happens more. The other thing is that the reels can occasionally be sticky, not wanting to take up the cable, as if there is some source of catch or drag internally. I solve it by fully extending the cables and taking them up again. Again, not really affecting much now but I could see whatever is going on inside could maybe become a problem. Despite these couple things I feel like I've more than gotten my money's worth so even when they finally do wear out I'll not feel bad about it.

Look good and strong. Going up to Scotland in December hope not to have to use them but have them just in case.However delivery services was very bad this item was sent 24hrs services with Royal Mail (They were ordered Tuesday 3rd September I received them On Saturday 7th September) they were sent on the 4th 24hrs services became more then 72hrs..

used to use the old fashion chains that look like a ladder you stretch out on the ground and back up over. These chains are so fast to install and work well. I questioned how well they work being the links are smaller than the old style chains. I have used them on a work pickup and in deep snow had to keep the tires spinning to get up a snow covered dirt road had a huge rooster tail behind the truck of snow they never came off and got me thru 2 feet of snow ...2WD truck.... without any trouble. recommend them... and I don't store them in the bag they came in i keep them laid out flat in the back of my truck bed as if they tangle up it is really tough to get them untangled.

Although I haven't installed it in this snow season (as no snow on the road), I have practised several times to install it , easy to learn and only take few minutes to get the job done.

I have used these chains for two times in front wheels drive Nissan Sentra. Initially, I didn’t like the wobbling kind feelings but I was feeling much happier with products when I saw the difference when others were stuck in snow while my car was moving very smoothly in 20cm snow without any issue. I don’t know how long it work but very easy to install and remove. I would highly recommend to keep in your car while driving in snowy and icy weather. It will save you from towing your car and skidding. I would say two pairs of chains or at least one pair chain should be in everyone car. I hope, it will last longer.