I would think front wheels as these are fwd based cars.

 

I tend to agree with you. I know I read something in the manual about rear wheel only. If you owned a front wheel drive it would not make any sense to put chains on the rear.
I live on the Oregon coast so it's kind of a moot point any way. When we get the rare snow fall I usually stay home. (retired)


Rayjoe

 

You should not use chains on AWD cars. Get better tires instead.

 

I do not intend to use chains any way. Had enough of that growing up in Kansas. I just wondered why the manual contradicts itself.

But now you have make me curious. Why would you not use chains on an AWD.

Show your work.

 

Just get some Nokian Hakkapeliitta's. Best snow tire in the world. They can also be studded.

 

I was under the impression on an AWD, chains on the front are best. On the front gives you better steering and pulling the vehicle in the direction you want. Chains on the back will push the vehicle but possible not in the direction you want. The front wheels spinning... will follow the contours/ruts/incline and not necessarily steer.

 

Just read an interesting piece about "snow socks" for cars. I had never heard of them before. Sounds like a useful alternative to chains.

Once again, I'm not going to drive in the snow. Just exploring the net.


Rayjoe

 

The htrac send power to the front wheels most of the time. Only under certain conditions does it send power to the rear wheels. Though the literature says up to 50/50 I have never seen that when monitoring the power output graph. Thus chains on front wheels. On some AWD cars if it sense that the tires are different size (out of acceptable range) it will disable the AWD system and only send power to the front wheels. When running chains you are affectively increasing the size of the tire. When running a pair of chains (2 wheels) on my truck it is difficult to shift out of 4wd as there is some gear binding caused by mix matched tire size. So if you run chains on the back wheels only, conditions can be meet such that the rear power never kicks in rendering your chains worthless (except for increased braking traction).

As for the general question of whether to run chains on front or rear on a locked transfer case type 4wd, I would say rear. Having spent alot of time running chains I have tested both. I understand the argument for the front as it provides both steering and increase braking. But in practice it doesn't work out this way. It will make the rear very loose. It is very common to see spun out fwd chained up cars on the highway during chain control periods. When you brake the chained up front wheels provide much more traction than the rear, and the rear end will easily "come around": brake induced oversteer. Having the front lose traction, understeer, is easily sensed and corrected, that is why there is no factory car off a production line that is set up to oversteer, they all UNDERSTEER. "Unsafe at any speed" Ralf Nader