Studs or Chains

[TUMBLEWEED]

I am getting an early ice rig set-up going.
It is a 100cc two wheel drive (posi) and
I am trying to decide chains or studs for
adding traction??? Anyone have some ideas
or first hand knowlage of using one or the
other??

[Ray Esboldt]

I'd go with the studs. I've been using chains on my 4 wheeler's rear wheels the last few winter, and they work good for moving you forward. But, you can't turn worth a darn on glare ice.

I'm thinking about buying another set of front tires and studding them with little stainless sheet metal screws. I'll just stick with the chains on the back. I ran into a couple guys last year with studded tires and they could manuver around on glare ice like they were an F1 car on pavement.

[MN Mike]

I ran studs on my Prairie 650 last year, I used a lug stud made for sleds. I won't be running them again, they didn't stand the test of time. Problem is your not always on the ice when you run your atv and I tried to be careful. They were carbide tipped too.

Get chains in my opinion, they are cheaper, easily removed and more durable.

Mike

[Fisher Dave]

Both have their advantages ... If your constantly pushing through a lot of snow I would recommend chains.. They do make it hard to maneuver when there is no snow... but it beats being stuck or spinning tires endlessly.

Studs are great all around, but are not as effective in heavy snow. For glare ice you cant beat them. I used to run my dirt bike on ice with studs and it handled great .. with no studs I would bite it in a hurry.

[fishing addict]

How fast can you go with chains?

I assume studs are a NO NO on asphalt driveways if i am plowing.

[Ray Esboldt]

You can go as fast as you want with chains as long as they are tight. I use bungee cords to snug them up, but that doesn't get them as tight as I would like.

Anyone else have a suggestion?

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Ray Esboldt
www.marcum.com

[Fisher Dave]

Fishing addict... studs will not hurt your driveway in the winter months ... in fact, studded tires are still allowed on cars in several states during the winter months. Asphalt is very hard when its cold.

For tire chains, bungee cords do work good to increase the tension, and also it will pull the chain toward the outside of the tire (away from axle) most the time if a chain breaks, or comes loose somehow.

Another alternative to tension tire chains is to use a turn-buckle. I did use turn buckles in the past rigged with a cable strung through the chain to get great tension... I found in the long run it was more hassle than it was worth... the bungees did well as long as the chains were the proper size.

[Fisher Dave]

Forgive me for ever making a statement .. I have no need in being any part of, or causing ANY controversy. I have never had any problems with driveway damage from studs or chains. I appologize for having nothing more to base my post on than actual experience.

If you invest in some 1/2" super sharp racing style super studs and sit and spin your tires endlessly trying to push snow into a bank 12' high with a 2 wheel drive machine.. I'm sure you could cause some damage, especially if the ground is not frozen hard. Usually when you have studded tires, or chains, there is no problem with spinning.

Pick up your phone book and make some calls to atv dealerships, and places that carry these accesories and see what they have to say. Be sure you make enough calls to find someone with on hand experience to give you an accurate answer, and not an answer based on assumption.

Everyone better take the chains off their big $800 snow blowers and their 1700 lb, $5000 Kubota's to boot .. not to mention all the vehicles and semi's that must drive through several mountain passes in the winter months(chains required).

[Mark Christianson]

Sheeesh. Sorry if I struck a nerve Fisher Dave.
I didn't at any point say you were nuts or out of your mind with your experience.
I just had a simple statement about what I thought. All arguments have 2 sides.
Great, if they really work and don't do any damage at all.
I still won't be risking my asphalt driveway for several years of plowing with studs or chains, then have some real problems to deal with down the road. Just my opinion.

I have to imagine those highways out west need quite a bit of TLC in the non-winter seasons.

[hunt4food]

I had tire chains on my ATV. They were the v-bar type chains. they were great on the ice, but they definitely left permanent scars in my concrete driveway. This was a driveway that was 5 years old when I did that. I was even careful about it, but sooner or later the tires are going to spin. When the spun on my driveway, they left scars that are still there 2 years later. I guess Fisherdave must have better concrete than mine. I am glad it works for him because the chains really do add traction on ice and snow.

[Mark Christianson]

I find it hard to believe studs are not going to hurt the driveway.
Sure they won't hurt if you are just driving, but if you are going to plow, your tires are going to spin at some point no matter what you do. Then what? I gotta believe you are going to have a driveway with some gouges once spring arrives.
Maybe I am way off base, but you won't find me putting chains or studs on my tires to plow my driveway.
Again, if you are just cruising up and down the driveway to go someplace, then its probably OK.

[Fisher Dave]

I had an asphalt driveway .. never had a problem at all. I would have never guess concrete would take damage when my asphalt didnt. I suppose concrete is a much harder surface and chips away easier.

The only problem I had with the asphalt was due to my own neglect ... there was a *boil* in my previous driveway that I never did anything about .. the plow took it off when it was buried in snow and left some damage... my own fault.

[Ruttin' Buck]

Ray-- A trick I use on my Sportsman is to let some air out of the tires until they sag a bit. I put the chains on good and tight then, add the bungees, and air them back up.

Takes a little bit more time but those babies stay in place!

[Guest]

Fisher Dave , Not to bust your chops or anything but I have a B Top driveway and had those same style chains as Hunt4food. I ended up scarring my driveway in a few spots when the wheels spun.Never realized it till the spring thaw. My fault for not paying atention. Other than those few spots the chains just scratched the heck out of the driveway. No real damage but got to look at white scratch marks all up and down the drive come summer. LOL
I work on a B Top crew ( 11 years now ) and no matter how cold it gets you can still mess up your asphalt if your not careful. To clarify this a little. There are different grades of blacktop. Most driveways/residential aplications use what's called grade 4. The stone used in that suff is small and there's more sand added to the mix = looks nicer when you lay it but not as durable as the stuff they use on streets/roads. I believe you when you say you did'nt screw up your drive with chains but that does'nt mean everyones asphalt driveway won't get wrecked - some can.
Anyhow , I don't use chains when plowing the driveway anymore as a result.
Studded tires for cars/trucks were banned years ago here in WI because they tore up the roads both concrete and asphalt so bad.

Tumbleweed , I used to use chains and tried studs ( sheet metal screws ) too. Both gave great traction on glare ice but overall chains worked better ( to a point ) IMO. Once the snow gets deep enough neither chains or studs will be of much help once your high centered. At 100CCs your machine should be light enough to ride over a lot of stuff that many higher CC machines ( More weight ) can't.

[iffwalleyes]

I don't think there is a prefect option for you guys with Black Top drive ways. NO MATTER which you go with if you SPIN the tires on the B top it WILL scratch or marr the surface of the mix. So if you biggest concern is scratching the mix then don't put them on. if you want traction go with studs I did that to my 4 wheeler and it works great. Now just running over the B top will not marr in in any way with either of the option mentioned but if you start to spin it will. I am actually inclined to believe that studs would do less damage than chains would because with chains your talking something that is about a foot long being incontact with the pavement were as with studs it might be around an inch give or take. My dad had chains on his little garden tractor blowing snow last year and it scratch the mix up pretty good in spots so this year he is running no chains just wheel weights. But then again what would I know about black top because you know I am only a field engineer for an engineering company that specilizes in transportion. Like I say if you just drive on it neither will hurt but you start pushing snow or spinning your wheels and you will. I know that with a 4 wheel drive wheeler you would spin less so you probably wouldn't have to much problems. As for me for studs on my machine I just used hex headed sheet metal screw 1/2" long and they work great.

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Grip it and Rip it

IFFWalleyes
I Fish For Walleyes
[email protected]

[Iceseeker]

All this talk about chains/studs makes we rethink the idea of putting on or the other on my Sportsman 500. the question I have is where in the west twin cities area is a good place to purchase chains and how much can I expect to spend.

Thanks for the input.

[MN Mike]

I can't help you out with the question of where to purchase them in the W. Twin Cities, I went back to my dealer and picked mine up plus I got a 10% discount. Ended up to be about $50 with tax.

Mike

[vexilarkid]

Iceseeker,

I know Peerless Chain company makes excellent ATV Chains. Just get on the internet and contact them where the closest retailer is. They are located in Winona, MN. I bought a pair a while ago and they were around $50 then. Just thought I would let you know.

[This message has been edited by vexilarkid (edited 12-29-2003).]

[vexilarkid]

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[vexilarkid]

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[Guest]

Most any ATV dealer should be able to get you a set of chains. For studs any dealer that sells dirt bikes should have them as well. There's a place out of Iowa that sells ATV accesories called Cycle Country. I've bought pieces parts for my plow and a set of chains from them in the past. GREAT folks to deal with too. I needed a part for my plow a few years back and instead of soaking me for a brand new part they offered me a scratch and dent part ( brand new with a few minor scratches ) for almost half the price of a new one.

[hunt4food]

I bought mine at Dennis Kirk, but I see Northern Tool is also carrying them now.

[sledhead]

I would run with chains, They are in expensive and easily replaceable. A word of advice. Let all the air out of the tires then put the chains on tight, trim excess chain off if you have to. Then reinflate the tires, no need for bungees or turnbuckles.

ride safe, wear a helmut, stupid hurts

if you get them serviced, wash'em first.