[Westie]

I am exspecting some flack on this one but thought I would ask the question

I have a Victorian staying with me at the moment X Army and he swares by chains.
What is the view on putting chains on and will you go further with them on adverage rubber than you will with no cahins and Air Lockers.
In the bush TRACKS ONLY.


Pro's & Con's


He was saying his LJ50 with a 4k Strolla 16" rims mod Tran case would just keep on going wherever he pointed it. Rocks,Mud,he has done it all.

Ok let me have it guys and Gal's I feel this may get nasty.

[royce]

I will make 3 points

Victorians have no idea what 4wding is, over blasting through deep sloppy mud, this is why they seem to get away with running a 34" tyre with the same lift and mods as we need for 31's

in QLD we dont have mud so chains would be useful once every 3 years

spending time learning how the car drives will yield better results that the other 2 options

ALONG WITH FIXING THE SOLID BLOODY SPRINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

in all seriousness, I could usually punt the sierra through most stuff with a fair idea of what was going on, doesnt mean I will be able to do the same in the vit because it works different so all the tricks for getting the sierra through something are out the window, HUGO will be the same, hell even driving across a gully to pose is a totally different exercise in the limo

[steve]

I thought chains were just for snow? I haven't seen anyone in the usual competitions use them and i reckon they would've tried everything.


ANNODAM might have a bone to pick with you royce

[Kymbo]

I am ex army as well plus I have been driving diff locked vehicles for years.

Chains are not just a dirty word. What they do for traction is incredible on all soft surfaces and will more than double the capability of a vehicle.

On the other hand they only work when theyre on the ground unlike a diff lock. If you had to cross a difficult river the chains would be the way to go.

I have been up in the Victorian High Country and seen a turbo charged surf with extreme rubber run at a hill climb full throttle over and over again until his turbo blew up. The same hill can be done on chains at a crawl.

Knowing your vehicle, does not always change the traction of the surface you are driving on.

[Nev08]

ive have heard that chains provide great traction in many offroad situations but have never seen it forst hand so cant really comment from personal experience. I thought that the main reason they are not supported is due to the environmental damage they cause when used recklessly by spinning the wheels etc. They however cause very little damage when used at a crawl-even less than tyres in most situations.

[ANNODAM]

steve wrote:

ANNODAM might have a bone to pick with you royce

Hahahahaha.....!

[royce]

Kymbo wrote:

a turbo charged surf with extreme rubber run at a hill climb full throttle over and over again until his turbo blew up. The same hill can be done on chains at a crawl.

so it only got half way up 1st go then

sorry cant resist any chance to bag a surk

[Grantlington]

yep- SOME big 4wd owners think they can go over anything.

seems as the car get bigger - the brain gets smaller for those people.

one more thing about chains, they are really only useful for a small part of a 4x4 trip. i have never seen anyone use them over here as we only have mud depending on where you go and what time of year it is. and there isnt many place to go here where chains would be a major benefit

[mandy]

Grantlington wrote:

seems as the car get bigger - the brain gets smaller for those people.

ooooooo....thats a definate dig at vitara owners being bigger and all

damn those vit drivers, think they own the roads too

[royce]

ddddddduuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh are you pickin on me ?????????????

what did you drive today Mandy, the Vit WAGON or did the rangie hold enough oil overnight to still be useable today

[waxhead]

Haha, I just got back from NZ where we got white out quite a few days, I took it to be my liberty to take our 1000km old Grand Rav4 Rental to explore a bit, I found the chains to be pretty ordinary for traction, even once you dug through the snow and started digging ruts in the dirt.
With chains on, 360 degree hand brakey's were still no drama, and you could bag it up strait out of them and still get no traction.

[Troll]

chains are designed for slow moving stuff not a heavy right foot..

[Westie]

Thanks... you lot have given me something to consider.
I spose that $1000 for a locker to $200 for chains needs to be justified.

I still have not an answere to the question.
What will take you further in

Steep Bush Tracks
Rocky bush tracks
as we use around Eg. Glasshouse Mt or Kenilworth forestry

[Kymbo]

For that you will need the locker.

[Bruce]

Yes Westie go the lockers. Weather that be the auto locker or Air lockers. Look at where the sierra's go with lockers. It would be a lot better for the tracks as well. God knows there is enough closing down now without some guy throwing chains on to go up up a track ripping it apart from chains. JMO.

[steve]

westie, chains wont help when you've only got one wheel on the ground

[royce]

I'll vote for suspension and gearing, speed control makes life so much easier to think about what your doing and with flex if the wheels are on the ground your moving, if they arent you need to back up and think about what you are doing

IMHO for an inexperienced driver (and I'm guilty of this as well) its too easy to flick some switches and barge up the middle, so when you get to something that is the limit of a locked car your crapping your daks and unsure of what to do.

plus westie, youd have 1 litre diffs I'd imagine, that limits you to autolockers so bye bye road manners and steering with the hubs locked, airlockers mean front and rear diff swaps and custom tailshafts plus higher gearing so your acceleration and off road gearing are shot again