Snow chains for 20" wheels/tires

L

ltnjazzman

Member
:
2013 Mazxa CX-9 GT
Just bought my 2013 CX9 GT with 20" wheels, but as I was looking thru the paperwork from the dealership I noticed that there's a disclaimer that snow chains are not compatible with 20" wheels due to small clearance to the body and damage could occur. The manual also states this and basically says that if I want to use snow chains to use 19" tires. I'm not about to go buy a different set of tires and wheels for the occasional trip to the mountains for some skiing? Does anyone have suggestion or have used chains on 20" tires? If so which brand do you use and did you have scrapping or damage issues?
 
I have no experience with this issue on a CX9, but I checked TireRack for standard tires sizes on the 2013 CX9. They list 245/50/20 and 245/60/18. Both sizes have the same width and diameter, so clearance should be very similar or identical between them. The only difference I would expect is that there is a greater chance of scratching the wheels if the chains/cables end up over the wheel instead of the tire sidewall.

Cables are lower profile than chains and should reduce the chance of interference.

I used to have a set of what they call "performance winter" (Dunlop M3) tires on my Subaru mounted on a spare set of wheels. I'd swap them on for trips to the mountains so that I'd have a lot less chance of needing to put cables on, which was a little harder than normal since the car is lowered. They are snow rated tires but are supposed to provide much better dry performance than a traditional non-studded snow tire.
 
Thanks Evan78

I went to the dealer and they also suggested cables and offered me a set for $180.00. He wasn't very sure about his answers of whether they would scrape with low clearance so I passed until I can find out more. Tule supposedly has some low profile cables ill also research. Ill post again if I find a good set.
 
If you're willing to search around a bit, I know I've seen some products that are different than cables and chains. I'm guessing they are made in Europe somerwhere primarily for low clearance vehicles.
 
You might want to look at spikes spider. These are made for cars with low clearance. When I purchased my cx-9 (last weekend) I was told I could use cable chains, but I Have 18" tires.
 
ltnjazzman said:
Thanks Evan78

I went to the dealer and they also suggested cables and offered me a set for $180.00. He wasn't very sure about his answers of whether they would scrape with low clearance so I passed until I can find out more. Tule supposedly has some low profile cables ill also research. Ill post again if I find a good set.
Click to expand...

Did you ever find a solution that worked on the 20" wheels? Just found out about this and we're heading to the snow this weekend.
 
Please log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Chains on 20" wheels?
Replies
12
Views
4K
SDL
S
S
    • Like
2016~2023 Tire Chain / Tire Cable / Snow Chain
Replies
15
Views
3K
Mazdiod2
Mazdiod2
S
Snow Chain Alternative - Michelin Easy Grip and more
Replies
11
Views
5K
rockethead26
rockethead26

Latest posts

Back