Why Cables on Rear Tires Only in Snow?

[lhanssen]

I live in a snowy rural community in Colorado with a very steep dirt road getting to my home. I also have a very steep often slick gravel driveway when it snows and before it gets plowed. Before getting my new Mach-E I had a Ford Explorer with snow tires that on many occasion necessitated using chains to get in and out of our home on both the driveway hill and private road hill. I am waiting for snow tires on order so I tried the Auto Sock brand (1 set in front) with the stock all season tires. It did not work well.

The owner's manual says to only put low profile cables on the rear tires. I'm not sure why the rear tires only?
Problem is when I come home I have to go up a steep hill then down the steep driveway so my guts tells me the auto socks/cables should be on the front tires to help pull the car up the hill. When I leave it's the opposite problem. Up a steep driveway then down the very steep road.

I'm hoping that the new snow tires along with low profile cables (for the 5 - 10 times a winter we need them) will solve the problems.
Any perspectives out there would be appreciated.

Sponsored

 

[MachEMaster]

Sounds like challenging terrain. I would go with studded snow tires on all 4 corners.

 

[RedRocker]

probably all about tire clearance to the fender liners, cables/chains might rub in full turn and suspension travel, etc.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Rear tires only because the chains may get too close to things on the front wheels while turned.

Traction is proportional to weight, so going up a hill you have more weight on the back wheels than the front wheels, therefore the rear wheels have more traction in that situation. You want chains on the rear going up a steep hill, front chains won't do nearly as much.

If you have a steep driveway I also vote you should get studded snow tires put on in the winter.

 

[GuliblGuy]

I live in a snowy rural community in Colorado with a very steep dirt road getting to my home. I also have a very steep often slick gravel driveway when it snows and before it gets plowed. Before getting my new Mach-E I had a Ford Explorer with snow tires that on many occasion necessitated using chains to get in and out of our home on both the driveway hill and private road hill. I am waiting for snow tires on order so I tried the Auto Sock brand (1 set in front) with the stock all season tires. It did not work well.

The owner's manual says to only put low profile cables on the rear tires. I'm not sure why the rear tires only?
Problem is when I come home I have to go up a steep hill then down the steep driveway so my guts tells me the auto socks/cables should be on the front tires to help pull the car up the hill. When I leave it's the opposite problem. Up a steep driveway then down the very steep road.

I'm hoping that the new snow tires along with low profile cables (for the 5 - 10 times a winter we need them) will solve the problems.
Any perspectives out there would be appreciated.

Does your Premium have different tires, or did they change the manual for 2022+ MY? I just pulled up the manual to check and it still says no chains on premium tires.

 

[Zap77]

What snow tires did you get?
Guessing you have 225/60/18 tires if you can run chains
Thanks

 

[GuliblGuy]

Does your Premium have different tires, or did they change the manual for 2022+ MY? I just pulled up the manual to check and it still says no chains on premium tires.

I did some more digging and I guess they made some changes. The PDF that I pulled from Ford's website says no chains at all, but their html manual from their site for all model years now says:

 

[lhanssen]

I did some more digging and I guess they made some changes. The PDF that I pulled from Ford's website says no chains at all, but their html manual from their site for all model years now says:

The size tire the car came with are 225/55R19.
When I'm logged into my Ford account the HTML manual that I see is same as above.

I haven't purchased the CABLES yet but I've looked at them at my local NAPA store. They are 5 or 6mm if I remember correctly and are very low profile compared to the Ford Explorer chains.
I'm not sure how the cables will perform versus the chains that I'm used to.

 

[lhanssen]

What snow tires did you get?
Guessing you have 225/60/18 tires if you can run chains
Thanks

Original Tire size: 225/55R19
I ordered the new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 EV 225/55R19 103R XL
These snow tires are specifically made for EVs and I'm hopeful that they will work well. They are new on the market this year and there aren't a lot of reviews.

 

[lhanssen]

Rear tires only because the chains may get too close to things on the front wheels while turned.

Traction is proportional to weight, so going up a hill you have more weight on the back wheels than the front wheels, therefore the rear wheels have more traction in that situation. You want chains on the rear going up a steep hill, front chains won't do nearly as much.

If you have a steep driveway I also vote you should get studded snow tires put on in the winter.

Your explanation of having cables on the rear tires makes sense and is really helpful. If that logic holds I think going downhill most of the weight is in the front.?? I'm hoping that going down the steep grades with cables in the rear (as my manual advises) will be good enough to help with traction along with snow tires.

My big concern with getting studded snow tires was the effect on range. We have an old pickup truck with studded snow tires and the drag is noticeable.

I want to make clear that the driveway is only really bad about 5 - 10 times a winter. Our other cars have had no problem getting in and out with just snow tires the great majority of the time.

 

[lhanssen]

probably all about tire clearance to the fender liners, cables/chains might rub in full turn and suspension travel, etc.

That makes sense. Thanks.

 

[Mach-Lee]

Your explanation of having cables on the rear tires makes sense and is really helpful. If that logic holds I think going downhill most of the weight is in the front.?? I'm hoping that going down the steep grades with cables in the rear (as my manual advises) will be good enough to help with traction along with snow tires.

My big concern with getting studded snow tires was the effect on range. We have an old pickup truck with studded snow tires and the drag is noticeable.

I want to make clear that the driveway is only really bad about 5 - 10 times a winter. Our other cars have had no problem getting in and out with just snow tires the great majority of the time.

Yes, if you are driving downhill you’d want the chains on the front. You could also back down the hill instead.

Up to you on the tires, I have a hill on my driveway but I just try to get the tractor out to clear snow first thing. Being prompt with the snow removal helps a lot.

 

[gordonf238]

probably all about tire clearance to the fender liners, cables/chains might rub in full turn and suspension travel, etc.

The rear wheel wells have some gnarly bolts poking through. They're not an issue with suspension being fully bottomed-out, but if you add chains, I would hate to see them make contact with your wheel.

 

[Zap77]

Original Tire size: 225/55R19
I ordered the new Nokian Hakkapeliitta R5 EV 225/55R19 103R XL
These snow tires are specifically made for EVs and I'm hopeful that they will work well. They are new on the market this year and there aren't a lot of reviews.

Interesting tire especially if performs as represented. Somewhat spendy.
Please share your thoughts once you have a chance to try them on your Mach-e.
Thanks you

Sponsored