UKC

Hello all.

I have just bought a Subaru Forester which has all wheel drive and a low ratio gearbox lever thingy.

The manual suggests snow chains on the front wheels only, but I understood with 4x4 vehicles it was standard practice to put them on all four wheels? Is there a difference in this regards between chains and socks (which I have)?

I'm not intending to take it off road properly, only to bump about the various tracks and small roads to get to climbing area parking spots.

Any advice much appreciated.

ml

In reply to Mountain Lass:
Snow chains/socks/studded tyres on Foresters (and many Subarus) are a problem. The electronic differential doesn´t like them on all 4 wheels and you don´t want to go far with them fitted. On most models of Forester you can´t fit chains or socks anyway as there isn´t enough clearance to the struts unless you run narrower tyres.
I´ve used my Forester for the last 8 years in Bavaria and the alps and chains are the last thing you need!
For snow you want to immobilise the ABS by switching it off, this comes standard in Canada and some American states but not in Euro models though for some model years it was automatically switched off when you switch to snow mode (for automatics) or engage 4wd for manuals. Simple enough to add a switch though.

Jim

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Get some snow tyres on the cheapest steel wheels you can get, then just swap them over in autumn and back in the spring. Few people use chains in the Alps, with most locals using snow tyres. I can't imagine that you'll have any problem with 4 snow tyres on a 4 wheel drive vehicle. With tyres you can still drive at a normal speed and you don't have to mess about with fitting chains. Definately worth investing in if you plan to be doing much driving each year in potentially snowy terrain.

In reply to Mountain Lass:

Winter tyres are also better all round in winter conditions of wet and cold.