do you have chains?

i suggest picking up the following to add to your civic's tool kit.

Telescopic Winter Shovel | Canadian Tire

NASCAR Tow Truck in a Box, Wide-Track Size | Canadian Tire

and lastly

SCC Z-Chain





what car is that infront of your civic?

I think it's an RDX? I didn't get a good look at it, And i have a telescoping Aluminum shovel that saved my ass, But yes i will most certainly be picking up chains and that tow truck in a box soon!

or you could just pick up a 4x4 :troll:


honestly though with the chains and the tracks you should have no problem getting yourself out of any snow situation in the lower mainland :fullofwin:

LOL, Yes a 4x4 would be ideal. But i will be getting those tracks and chains in the next week. :accepted:

Is your snow shovel the $20 2 pack from Costco? Wonder if they are going to sell them again this year? I love mine, saved me in the snow and offroading in the mud
http://thehighestdestination.files.w...pg?w=640&h=480

Yes actually they are! Worked awesome for moving alot of snow, fast!

Damn that snow looks like so much fun! More fun snow photos please :)

How much would tire chains help if I already have dedicated snowies on? The shovel seems like a good idea though. Looking forward to hitting the slopes soon!
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thanks for going out to a relatively quiet area to test your snow tires. more vancouverites should do this because we tend to forget what snow is like and how our cars (or even a change of tires) react. good on ya and have fun!

tires chains can help quite alot when you hit the rough stuff.

they also bite into slush/ice alot better from my experience. snow tires would generally ride on top of the hard pack where as chains will BITE into the hard pack.


chains are generally considered to be a last resort and are also cheap insurance from getting completely stuck. some highways in bc require you to carry snow chains or chain up at check points such as the coquihalla.

here is a good article in the globe and mail explaining chains:
Chains: when winter tires aren't enough - The Globe and Mail


with the tow truck in a box and a set of chains you really should be able to go where all the big boys go with their 4x4's as long as you arent leaving pavement :fullofwin:


a good compact snow shovel is a must in my opinion. more so than any other device (chains, tow truck in a box) when driving around in winter. also a 50/50 sand/salt mix is good to have as well. there are instances where you just need a tad bit more traction than what you're getting and chains or the tow-truck in a box isnt necessary. for these situations sprinkle down a good layer of sand/salt infront of your drive tires for added traction.

Hey T4RAWR, what tow straps/chains do you use?

I've been thinking of picking one up, but I keep hearing stories that they'll just snap and murder someone. Should I even bother?

Portable winter shovels are cool and all, but every winter I'll carry a real solid shovel that won't break on ice.

i got stuck at cypress. thx to the 4 guys that pushed me out out the parking lot.


i saw those costco shovel pack today, was gonna pick them up. i'll need them next time at cypress for sure.

Laaaaaaaaawl so much funny.

If anyone gets stuck going up the ski hill I can pull you people up, can probably do 3-4 cars at a time...

What tow straps/chains to use?

Princess Auto generally has good prices on straps, choose a set appropriate for the maximum force that will plausibly be exerted on them.

You've been hearing stories that straps/chains will snap and murder someone?

When a weak link in a chain snaps under exertion it will become a projectile, and if it strikes a person has the potential to kill. Straps are a much safer option.

Should you bother?

If a vehicles tires are spinning a strap laid in the direction of travel can give the added traction required to gain forward momentum, they're useful to the average driver for that purpose. I personally would think it rather foolhardy for the average person to use straps for towing on public roads, so I would not consider them useful for any purpose beyond gaining traction.

Chain requirements are imposed on commercial trucks not personal vehicles, so that information is not relevant to this audience.

If a vehicle is not able to gain traction with winter tires, the driver should strongly consider waiting for conditions to improve before continuing travelling. Chains will improve traction moderately, but a driver's ability will remain a constant, and under conditions severe enough that winter tires cannot gain traction, they are probably inadequate to continue. There's no shame in finding a safe spot to pull over, but there is in overestimating your ability and crashing. The type of circumstance where chains are used to travel up a side street to a main road is an obvious exception to the above.

If you do carry chains, learn to put them on when you purchase them not on the side of the road.

Why did he do it?

Because op is a daredevil..


:troll:

Chains are great for pulling cars, you're not going to break a chain pulling a car.

Unless you people are in a ditch or stuck in a snowbank you don't have to worry about breaking a chain/strap as you're not really putting that much force when you're using it to get started or to get out of your stall. Hell, I've pulled my old Volvo out a ditch using a 1/2" piece of nylon rope for christ sake and it didn't break haha.

So much misinformation I just don't even...

You can pick up "recovery" straps at princess auto for a reasonable price. you will probably need to get a few shackles in varying sizes. the rule of thumb that i learned was to pick up a strap that is rated for 3 times the weight of your vehicle. that is the minimum. of course, getting a 30,000lbs strap is great if you can afford one. my strap is rated at 12,500lbs and i've pulled plenty of vehicles with it no problem. you can buy the baller ARB 30,000lbs snatch/recovery straps at cap-it but they're very expensive. like mindbomber said, i would go with a strap vs a chain as chains can become projectiles. find proper points on the vehicle to use. never tie a chain or strap to a tow ball as it'll become a huge 2 inch wide canon ball once it snaps loose.

if you're looking for something for getting out of stucks for yourself the tow-truck in a box might be a better choice over straps. with the tow truck in a box you can do a self recovery. with straps you generally need a second vehicle.

were you riding today? :suspicious:

i've been stopped on a road check on the coquihalla more than once and told by the officer to chain up.

the ministry of transportation and infrastructure states:

"Drivers are required to obey Winter Tire and Chain Up signs throughout the province. The designated routes require that vehicles are either equipped with winter tires or carry chains from October 1 to April 30. Click on the maps below to see the regional highways requiring winter tires and/or chains."

Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure


chains are fine for towing in my opinion. but when you do a hard pull (tighten up on slack and try to bounce the car/truck out) its not such a good idea. the straps tend to stretch a bit where as chains dont. chains are perfectly fine for towing though. of course this is just my opinion.

No doubt, chains rarely ever snap unless you are at the upper limits of the rated capacity; they'd be completely useless if that were not the case.

I addressed the question assuming people would realize that the strap vs. chain question is only relevant when pulling up a vehicle out of a steep incline or ditch... it's pretty obvious a chain isn't going to snap on a flat road, it's not bloody string.

IC now, your prior response wasn't clear.

It sounded as if you were saying, it is required for ALL personal vehicles to carry chains and use them at certain points, not only personal vehicles not running on winter tires.

This is probably a stupid question, But it's better safe than sorry: The Civic Si comes stock with a tow hook next to the exhaust, which is shaped in a sort of oval, with one side attaching to the frame, and the other with a circular hole, Is this going to be a strong enough tow point? Or is this one of those stupid ricey things honda put on because all the idiots who think they're "cool", And it's not actually functional?

t4rawr, were you up at cypress today? i thought i saw you on my way up.. took my 5month old american pitbull terrier up there to play in the snow. little guy loved it! lol. was running around like a bunny in the snow, so funny to watch.

i've also been wanting to do a random trip up the coq in my truck, but its got those shitty perelli scorpion tires and im kinda skeptical of how good they're going to be up there as ive never driven the highway in winter. guess im going to need chains...

It's put there to act as a tow point...

Read your manual, it will identify all the tow points on the vehicle.

it should be ok to pull your civic out on that point since its attached to the frame.

yes sir. i was up there boarding and then down at the bowl for a break before heading on home.

i run thule xb 16 chains on my 4runner. they've done a fantastic job the times i've had to use them in mud or snow.


http://www.autoanything.com/driving-...A4343A0A0.aspx

That's exactly what I'm saying haha. Or if you wanna never break anything, grab some of the rope used to tie up tugs/cruise ships/barges if you have the room haha.

The solution for not having chains is more right foot... ;)

I remember seeing those ropes listed somewhere and they were unbelievably expensive.