Konig Distribution 2004705245 THULE XG-12 PRO 245 Snow chains, set of 2

Not sure how many of you live in a region with hard core winters and drive into areas where you'd need tire chains. I live in New England and I'm a skier. I ended up driving to a mountain in one storm last year where chains would have helped. And we had two storms that saw the neighborhood digging ourselves out. The plows didn't show up for four days after one storm.So.......I just grabbed a set of Thule XG-12 PRO chains off Amazon before the season starts and they either aren't available or the price gets jacked up.I run Blizzak snow-n-ice tires on all our winter cars. But after some recent experience I want a set of chains in my winter emergency kit. The OEM tires on my Mercedes R500 are 255/55-18's. My winter wheel/tire setup is the Blizzak DM-V1 235/65-17's on dedicated winter aluminum wheels. So, I bought the Thule size "247" chains as recommended in their fit guide. The fit was perfect. No slack but not so tight that they were tough to mount. If you're running OEM 255/55-18 tires and wheels you'll want to order the "255" size. Even though my R500 has Mercedes 4Matic all wheel drive system and I'm using winter tires, the chains will give me a little extra capability to navigate the worst conditions.Anyway, I hadn't really considered chains for decades as my only previous experience was with chains my dad owned when I was a teenager. They were the old school style that you had to drive onto and then latch on both sides with a cam lock. Then you had to drive forward tug and adjust then attach a rubber tensioning bungee in a few places. They were a one size fits all affair. They worked but they were a pain in the butt and took about a half hour to put on by which time your hands would be numb and frozen.Fast forward to 2013. When I went looking for tire chains I had no idea where the industry had gone since I last used chains. I ran across several brands of supposedly easy to install, self-centering, and self-tightening designs. Most of them seemed to use pretty similar designs. I ended up picking the Thule's despite having the highest price because due to years of positive experience with Thule's other stuff.I tried putting them on one of my winter tires tonight. They come in a compact plastic case. Nice for keeping them handy and keeping your car interior from taking a beating. Take one out. Shake it out to make sure everything is hanging the right way. And then install. The whole process took maybe a minute. Pretty much as advertised. As mentioned previously the fit was good. The self tensioner worked well. All the parts appear to be high quality. However, a dry driveway in September is a far cry from the side of a road with 8 inches of snow in January. We'll see. The tricky part will be snaking the cable and chain behind the tires with snow in the way. Once that's done the rest is easy.At least on my 235/65 tires with their relatively high sidewall, the chains didn't come anywhere near my aluminum wheels. I probably won't need the little plastic scratch guards Thule supplies. With 255/55 or lower profile tires, you probably will need to install them.Popping the chains off is even easier. I'm thinking less than a minute per wheel going on and 30 seconds coming off.One other note. These chains are a bit more dainty than the ones my dad owned. Smaller links and nowhere near as heavy but not as bulky either. But at the same time modern chains all seem to be using a diamond pattern that puts a lot more chain in contact with the road than the old "ladder" style. And some reviewers say these aren't that bad to drive on. That may be due to the smaller link profile and the diamond pattern too.Anyway, these appear to be a decent if pricey solution. I paid about $250. But the price varies by seller and chain size.The nearest competitor for me was the Peerless Auto-Trac. About 1/3rd the price of the Thule. Same diamond pattern chain. And a very similar design with a cable that snakes behind the tire with a ratcheted tensioning system. What I didn't like was that there are 2 tensioning devices to deal with rather than Thule's single tensioner. And there's a lot more plastic in the peerless design. Also the tensioners on the Peerless have little plastic levers that you have to remember to flip up to release the ratcheting mechanism and then remember to flip back down so they will engage the ratchet to tighten up and stay tight. I thought there was potential for the plastic lever to break. Or to forget to flip the levers. Or for heavy wet snow to trip the lever while you are driving. The Thule just seemed a little more foolproof.

I just used these for the first time in an ice storm from just outside Umatilla OR to Portland OR on I-84 and they are exceptional. It was snowing, but the main problem was that I-84 was a solid sheet of ice and there were dozens of cars and trucks off the road and many were flipped on their roofs or side so it was a long white knuckle ride at 35 mph which is about the maximum speed they recommend. I put them on in the dark with a flashlight and it took about 3 minutes per tire new having used them before, though I did watch a video on YouTube. They went on very easily and auto tensioned just as advertised. I installed them on my 2003 Toyota SR5 2WD and I was pulling an empty 14" trailer which is no fun in an ice storm. On the hills it appeared that I had better traction than most of the 4x4 trucks without chains. The interstate was empty because most people were smart enough to pull off and park and many off ramps were closed due to stuck trucks that did not have enough traction to make it up the ramp and all of the rest areas were overflowing so I pushed on. The ride was not what i would call smooth except in deeper snow areas. The tensioner was pulled to the last notch on my 265/60/16 tires (Size 265 chains) so the chains could be slightly tighter, I might add a 10" rubber bungee across the tire next time to see if it would reduce the vibration next time. I found myself pulling in the poorer condition fast lane to let people pass because they were afraid to pass in the rough stuff and I did not want them tailgating me on an icy road. At the end of the icy road the chains came off easy. It was about 180 miles and the chains show very little ware even though I drove through many thin sections of ice where blacktop was showing through and the last mile or so into Troutdale was salted bare road. I would recommend letting them dry before storing them to prevent possible rust, though they might be stainless steel, I don't know. Really worth the money, and I would knock off half a star because the chains could be slightly tighter on my tires, though the traction was awesome. Don't think these chains will let you brake with any authority on ice. I am buying my girlfriend of set of Thule chains for her minivan and giving away the cheap chains I gave her.

I waited for two seasons to write a review about those chains, as I first wanted to test them in real practice.First of all, they are very easy to put on your wheels. I tried many the last years, but those are really the most easy ones that I've tried. You just move them behind the wheel, move them to the front, and connect them, then moving over the wheel, and connect the top, hook up the automatic 'tension' 'thing', and you are ready. No need to move the car!! Great and easy. What I always do, just for security, is to drive a few hundred feed, and check the chains, and do it again after a few mile. Just for safety. I've found those never being wrong!Driving with them is great, great traction. Really gives a comfortable and secure feeling.Taking them off is easy as well. My experience is to put a box in the trunk that is a little bit larger than the box it comes with. You don't want to stand in the cold to try to put them back in the original box.With those chains you can really beat anybody else why needs to put chains on! They are fast and secure. Of course, give it a try first at home, always a good idea! I'm surprised always to see people opening new chains, start to read the manual, and then go out, to get totally frozen in the snow! OK, with those you might have a change that it works when you don't try them first at home, but still, just do it! You get a good feeling of how easy to use those are.Some people complain about the price, yes, they are not cheap, but they are 100% worth it.

To date, just have done a dry fit, but these chains are super easy to install. Took me about 5 minutes for first time install per tire. Haven't tried them on snow yet, but so far so good.

These are pretty beastly. They are made by a different company now but the quality is good. Make sure you put a windproof torch style lighter in your kit as getting these off once they are frozen can be tricky.

Relatively easy to install once you get the trick

It's perfect fit for my X5.Easy to install and very straight forward!

Easy to install