Snow tire chains for front wheel drive?

Question

I own a Honda Civic 92 its front wheel drive I live by big bear lake where it snows there are signs that say you need snow chains during the snowing season do front wheel drive vehicles perform better without snow chains than rear wheel drive? I am going to be purchasing my snow chains at Wal-Mart it’s just a question I had witch was do front wheel drive cars drive better in snow than rear wheel drive cars?

Thank you

Answer 1

Front wheel drive vehicle will do better in the snow but yes as stated above it is the driver that makes it work.

If you do use snow chains remember that they can damage your vehicles tires if you drive for a long distance or drive at a fast pace so use caution.

Good luck and drive safe

Answer 2

1984 just before Christmas it snowed about 10 inches in lancaster and they would not let myself and many others on Hwy 14 because we did not have chains. Our cars all had Michigan, South Dakota , Maine, and North Dakota plates! We never owned chains when living there!!!!!!!!!!!

Better get some of the cable types and keep them in the trunk as the CHP is pretty unforgiving.

Ret. USAF SNCO, South Dakota Ice-Race Champion- Engine over drivetrain Non-Studded Class. I still don't even own a set!

Answer 3

You ask about chains in the question title, but you are asking about how front wheel drive cars without chains perform in poor conditions in the question body.  Chains are going to improve your ability to control your car in snowy conditions regardless of front or rear wheel drive, so I'll answer the second question about the whether front wheel drive is better in bad conditions before you put on the chains.  

Short answer: No.  

In a front wheel drive car, you are putting all of your ability to steer the car AND move the car into two 6x6 inch squares of contact area with the driving surface. All the rear wheels do is follow.  

In a rear-wheel drive car, you are distributing the locomotive control to the back and only using those front two patches of contact to control the car's direction.  

In dry conditions where there's plenty of traction, front wheel drive can be more nimble and give a driver a feeling of a more responsive car.  

In slippery conditions the front (steering) wheels need traction (friction) to be effective.  If you are also using those wheels to move your car forward, you are almost certainly reducing your available traction - and steering control - unless you are applying the gas with an expert precision that few if any drivers possess.   The result is you have a much higher chance of losing control of a front wheel drive car at higher speeds when the road conditions are less than ideal.  

The other factor in how much friction you have is how much weight is applied to the place where your wheels make contact with the road.   So how a car is loaded for a given trip can play a secondary part in the kind of responsiveness you have.  Many people put sand bags in the back of their trucks or in their trunks in the winter to give them more traction, but that only works for rear wheel drive.  

So buy the chains and use them. And be careful when the roads are slippery - rain too!

Answer 4

It has more to do with the driver than the vehicle. Front wheel drive has no effect if the tires are slipping. 4WD does better than either!