Comments on: Spike-Spider Winter Traction Package Review

By: UGwagen

UGwagen — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:04:34 +0000

I had the same issue with mounting… I was one short in terms of mounting configuration (though still mountable and difficult to remove). Still mounting & removing can be a pain to do. I might try the even more expensive RUD Centrax next year and sell my Spikes Spider, since prep work is a single lug nut adapter is supposedly extremely brainless to mount & dismount.

By: AJ

AJ — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:58:22 +0000

Larry P2 :
January 24th, 2008 at 8:01 pm

This was a very very good review.

I wonder on a national level just how much imported oil we could conserve if 95 percent of the people who buy useless gas-sucking SUVs would buy these things instead, and put them on standard sedans and minivans. My guess is that winter safety, fossil fuel use and the environment would all see drastic improvements.

I have an abiding, unshakeable belief that the SUV fad is grounded in a obvious naked fraud: That these vehicles are somehow superior in winter driving. They clearly aren’t.

It is good that TTAC reviews products likes these, but I would wish that they would go even further in puncturing the lies underneath the SUV craze.

Hey! Thanks for the love… as I love my SUVs! Personally I love to drive them off-road over where I tear up the environment where Spring flowers grow and little animals live. :D

ANYWAY… that is a funny story. My first car was an RX-7 that I use to drive over the Rockies on ski trips. I always kept a set of cables. The tough part to install them was just getting down low enough in the snow to put them on. It was like driving a four-wheel drive sports car as long as the RX-7 didn’t have to plow the snow.

However, I much prefer my gas-sucking SUVs. Just last night I put my wife’s Jeep in four-wheel drive by pulling a lever on ice covered roads to go fill it up with more cheap gas! It was so much easier then putting on chains!

By: Rix

Rix — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 03:54:42 +0000

I bought these for my 95 saturn sl2 so I could go from San Francisco to Tahoe. They work and are easy to take on and off. They are far uglier than the photo when you see them in person, though.

By: Landcrusher

Landcrusher — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:24:59 +0000

Terry,

A good plan if you only intend to use them a couple times each winter. Otherwise…

By: Terry

Terry — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 13:31:23 +0000

I’ll wait for the Chinese to make knockoffs of these, to be purchased at Harbor Freight for $39.95.

By: mjposner

mjposner — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 02:53:37 +0000

Chaser: The beauty of these is that you can leave the plate mounted and throw them on and off quickly. I could literally get them on in less than 60 seconds and off in thirty and that includes getting out of the car, and then driving forward, getting out again and putting them in the bag.

By: Chaser

Chaser — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 17:20:29 +0000

I live in the mountains of NC, and our winters are a joke. Thanks to alternating freezing and warm days, though, we do develop ice easily. Actually an icy mountain road claimed my 02 Sentra Spec-V a few years ago. Guess I shouldn’t have been running performance summer tires, but it’s hard to justify the price and hassle of snow tires for the 8-10 days a year it actually snows.

By: Austin Greene

Austin Greene — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:46:55 +0000

I just love your reviews Michael. I’ve read everyone of them and check for new ones every day! Shpikes Shpiders – das auspuff ich nicht tonen!

By: Larry P2

Larry P2 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 00:01:49 +0000

This was a very very good review.

I wonder on a national level just how much imported oil we could conserve if 95 percent of the people who buy useless gas-sucking SUVs would buy these things instead, and put them on standard sedans and minivans. My guess is that winter safety, fossil fuel use and the environment would all see drastic improvements.

I have an abiding, unshakeable belief that the SUV fad is grounded in a obvious naked fraud: That these vehicles are somehow superior in winter driving. They clearly aren’t.

It is good that TTAC reviews products likes these, but I would wish that they would go even further in puncturing the lies underneath the SUV craze.

By: PJungnitsch

PJungnitsch — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:30:14 +0000

Looks nice, but seems like a lot of money for something I’d use maybe once a winter (cheap compared to getting a 4WD though!). I was thinking of ordering a pair of these for my 2WD truck:

http://www.tirechain.com/emergency_strap_on_cars.htm

Wonder if they would do the occasional job of getting the truck out of an unplowed driveway or similar.

By: Slow_Joe_Crow

Slow_Joe_Crow — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:31:03 +0000

These are very common on Saturns in Oregon, where chains are required in some areas, because the SL2s don’t have clearance for anything else.
On my SL2 I got studded tires, which were actually cheaper, last winter, but I won’t bother this year, unless we plan a ski trip.

By: tdoyle

tdoyle — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:18:56 +0000

These would definately make my 2WD F150 safer to drive in the mess. A bit pricey, but they do indeed look well made.