Has anyone put cables on their front without damaging their rims? I know the manual says not to, but I am wondering if that is cause of the VSA. I would rather have run cables than trust the VSA.

I know the Tire Rack has really neat looking cables but they are like $80. Still, I may get them as a back up..

Also, I do not want snow tires...

 

There was a TLS member that put cables on without problems. I believe his tires were stock and the USA TLS has the 17x6.5" wheels vs. our 17x7" wheels. I believe he got them to fit, but I don't know how long or how much he used them.


I thought about this, and wondered about "issues" re CLP (OK) and CLS (NO-CHAINS/NO-CABLES).

I have a nasty feeling that the VSA/traction control could get confused (perhaps it should be turned off). The wheel sensors indicate a slipping wheel by checking the pulses from the wheel sensors. If someone was on a slippery surface, I could image cases where a tire or snow tire would slip in a fairly even manner. The chains (depending on the length between links) could generated a grip...slip...grip...slip set of pulses that could possibly drive the VSA crazy (think about it for a few minutes and image the tire alternately getting and losing grip)...

So, perhaps there is a solution and it would require:

1. Know if the cables clear the wheel and all the suspension bits.

2. Turn the VSA OFF.


$0.02

 

Bought cables for my CL-P last night for a snowboarding trip this weekend. I got mine from NAPA. The Acura dealer didn't carry them. NAPA didn't carry chains or cables for 17" wheels at all. There might not be enough sidewall to snug them up?
Unless you get high-speed cables ($140+) you can't drive much over 30 mph anyhow.

 

I just got a CL Type S to replace my 97 CL 3.0 and was quite suprised to read in the owner's manual about Acura's stating "no cable chains" on S types. My wife has a TL-S and its just lucky we didn't take it to the mountains this year. The cable chains for my old CL would nominally fit the S-Types.

I've found an alternative to chains. Pricey, but they claim that they are OK for S Types -- and it looks like they are right. They are not chains, but are resin fingers that fit around the outboard of the tires from a disk attached to your lug nuts.

The company is Spkes-Spider, which is a Swedish company, but the marketers are out of New Mexico. The web address is www.spikes-spider.com. Cost for an S Type is $321 plus $17 shipping, but its a lot cheaper than eating up wheels and fender wells.... and if you were willing to shell out $30K for your S Type, its not that big of a cost.

 

Just wanna remind you that you drive a Type S, not an S-Type . . You have 2 Type Ss in your family yet you still call them S-Type. Are you a Jag's fan or something

 

The reason your not supposed to use cables/chains on the Type-S is not because your gonna screw up the rims. Its because the back of the tire is very close to the strut/shock. There is a very good chance you might rub, if not do something worse.

The service manager at my local dealership said he had a couple of cars come in w/ strut damage due to high performance cables, the Z-rated ones.

My opinion is that if you live in an area where you have to worry about chains, you bought the wrong car. Should have gotten an SUV, or at least something 4x4 (audi). Whenever I go snowboarding, I just take a different car.

 

I stand corrected - Type S (long day, broken brain)

The spike-spiders don't go all the way around the tire, only about 2/3 of the way across the tread and not at all behind the tire. They are held on at the lug nuts. I don't know if the lug nuts will get scratched -- probably a good idea to get a set to chew up and put the good ones back on when the snow's gone.

 

It's summer man worry about that stuff later.
It is a nice 85 here in San Jose.