We're now a 2 Acura family! I drive an '04 TSX stick shift. My wife just got an '07 MDX With the Tech Package.

Two Oregon winters ago, I bought a pair of the SCC Super Z6 cable chains for the TSX. It handled great without the chains until the snow got heavy. Then I put on the chains, which installed easily. The car handled well until one of the chains had a cross-member pop at one end. It took out that wheel's rotation sensor, which killed the entire car's ABS and VSC systems. I returned the chains to Joe's, where I had bought them, for a full refund. Maybe that's why they went out of business!

Same winter, we bought a set of chains from Les Schwab (their brand) for the Toyota SUV my wife drove. They worked great. Don't recall if they conformed to Class-"S" standards, but I thought the link pattern was stronger than the cables I had for the TSX and the diamond pattern provided more traction than a Z-pattern could. The fact that they didn't break didn't spoil my opinion of these chains either!

I saw that the Acura-recommended chains are made by a local company in the PDX area- Security Chain Company in Clackamas. Their Whitestar models are Class-"S" rated, and have the same diamond pattern link design that the Les Schwab chains.

Has anyone used the Whitestars on an Acura? They are Class-"S" rated, but require the most clearance of any of SCC's Class-"S" products. Amazon has them for ~$90 (for the TSX) and ~$110 (for the MDX)

We're not going to go the snow tire route, as we're looking for something to use only for the once-a-year-or-so Portland snow/ice episode that is inevitable during this upcoming La Nina winter!

Thanks to any and all advice-givers!

 

Congratulations on your new ride. I'm not sure what you mean by diamond pattern, but the SCC chains we bought for the RDX are cables with a triangle shape. The company may be in Oregon, but the chains are made in China. You can buy them almost anywhere including America’s Tire. They are S rated and, except for some rust, have held up well.

 

Thanks, MM.

These are what I used 2 years ago on the TSX and they broke: http://scc-chain.com/Traction%20Pages/Trac_SZ6.html I am guessing that this is what you use?

I was asking if anyone has any experience with these oneither model: http://scc-chain.com/Traction%20Pages/Trac_WS.html