[wisnerj]

Hi all. I live in hot Las Vegas and own a 2019 Clarity PHEV. Occasionally, we travel to cold climates, and I'm wondering if anyone has put snow chains on their Clarity. Any advice?

 

[2002]

Hi all. I live in hot Las Vegas and own a 2019 Clarity PHEV. Occasionally, we travel to cold climates, and I'm wondering if anyone has put snow chains on their Clarity. Any advice?

Another option, people who live in cold climates have reported that Michelin Cross Climates work great in snow with the Clarity, some have said good enough that they don't need snow tires, and also that they work good in warm weather also so they are just running with them year round. Of course I'm sure there is a limit to the conditions that the Cross Climates will handle, but for your situation depending on what type of conditions you are occasionally getting into it may be on option to swap out the OEM's for Cross Climates and sell or exchange your OEM tires assuming they have low miles on them. And maybe still carry chains or cables in case you get into a situation where you need them.

 

[TimR]

Hi all. I live in hot Las Vegas and own a 2019 Clarity PHEV. Occasionally, we travel to cold climates, and I'm wondering if anyone has put snow chains on their Clarity. Any advice?

You can certainly take 2002's advice and get better all-season tires, but that may not be enough especially if chains are frequently required (as they are here in California).

To meet this requirement on the original OEM tires, I decided to buy snow cables for my Clarity. They have a lower profile and seem to fit in limited clearance space on the car. I've seen good results with these so far.

 

[2002]

You can certainly take 2002's advice and get better all-season tires, but that may not be enough especially if chains are frequently required (as they are here in California).

To meet this requirement on the original OEM tires, I decided to buy snow cables for my Clarity. They have a lower profile and seem to fit in limited clearance space on the car. I've seen good results with these so far.

In fact the Clarity owners manual seems to recommend cable chains instead of link chains:

Because your vehicle has limited tire clearance, we strongly recommend using the
chains listed below:
Cable-type: SCC Radial Chain SC1040

Looking at the California DOT website it says that cable chains are legal in California so you are fine with them there, but it also says that in some conditions link chains may be required. But I would guess that would be pretty rare. And if the conditions are that bad it's probably better to not be driving anyway.

The thing is though when driving with chains or cables you are limited to about 25-30 mph. And once the chains are off you are back to the OEM tires with no snow capability at all. The Op referred to travelling to cold climates, but didn't give any more information than that. That made me think they might be in situations with snow but not necessarily requiring chains. That's why I was suggesting if this is something they do on a semi-regular basis to replace the OEMs with all season tires, but also carry chains/cables if they go places where those might possibly be required.

Snow tires are not a practical option for someone who lives in a warm climate but who occasionally travels to cold climates, that's why I was mentioning that I have read some positive comments from Clarity owners who live in cold climates who use the Michelin Cross Climates, they say they work great in snow but are also decent year round tires. Where I live we get snow maybe one or two days a year. When the OEM's wear out I have thought about getting some Cross Climates, at least that will be one of the tires that I will be considering, since for me snow isn't all that much of a priority. Until it is snowing then it's high priority!