Land Rover Discovery

The parts guy at my dealer (Greg Weiler, one of the drivers on the Land Rover Denver East team in the Trek '96 competition) ordered these chains from a LaClede dealer in Washington State. The bag they came in is marked "Rex Weissenfels TR." The ID tag on them says TR109 and Stock Num: 2518 (I think that is the LaClede number). They fit 215/85-16 as well as 235/70R16LT.

The bottom right picture is from "The Land Rover Experience" by Tom Sheepard and shows the Land Rover factory chains. The current Land Rover chains do not look quite like these anymore: they do not have the extra reinforcing links shown in this picture.

The Land Rover chains in the 'diamond cross' pattern are about $600. The LaClede chains are identical and are about $170 (still expensive, though). I wanted the 'diamond cross' chains on the theory that the chains running down the centerline of the tire would make for better steering and lateral stability in the snow.

I ran these in Steamboat Springs the week of January 5, 1997, during which time they got 75 inches of snow. Our host has a steep 600 foot driveway with a right angle bend in the middle. His snowthrower broke down just before we got there, so we had to drive through about 24 inches of snow. With these chains and the stock Michelin XPC tires, the challenge was trivial.

The side member on the inside of the tire is a steel cable housed in plastic tubing. This fits very close to the side of the tire so as not to snag on anything. The warning about using only Lanr Rover approved chains is because conventional chains can snag on the brake lines when the wheels are turned all the way against the steering lock and the axle is articulated. These chains are easy to fit, run quietly, and are heavily galvanized against rust.