Snow chains: front or rear?

[Willy]

Hello,
Since I am new to AWD this question:
Volvo says snow chains should be placed on the front wheels.
If the trunk is fully loaded, perhaps even towing a heavy load, would it not be logical to put the chains on the rear wheels then, since most of the weight and therefore best traction is right there? The front wheels may have very little grip in this scenario, making the car to shift power to the rear wheels - where there wouldn't be chains then  http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/unhappy.gif  http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
Four Wheel Chains (AWD with FWC)?  http://xc70.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
Greetings,
Willy

[littlewaywelt]

Willy,
truth is unless the snow is bumper deep you won't need them.  In the event that you do, follow Volvo's recomendations re placement.  Don't second guess them, as there's a lot of snow in Sweden.  Look into Z chains rather than heavy steel chains.  Your dealer can order them for you, or give you the model number and you can get them on line.

[anthony8464]

chains also help STOP, especially on ice.  so don't worry so much about where the weight is loaded on the car.

front wheels make sense as you'd want the better traction on the STEERING wheels which guide car direction

[wiz]

Willy I wouldn't even bother with chains unless you have some kind of legal requirement for them in Belgium, or unless you are going to drive off-road in very bad weather. We had a horrendous winter here in the Boston area of the U.S., with many feet of snow ( one day we had a snowfall of 27.5 inches! ).

The XC didn't miss a beat, went through everything, always stopped safely. I cannot speak too highly of it's performance in the snow. There were similar reports from other members who live in the New England area. I would never buy chains because I don't think they're necessary for urban driving. (I have an MY2002 with Pirelli Scorpion S/T tires.)

[Willy]

Hello Wiz,
Thanks for the reassuring facts.
I will put winter tires on the XC, but even then the possibility to slide backwards of a hill with a trailer behind the car doesn't sound very attractive. Perhaps I will see what happens the first winter period, AWD + snow tires will probably do the job.
Greetings,
Willy

[Filibuster]

If Volvo says to put them on the front wheels do it.  I could imagine that putting them on the back wheels would increase the diameter of the wheels and slow them down w.r.t the front wheels.  The AWD system might then think that the front wheels are spinning and engage the haldex clutch which would be a bad thing.

[peter24a]

I know this topic has been pretty well covered but....it seems to me that even if the car is heavilly loaded, the front wheels would likely still carry more weight since this is where the engine sits.  Therefore, the chains on the front makes most sence in addition to the fact that the front wheels do the steering.  

Peter