Dakotawhite Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Hey so I've had my 2009 sxt awd DJ for over a year now. And im not sure if this has been covered or not.. I went to the mountains during winter and found out that snow chains arent compatible with my tires. My tire size is 19inch. Manual says chains arent sipposed to be used.. anyways, anyone know of a fix? I.e. different types of chains? Also, would anyone be able to tell me whats the largest the 2009 DJ can have for rims, and smallest? Sorry fornthe long post. Thanks again! dhh3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Well, since you can't use chains your choices are limited to AWD, which clearly can't be added to the vehicle or to install winter tires (or the new all year tires, which are supposed to be good for use in snow, but about which I have my doubts because they don't have the big, blocky treads that are used on snow-specific tires)If you go with snow tires I suggest installing them on 'winter wheels', otherwise known as steel rims. I put steel rims on my '11 because for one thing the salt and such are hard on the wheel finishes and the cost of the rims is returned by the combination of not having to dismount and balance the tires twice each year and the savings on the cost of the tires in the smaller sizes.The '09 will handle rims as small as 16 inch - and wheels of at least 20 inch diameter, though on the top end you're getting decorative and the tires get rare and expensive, so why bother with big wheels for winter? Even though it came with larger summer wheels I had 16" rims and snow tires on my '11 - I actually found a set of winter wheels/tires/hubcaps that had been used one season and that saved a bundle.They changed things when the big brakes were introduced in the middle of 2012 so the smallest wheels as of that model are 17's, which is what I have for my Crossroad. I did not bother to install tire pressure sensors on the winter wheels - on the newer Journeys the TPMS simply chimes once in the fall and then ignores the fact that they are missing until the summer tires are reinstalled. The tire size you use obviously will depend on the wheels you choose, but if you stick to the stock wheel sizes you can use the stock tire sizes for your winter tires and your speedometer will then be pretty much as accurate as it is with the summer tires. If you do plan to change the tire sizes around you should note that skinny tires do better in snow than fat ones, though to a large degree it is more about the driver than it is about the size of the tires. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakotawhite Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 As for chains. I seen this chains peoplr use and they were like small wires that wrapped around the tires. Do you know if that would be a low profile enough so it would be usable and not hot anything? Would you be able to tell me at what point will the tire rub if i go bigger? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bramfrank Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 The whole point of the exercise is that the diameter of every approved wheel/tire combination is about the same - the bigger the rim, the smaller the sidewall.Our country house used to be at the bottom of a hill (it still is there, but it's been sold) up in cottage country north of Montreal - we got a lot of snow, though not as much as, say Whistler. Other people would get stuck. I never did. I've never used chains. I've never needed them. If the snow gets too deep the wheels will be lifted off the ground altogether and you won't be going anywhere anyway; chains or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakotawhite Posted April 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 My thing is that one of the mountains here requires you to have snow chains or winter tires. I feel like i should have a cheap alternative since ive driven in the snow without a problem at a previous mountain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_T Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 If you need tire chains, you'd probably be better off contacting either retail outlets, or manufacturers themselves to see what will work best for the Journey. The question has been brought up before, and as far as I am aware, no one had any experience, or real need to use them. I just did a quick Google search for 'modern tire chains', and there's plenty of options out there that should work. jkeaton 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dakotawhite Posted April 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Alright thanks a lot for your input on everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve_T Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 No problem, let us know what you come up with! Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkeaton Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 http://www.dodgejourneyforum.com/topic/8565-tire-chains/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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