My experience to date has been that real chains perform much better than cables.  But they can be a bit of a pain to put on, they make for a much rougher ride and make a ton of noise.  I recently purchased a Honda Pilot and was told that real snow chains would damage my vehicle and void any warranty.  Not sure how true this is so I went on the hunt for cables.  The Pilot’s owners manual recommended a tire chain from the security chain company.  Model: SCC Super Z-6 SC-435.  Only problem was nobody carried these chains.  I called all over the place for these tire chains and nobody carried them.  Pep Boys was the only place that carried this brand, but not this model.  They had so special order them.  So I then did what I should have done in the first place, when to Amazon.com and found tire chains for $20 less than Pep Boys.  Initially I opted to keep searching as I wanted to just go to a store and pick some up, but then found this video:




You may have noticed that this video was under 2 min.  That is literally how much time it takes to install these tire chains.  No more backing up multiple times until you are in just the right spot, adjusting after you drive for a bit or struggling because your tire is sitting on the chain wrong.  Just wrap the cables around your tire, make 3 connections and add the tensioner and off you go.  I used my chains twice this year and in both cases I pulled up after other people had started installing their chains and left before they finished.  I remember the day that people used to do that to me… it was so frustrating.  With the SCC Super Z-6 SC-435 tire chains that will never happen to me again.

That said, please be sure to check your owners manual and the tire chain companies sizing guide to ensure you purchase the right tire chains for your car.  Also be sure to read the installation instructions thoroughly as the installation of tire chains may vary.   IF the SC-435 chains are the ones you need, save yourself some time and just go straight to Amazon.com.  Click here to view the tire chains I purchased for my 2011 Pilot.