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Get consistent traction and a smooth ride when driving in snow and on light ice. Lightweight chains are quick and easy to install. Built-in tensioner lets you easily tighten chain without tools.
Features:
Specs:
Note: To determine whether you can use snow chains on your vehicle, or if chains might affect your ABS/EPS functionality, consult your owner's manual.
The Konig CB-12 tire chains are great all-purpose, winter weather chains. If you live in an area where you're likely to get periodic snow and ice, these Konig chains are perfect because they're durable, easy to mount, and give you constant traction - and they're lightweight and compact, so they store in your vehicle nicely too. If you're more likely to see seriously icy conditions, you may want a chain with V-bar links that can really bite into the ice to give you maximum traction.
These chains are among the easiest and fastest to install because they have built-in tensioners that you can just pull taut to adjust the fit. These tensioners allow the chains to fit your tires, no matter the profile or wear pattern. And because the tensioners are built-in, you never have to worry about losing them like you might with other chains on the market.
SAE Class S tire chains are designed for use on passenger vehicles with restricted wheel-well clearance. Most newer cars, vans, and small trucks - especially those with large aftermarket tires - will require Class S chains. If you're unsure about the class of your vehicle, consult your vehicle's owner's manual.
These chains will fit your tires provided there is both:
If you know your tire size, you may think you won't need to test fit your new chains. But there are a lot of variables that can affect whether chains will fit your specific tires, including your tire type, the amount of air pressure in the tire, the amount of tread wear, and the tire manufacturer. You'll also need to know how much clearance is in your wheel well, which you can determine by measuring from your tire tread to the sidewall of the wheel well.
We recommend that you order chains as early in the season as possible to give yourself plenty of time to test fit the chains and reorder if needed. This way, you won't be stuck out in the cold later with snow chains that don't fit.
You can test fit these chains in your garage or driveway, but you'll want to wait until there's snow on the ground to actually drive with them. Likewise, if you're out in the snow and come across bare pavement, youll want to pull over and remove the chains. Even these low-profile chains can cause damage to the bare pavement, your garage floor, or your vehicle if they break from the wear of riding on a harsh surface.
Installing these chains is incredibly simple.
1. Lay out the chains on the ground to make sure there are no twists or kinks in the chains.
2. Slide the chain behind the tire and connect the ends of the blue cable, which will sit behind the tire.
3. Around front, connect the red hook to the red link.
4. At the bottom of the tire, feed the tensioning chain through the large clip and tug it until it's tight.
5. Feed the tensioning chain through as many red clips along the side chain as you can, leaving room to still be able to stretch the hook across the tire. Attach the hook to the side chain directly across from the last clip you ran the tensioner through. The hook should face away from your tire.
6. Drive forward around 325' (about the length of a football field) and stop. Check the chains and tighten them as needed.
Quick Tips:
To choose the right snow chain, you must match your tire size. Those measurements can be found on the side of your tire.
185/60-15
These chains fit the following tire sizes:
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Zach: Hey, everybody. Zach here at etrailer.com. Today, we're taking a look at the Konig CB12 snow tire chains.Now, this chain, there's a couple of different fits on it, so definitely use our fit guide. Get your right tire size in there and find the right specific chain for your vehicle. But the CB12s, in my opinion, are one of the best tire chains if you're looking for that good mix of easy-to-use and effective chains, and that's really important to me. So if I need to put on tire chains and I'm on the side of the road, I don't want to have the hassle of messing with my tire chains for 15 or 20 minutes.
I want to be able to put them on, get out of my situation safely, and just get on with my day. And what the CB12s do is they give us a really effective chain, but they're really easy to put on. So I can put these on in just a couple minutes. Now, it may take you a few more minutes than I will here today, because I'm in a garage and I'm not messing with snow, but these are much easier to put on.We get really good traction with these small, dual-sided dealings, but we also have a diamond pattern. So not only are these going to be effective with starts and stops, but since we're getting much greater tire coverage, we're also going to have better traction when we're turning.
Now, if you're looking at entry-level tire chains, ones that are specifically smaller style to fit vehicles with limited wheel well clearance, like we have on our Jetta today, these are going to be a better solution, compared to those styles. They're going to do the job. They're going to give you some traction, but they're much more difficult to put on, and those ladder styles compared to this, you just don't get as good a traction. It's just not going to be as effective.We're not getting the links here. They will be a little bit smoother, but we're not looking for a real smooth ride.
We're looking to get out of our situation of being stuck in snow and ice. And with these smaller links, it's going to be slightly rough, but it's not going to be really jolting you all over the road like you would with maybe some larger chains that you'd see on a bigger SUV or truck. So yes, these aren't as smooth as rollers, but they're more effective, and at the end of the day, that's what we want. We want good traction.When it comes to the construction, these are made of a nickel manganese alloy, so they're going to be really durable. They're going to do a good job of holding up against rust and corrosion.
And comparing to the cable and roller styles, I think they're going to hold up much longer. So if you live in those environments where you maybe need to use them a few times a year, this is definitely a better option. I just don't think that that other style is going to hold up to repeat use.When it comes to what separates these chains for others, I think Konig makes really nice chains. These are actually one of my favorite tire chains that I've ever handled, especially for my car. They're just really quick and easy to put on. So I'm going to take these off real quick. We talked about that a few minutes ago, about how when you're on the side of the road, you don't want to have to be messing with chains for very long. So getting these off is really easy, as well. Depending on where you're at on the pattern, you may have to drive forward just a little bit to get them off all the way. There we go.So to get them in place, these are really easy, but I would suggest kind of testing them out before winter hits. That way, you have a pretty decent idea of how they go on. You're not trying to figure it out while you're on the side of the road. So what you want to do is you want them laid out, and we want to make sure that where these are crimped around this cable, we want that hook facing up. So we want the smooth side on the tire, so that's something to keep in mind. And then it's always a good idea, definitely, if you've used them before, but to check for any damaged links. That's something that will eventually happen. Even though they're really nice and they're going to hold up, you're putting a lot of pressure on those links when you're driving down the road.So we're going to slide these around, and you'll notice I don't have to crawl underneath the vehicle. With those ladder-style and other entry-level chains, I have to make a connection on the bottom side of the back side of the tire. That means I have to crawl underneath the vehicle, and it's just not ideal, especially with a vehicle that's so low to the ground. I can't fit underneath there, and then when I've got all that snow and ice that's all caught up in the wheel well, it is not ideal to be fighting that stuff when you're down underneath there. Plus, if you're on your way to work or just in general, you don't want to be underneath your vehicle when it's snowy and icy out.So I made that hook or that connection up top. Then we'll come here and I'm going to connect these red pieces right there. That's the nice thing. It's color-coded, so you kind of have a general idea how it goes in place. And we'll run our chain through that little tensioner right there. I'm going to pull it as tight as I can get it. And depending on your tire size, you can kind of play around with where you hook this in place. You just kind of want to make sure that it's not loose. So we'll just pull it tight somewhere. But we have these little keepers here to keep the chain from hitting our wheel. And then I'll just hook it up here to provide that tension on it, and then we can install the chain on the other side.You know, it's a good idea to drive forward a little bit, kind of check the tension, make sure everything's on there still. But you can see we have a nice tight chain with hardly any effort. I didn't have to crawl underneath there. With those ladder styles, you have to have an additional tensioner, and that's just one more thing to keep track of throughout the summer. And then it comes winter time and you left it in the garage. Then you have a chain that doesn't fit. It's going to damage your vehicle.Now, when it comes to protecting our wheels, that's something that we care about, and all of these pieces that are close to my wheels are either rubber-coated or are plastic. So we do have this one little metal piece here, but I don't think that that's going to make contact. I think that plastic protector there is going to do a good job of holding it up, so that's not going to make contact.When it comes to which tires that you're supposed to put this on, I have a front-wheel-drive vehicle today, so we've put it on the front. If you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle, you can pick up four chains, if you would like. But I would just put them on the front, as well, if it's an all-wheel-drive. And then if it's a rear-wheel drive, just put them back there. And one thing that I like is that it comes with this hard case, which is really nice. It comes with a plastic mat and some gloves to put this on. For me, I don't think those are very useful. I would just get an additional set of gloves. It could just be some basic chore or winter gloves, whatever you want to just throw in the back. And then to keep your knees and stuff dry, you can get a carpet square, or a floor mat works. We also have a tire chain installation kit that just makes it a little bit cleaner to put on. Maybe pick up a high-vis vest, as well, just so you're a little bit more visible.But when it comes to this case, I think that cases kind of get overlooked, sometimes. Some of those entry-level chains, they come with just kind of a flimsy bag that eventually tears. I like that this case is going to hold both my chains in there. It's going to not really get torn up too easily. And one thing I would do is maybe let them dry off. Rinse them off if your state uses salt. If that stuff sits in there for a long time, even though they are finished, the rust will eventually start appearing there if you keep that trapped in there and you don't let them dry out.So I think that the case is nice. This is small enough that I would just leave it in my trunk year around, so I don't ever get stuck in that situation where that storm kind of comes in and we weren't prepared because we forgot to put our chains in at the beginning of the season. So I think that the case is actually a really big deal.So if you can't tell, I'm a big fan of these chains. I think that when it comes to looking for a chain that's easy to put on, works great for these cars, and also is effective, this is one of the best options out there.But that's going to do it for our look at the Konig CB12 snow tire chains.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (197 Customer Reviews)
Get consistent traction and a smooth ride when driving in snow and on light ice. Lightweight chains are quick and easy to install. Built-in tensioner lets you easily tighten chain without tools.
Purchased the Thule chains after returning chains bought from Wal-Mart one year ago. The Wal-Mart chains were difficult to install and one broke immediately.
When I spoke to Ricky one year ago to purchase the chains, he was helpful as we discussed the different chain options.
The Thule chains fit the car well and are easy to install. Recently used them over the Thanksgiving 2016 weekend in Yosemite National Park. We drove 1- 1.5 hours at 25 - 30 mph with the chains from Yosemite Valley to the outside of the park. The roads had been plowed one time and the drive out of Yosemite was up and down as well as winding roads. We did not slip one time. Chains were required and a life saver. Also used the chains in Sequoia National park. The chains did their job as we climbed the mountains into the park. Highly recommend the Thule chains.
I like the Chains very easy to install driving in the snow or ice very good grip I did using twice once I drove 16 miles the second time I drove 20 miles one link broke the whole chain looks worn out and the end I will say good chain poor quality
Michael L.
3/9/2015
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. Under operating conditions for which these were designed, proper installation, and respect for all the guidelines provided, these chains will last season after season of use. Links breaking and premature wear are indicative of driving on pavement, we do provide a repair link if that does happen, and always advise chains be removed once you get to payment or lightly covered roads where the tires are able to make positive contact. Thanks again!
I am a 63-year-old woman with a small frame and arthritis in both hands. I just did a practice run putting on the chains. 1) could not open case, needed to find a clippers to clip the little arrowhead catch at the top. 2) chains were EXTREMELY tangled together and took a long time to untangle -- why don't they package them in internal plastic bags? 3) first attempt to put chains on was a failure because they were still a bit knotted. I found that holding up the circle and letting the chains hang down like a basketball net, then carefully unhooking the circle and keeping all the chains pointing to the interior of the arc, on only one side of the blue "hoop", worked best. After that it was a snap. In spite of weak hands I could get enough tension on the chains (looked just like the picture in the video) and after driving the car forward slightly I adjusted it one notch tighter without problem. Had a couple of snags getting it off, and would appreciate instructions on the video.
Haven't yet test the chains in snow so can't give a full rating of the product. Both the Review video and the Installation video show instructions but the installation video is a bit easier to follow.
You just can't beat Thule for looks and performance. I can hardly wait to head to the mountains!
And etrailer is the place to get your stuff. Great prices. Upgraded shipping. Right stuff. Well packaged. Follow up email with suggestions and help. Terrific!
Ice... I laugh at ice...So... We got stuck at the in-laws this Christmas because the hill up to civilization was covered in ice and we drive a Corrola. Determined not to have this happen again I read some reviews and bought these chains. I put one side on as soon as we got them to make sure they were the right size and they fit my 185/65/15s perfectly. The chains are not round either, but angled. I think they will be what we need to make sure we can get out next time it ices... The video on etrailer was much more helpful than the graphic instructions provided for installation though. Thanks etrailer!
These chains are pretty good. Easy enough to get on (suggest watching the instruction video they have on here). Slightly more difficult to get off. Great chains as far as chains go. Highly recommended.
I've been using this design of snow chain for years now and found that this set gave me a better ride and safety in the worst snowstorm.
Got free shipping + delivery in 5 days. Watched the video and put these on in less than 5 minutes. Need more snow to try them on the road on Monarch Pass in Colorado
Great place to get my snow chains
Easy for this first-timer. Demo video resources provided by retailer are super helpful
Pricey but really quality.
Very helpful when got stuck on snowy surface. The best for my Prius in the winter.
Do NOT buy these chains if you own a Tesla, and I cannot recommend etrailer.com at this point either. I purchased these tire chains Item #TH01221102 for my Model 3 from etrailer.com on based on their recommendation and videos. When I received the chains I test fit them and they seemed to fit and looked fine on the tires. I did not have to actually use them for several months. After a single use, one of the center join links opened before finishing a 15 mile trip at 25 mph. I replaced it with a repair link. I made a 2nd short trip at 25 mph and another center joining link came open after less than 30 minutes of 25 mph driving. I replaced that link with another repair link and it's happened a 3rd time. I contacted etrailer.com because clearly something is not right. etrailer.com referred me to Pewag and Konig to file a warranty claim. All good, I filed a claim and Konig's response was they would honor the warranty claim ONE TIME ONLY (5 year warranty is now VOIDED) because these are not the right chains for my vehicle, and Konig sent me a brand new set of chains, which is nice, but does me no good since they NOT the right chains. I came back to etrailer.com to try to address this further, and at first they blamed me and said I bought the wrong size (I didn't) and provided a link to the correct ones. That link included a listing for the same chains and size I bought. I emailed back and pointed out to them that this was not my fault, and they acknowledged it. I asked them to please do the right thing and allow me to exchange the brand new "wrong" chains which they recommended and sold me, for the correct ones which Konig recommends. I stated I would be willing to pay for a cost difference. Unfortunately, they have not responded to me or any subsequent emails. Not a good experience.
I am attaching an image of where these chain links fail. Red highlights are the failing links. Green are repaired links. I'm pretty sure this is why Konig says don't use these chains on a Tesla.
I have to say I'm extremely satisfied with these tire chains!! They're so aggressive and work well with my corolla. My at is front wheel drive and the weight of the motors sits perfectly in line with the tire/chain combination. They bite and dig right in the snow and ice. My drive way is very long as you can see and quite dangerous in snowy conditions. I've had numerous times where I've had to slip the chains on and it was a breeze. They're so easy to put on and off. I feel extremely confident throughout the winter season with the Thule tire chains in the back of my trunk. Thank you so much! You guys have great products going!
The chains work well and are fairly easy to put on. The chain retaining part of the chain hooks cracked during the first use and were not designed to last long. The crack doesn't impact the chain's performance, but does make install a little harder.
These chains fit perfect on my Tesla Model 3. They were not required at the time in R2 conditions but the OEM tires' tread was pretty worn and our street has a decent slope. This year, 2023 will be our 2nd season with these chains so you know they hold up well. I would definitely recommend these over any other cheap cable or ladder style chains.
Etrailer is the best! Chains arrived on time for my trip. I test fitted them in the garage and the fit and ease of installation was exceptional. Hope I don’t have to use them, but if so I know I have a great product.
Snow tire chains look great.
But storage hard case was damaged with broken chips of plastic. Maybe better shipping packaging is required.
I used these chains for the first time to get me home after work when winter storm Jonas hit the east coast. The snow was so deep that I only had trouble when the snow started to pick my car off the ground. I made it all the way home with these chains but did notice a few links broke during the 30 minute drive home. I wasn't going any faster than 20-25 mph on the way home. I couldn't go any faster given how bad the roads were. These chains were easy to install and I did drive a few miles before stopping and retightening them as per the instructions. The chains can be used again even with the broken link but I will have to repair them in the spring or buy new ones next year.
Great chains. I use a set of four on a subaru outback. Living at elevation, snow and ice. Not uncommon wintertime scene.
Pretty easy on (have a pair of leather gloves and headlamp), five minutes ideally to get all four on in the dark.
Practice with them before the storm.
Very easy off.
Will vibrate your teeth out if travelling on plowed roads, but that's not what they're intended for anyway. Take them off and throw them in the trunk.
I live on a mountain top in Western North Carolina where one of our recent snow falls left 10 inches of snow the first night. I refer to my driveway as The Roller Coaster because it is so steep and curvy and at 6:30 the morning I first used the chains, it was so covered that I had to guess where it was. I have an '03 Subaru Forester and with my Thule chains, I was able to go where the snow plows hadn't gone with no traction problems whatsoever. It was a week before I was able to safely take them off the car, but they're in the back for the next time I need them.
etrailer is fantastic! I ordered the chains on Saturday, Dec 25, got confirmation of my order that same day and had the chains the following Wednesday. I recommend both etrailer and these chains without any reservations on either!
I don't like them at all. It's really hard as a female to put these on. The video we watched on YouTube makes it seem so easy, but that was not our experience, and taking them off was just as bad. I'm so frustrated because I really wanted these to work.
Made my KIA Soul goes places it should not have . Stayed tight and in place. Put about 200 miles on then in heavy , light and ice. Good steering control.
I bought this a year ago. I'm glad that haven't been in the situation I really need the chain to drive since then. I did an installing practice not too long ago on my driveway see how this chain can be installed on my tire, it didn't turned out as I expected. I watched the instruction video multiple times before, during and after my practice. The demo car has the tires fit into the chains perfectly, my Toyota Yaris somehow looks like has bigger tires? Or the chains are not big enough? I don't think it's complex to install this pair of chains at all, and I'm a little concern about the result when they are on the tires. Barely hooked and not sure about the stability. The chains were not hugged the tires thoroughly as the video shows. It looks like put a small size T-shirt on a medium size person. I don't believe I bought the wrong size or the manufacture give the wrong model. If you guys can make another video showing how it supposed to be fit on Toyota Yaris, that will be very helpful.
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Greg F.
12/9/2017
The chains continue to work great and are easy to use. No problems with them so far.