This all comes back to the tire clearance we mentioned above. Because the entirety of the chain sits on the outside of the wheel, you need to have sufficient clearance between the vehicle body and the tire. The best way to check this is put your hands on the wheel at top of the tire. Run your hand over and behind the tire, then reach back and perform a sweeping motion. If your hand goes all the way around without hitting something then you have plenty of clearance. Regular passenger vehicles like saloon cars usually have lots of clearance between wheel and car body. SUV, truck and Minivan style vehicles can often have a little less clearance, however, so pay particular attention if you have one of those styles of the vehicle. Sports cars or vehicles on lowered suspension will have the least clearance, and you’ll likely only be able to fit a snow sock type of device – but then you probably shouldn’t be driving a Ferrari up the Rockies.