We had a thaw a couple days ago and can see scratches in my paving stones where I've spun my tires clearing snow on a steep incline. My chains also scratched the pavers in the same place. The studs leave one or two long vertical scratches. The chains leave wide rectangular scuff marks. Think road rash vs a cut.
I have another concrete paver patio I drive on and bring totes of firewood to my walkout basement. It's a tight area for the tractor and the chains leave circular scuff marks in the pavers from turning on the spot. I see no such damage from the studs.
Overall I see less damage from the studs on my outside pavers. This makes sense as I feel like I get less tire spin using studs on all four tires vs chains on the front only.
My intention is to leave the studs in permanently and add a second row if and when required. I'm new to using these studs so it's wait an see what the long term effects are. They are low profile studs and I barely know they are there other than I now have more traction. It's not like chains where I feel them constantly and I'm keen on removing them asap.
My tires aren't loaded. I do handle a lot of heavy loads. With my cab and BH on I'm probably weighing in around the 10,000 lb. My biggest worry about the studs is perforating the tires and developing leaks. I also don't want swiss cheese for tire tread which is why I'm not going to remove the studs.
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