Using winterforce car tires for turf tires on front of jd4300

[larboc]

I just bought a new to me 4300 and the tires on the front are pretty well bald. Right now it has what I assume to be the stock Carlisle 27 8.50 15 turf tires on it. I saw a guy up here with a Kioti that he had put winterforces on the front and I kind of liked the idea. He had a loader on the front, as do I.

My 4300 has virtually brand new rears on it. It will never see any kind of pavement. I got it with a cab, snow blower, front broom, 72" deck, and 430 loader and I plan on using them with the exception of the broom, not sure what I would ever use it for with a gravel driveway. Possibly might use it for clearing the remainder of snow of the ice rink.

Looking at the load ratings, a 215/70r15 winterforce is rated at 1653lbs vs the 6 ply version of the stock Carlisle tire at 1570lbs. The winterforce mounted OD is advertised as 26.9" vs the stock tire at 26.6". There is a 205/70r15 winterforce that is 26.3" and 1565lbs. I feel like the radial might float better and ride better too?

Anyone see any issues with this? I'm thinking they would make as good of a turf tire as any for 2wd lawn mowing, hold a loader better than stock tires, and have better traction in the winter. We get about 200" of snow per year average so winter operation is a main function.

O, and last but not least, I can buy 5 of them for the price of 2 Carlisle's.

 

[slantsix]

I don't know the answer to your tire question. However the rotary broom (assuming it has plastic bristles and not steel) is just what you need when you have a gravel driveway. Back when I was a kid working landscaping we would use our rotary broom to rake gravel out of the grass that was deposited there from snow plowing. It worked a treat and was much faster than hand raking.

 

[larboc]

Thanks, I ended up trying the broom out to throw gravel and sand back into the road in front of my house after a winter of plowing as well as thatch the lawn and rake leaves and it did work awesome. Something that I wouldn't go out of my way to buy since it only get's used once a year, but now that I've used it I'll never sell it. I'm never picking up a rake again!

I found these tires that I think I'm going to try and see how it works. They are mounted on car rims now so I'll measure the circumference before mounting them up and as long as they are the same circumference I'll try them.
2 Cooper Weather Master Snow Tires

 

[beenthere]

What ply tire are they?

 

[larboc]

What ply tire are they?

Radial, I'm sure it has a 4-ply rating but comparing bias to radial plys in this application is a little tricky. I did talk to someone else who put winter car tires on a compact tractor on the front and said he had no issues. If they don't work out I can put them back up for sale and buy carlisles, but they way these 4000 series tractors seem to go through front tires I'm hoping the winter car tires are a better solution.

 

[NC Deere]

Not a big fan of any Carlisle products....but as far as your application goes, I think you would be ok.

 

[TractorGuy]

I think it should work okay. I put some 33x12.5x15 mud grips on the rear of my 855 and they have worked out pretty good except for getting a huge thorn in the edge of the tread on one. I had to pull it off and patch inside and out to get it to stop leaking. A plug held for a while but failed eventually. Haven't had any more problems and I drive it over sticks and stumps all the time.

 

[larboc]

Not a big fan of any Carlisle products....but as far as your application goes, I think you would be ok.

I'm assuming you mean Cooper, and I don't like them either, but the price is right.

 

[kthompson]

Radial, I'm sure it has a 4-ply rating but comparing bias to radial plys in this application is a little tricky. I did talk to someone else who put winter car tires on a compact tractor on the front and said he had no issues. If they don't work out I can put them back up for sale and buy carlisles, but they way these 4000 series tractors seem to go through front tires I'm hoping the winter car tires are a better solution.

Why would your tractor be so rough on tires? Are they being overloaded, being used on hard surface and way out of alignment?

 

[larboc]

Why would your tractor be so rough on tires? Are they being overloaded, being used on hard surface and way out of alignment?

I haven't had mine long enough to wear anything yet, but from what I've read they are known for wearing out front tires, I think it is due to the ackerman angle of the early 4300's front axles. My fronts are beyond bald and the rears look brand new.

I went and measured the coopers last night and they came out to 83.75"/pi=26.67"OD
My bald carlisles came out to 82.5/pi=26.27" OD

I think they will work perfectly with respect to diameter, just have to see if I can get him to come down in price a little.