Keep getting flat tires

[Seamonster124]

Not sure if changing tires would help or am I doing something wrong? My BX came with turf tires. 2 flats in 3 hours. I'm basically cleaning up piles of yardwaste. Little branches are poking through the tires.....When I repair the holes its pretty obvious the turf tire is super thin.

- I know bar offers more traction but is it more puncture resistance?
- Do you have a favorite online source for tires?
- Possible to replace the tires without any specialty tools? I'd like to keep the rims

 

[Rock Crawler]

Not sure if changing tires would help or am I doing something wrong? My BX came with turf tires. 2 flats in 3 hours. I'm basically cleaning up piles of yardwaste. Little branches are poking through the tires.....When I repair the holes its pretty obvious the turf tire is super thin.

Correct, turf tires are not known for being resilient or puncture resistant. The R4 industrial tires are the most resilient and durable tire that you will put on the machine.

 

[oosik]

Seamonster - if you will continue cleaning up yard waste - it may be time to look for some R-4's or even those steel chord protected/reinforced tires used in the logging industry. Two flats in three hours - that is simply too much and does not give a bright outlook toward the future of similar occurrences.

 

[Seamonster124]

Correct, turf tires are not known for being resilient or puncture resistant. The R4 industrial tires are the most resilient and durable tire that you will put on the machine.

Thank you. R4 is tougher than r1? Also, r4 if different than bar?

 

[LouNY]

Is it the plies on the tires more then the style.
Are many of the turf tires just 2 ply.
Where as most R1's are 4-6 ply,
and many R4's are 6 ply tires.
I don't run them but can you find turfs in a 6 ply?

 

[Rock Crawler]

Thank you. R4 is tougher than r1? Also, r4 if different than bar?

Absolutely. The R4 is the toughest tire of the common options by a pretty big margin. They are built for skid steer work on demolition and construction sites. If you knew what I do with mine and it's R4 tires, you'd be shocked that I've not had to replace them yet.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Is it the plies on the tires more then the style.
Are many of the turf tires just 2 ply.
Where as most R1's are 4-6 ply,
and many R4's are 6 ply tires.
I don't run them but can you find turfs in a 6 ply?

It's more than simply the plies. A piece of rebar wouldn't care about plies. It's about steel within the plies, some tires layer in Kevlar as well as steel. A turf is a very thin and soft tire with only the minimally required reinforcement built in.

The AG tire is not a whole lot better, but it is a more robust build. An R4 is specifically built live in a world of danger. The R4 will also bare loads much better than the turf or the AG.

 

[oosik]

Yes - the R4 will be tougher, have much heavier bars on the tread and much stiffer side walls than the R-1. If you are changing from turf to R-4 or R-1 you should be advised - you will, most likely, need new wheels. Generally speaking each type tire will require its own matching type of wheel. And if your BX is 4WD - then the front/back tire sizes MUST be matched to the sizing required for safe 4WD operation.

 

[Seamonster124]

Yes - the R4 will be tougher, have much heavier bars on the tread and much stiffer side walls than the R-1. If you are changing from turf to R-4 or R-1 you should be advised - you will, most likely, need new wheels. Generally speaking each type tire will require its own matching type of wheel. And if your BX is 4WD - then the front/back tire sizes MUST be matched to the sizing required for safe 4WD operation.

So theres more to it than just matching these numbers?
Rear: 24x12.00-12
Front: 16x7.50-8

 

[RickB]

So theres more to it than just matching these numbers?
Rear: 24x12.00-12
Front: 16x7.50-8

Actually, no. That’s sufficient.

 

[oosik]

The IDEAL situation - your owners manual tells you the tire size for R-1, R-3 & R-4. However - I'm willing to bet that will not be the case. Me - I would go to a tire store that - 1) you know you can trust 2) sells and deals, specifically, with tractor tires 3) willingly acknowledges your wishes and takes the job on professionally.

Quite honestly - you DO NOT need R-4's that exactly match the sizes you have listed - those are your terf tire sizes - right? Of course, you shouldn't go to a tire that's 36" high. What you need is a bit difficult to describe -

You need tires that have the same ratio of size - front to rear - that those turf tires have. So if the front tire has a rolling diameter of 20" and the rear rolling diameter of 40" - you need to keep the same ratio on new tires. ( Front - 15" rear - 30" ) ( Front - 24" rear - 48" )

Common sense will dictate that overall you will want the new tires to be close to the same size as the turfs.

 

[Seamonster124]

Actually, no. That痴 sufficient.

Thank you, sufficient even if I do not replace the rims?

 

[Seamonster124]

The IDEAL situation - your owners manual tells you the tire size for R-1, R-3 & R-4. However - I'm willing to bet that will not be the case. Me - I would go to a tire store that - 1) you know you can trust 2) sells and deals, specifically, with tractor tires 3) willingly acknowledges your wishes and takes the job on professionally.

Quite honestly - you DO NOT need R-4's that exactly match the sizes you have listed - those are your terf tire sizes - right?

Common sense will dictate that overall you will want the new tires to be close to the same size as the turfs.

Hoping to just do it myself.
Manual says same size for turf and bar....assuming "bar" mean anything other than turf

 

[RickB]

I’m reasonably certain that R3 and R4 Tire’s for a BX are the same relative sizes, but the Op manual will confirm or refute that. There is not an R1 option and finding suitable R1 sizes will be problematic and perform unsatisfactorily in many situations a BX is typically used.

 

[dnw64]

Thank you, sufficient even if I do not replace the rims?

IF you can find tires of the same size (diameter and width) then the same size wheel should be fine. I do think on the subcompacts all three major tire types (R1, R3 & R4) are all the same size. Compact and larger tractors often have different tire sizes between types, most notably between R1 and R3/R4. R1s tend to be taller and narrower, dictating a narrower and larger diameter wheel.

 

[s219]

I don't know how much rims will cost, but in the grand scheme of things you might be better off with complete rim/tire sets for each. And just so you know, wrestling a stiff R4 tire onto a rim is no picnic. Dealing with small tires is already a PITA, and R4 tires make it even more of a challenge. This is not like working on a typical car/truck tire. I'd talk to your dealer and see what they charge for the full wheel/tire set (which is how they get them from Kubota).

Was there a reason you got turf tires to begin with? Will you want to switch back to turfs for certain tasks, like mowing a yard? I wouldn't hesitate to mow a field with R4 tires, but if you have manicured turf that you care about, the R4s will damage it with repeated mowing.

 

[dnw64]

Hoping to just do it myself.
Manual says same size for turf and bar....assuming "bar" mean anything other than turf

View attachment 583068

"Bar" is the R1/Ag equivalent on subcompacts, but different than R4/Industrial. You want R4s for your application.

Tractor data implies that for the BX2660 I looked at, all three types are available in the same size.

 

[EddieWalker]

What I've learned with front tires and two different tractors is that a new tire works great for a period of time, but eventually it breaks down and starts to get flats. I have R-1's on one tractor and 18 ply tires on my backhoe. I tried slime and that worked for awhile, but then it doesn't. Then I had to go to tubes, and that was OK, but I still go flats. Eventually I tried foaming the front tires and I haven't dealt with a flat in about ten years now. The R-1's need replacing. There are some big holes in them and the tread is starting to tear apart. I might get another year out of them, but might just buy new tires and have them foamed again next year. I'll never have a tractor without foamed front tires again. It's cheap to have the repair shop fix the flat, but it takes up too much time and ruins the rest of the day to get anything done.

 

[pmsmechanic]

Something that nobody mentions when they sing the praises of R4 tires is how much rougher they ride than turf tires. I solved my turf tire puncturing problems by buying 6 ply turf tires.

 

[dnw64]

From what I can tell, the BX1880 does not offer R4 tires as an option, I believe because R4s are not made in that smaller size.

You MAY be able to go up one size.

The BX2660 I mentioned above takes these sizes:
Front: 18x8.5-10
Rear: 26x12-12

They might fit on the same rim size - not sure.

Note that you will be losing some effective power pushing/pulling power by virtue of the larger diameter of the tire. AND you probably will void the factory warranty if you do so.

Bar tires may be ruggeder, not sure. If so I would say that is your best option unless you can find some more heavy duty Turfs.