Finally got a photo

[Mace]

Speaking of wheels.....how easy is it to put wider back tires on a 1500D?

 

[PAB_OH]

Mace,
Wider isn't a problem. The problem is finding wider tires that fit your wheels AND maintain the rolling circumference of the rice tires that are currently on it. Being that it is 4WD you have to maintain a 3-5% ratio between the two axles ratios and that of the tires. The way I understand it you want the front wheels to turn 3-5% faster (farther) than the rears in order to take advantage of the 4WD.

Otherwise, if you can't find replacement rears to meet that criteria, you will have to replace the fronts and rears to maintain you ratio.

HTH

 

[LMTC]

I couldn't find it on my 1510. I will investigate more tomorrow though. I'm curious. I know it was made from '79 to '81 though.

That is all you really can know. Find a date on you rims and you'll know when your rims were made. The odds of the same rims going on a unit that came off it in Japan is inversely proportional to the number of units in the load (or loads) that take that size tire. If there are five 1510s on the 2 containers we unload in a day or two before any assembly takes place, the odds of any given tire getting back on the 1510 it came off of is 1 in 5. It gets worse when there are other models in the load(s) that take the same size rim/tire.

And that is assuming the supplier ships the same wheels that came off the units, rather than just shipping x number of wheels to fit the units that make up the load. And assuming the yard that had it, and the farmer before that, never changed a wheel with another unit, or replaced a wheel.

 

[Mace]

So if I replace the front wheels and the back at the same time that sounds like the easiest way to go. It seems to me that wider tires would do better in mud and snow. Is that true?

 

[BruceR]

All the parts on my tractor were numbered to the tractor itself: Wheels, muffler, lift arms, seat, etc. I've seen cases where a narrower tire did better in mud and snow because they would cut through to the hard pack, rather than ride on top and slip.

Bruce

 

[HGM]

So if I replace the front wheels and the back at the same time that sounds like the easiest way to go. It seems to me that wider tires would do better in mud and snow. Is that true?

Maybe.... Keep in mind that with a wider contact patch, that the tractors weight is spread out more and the actual weight psi will go down possibly lessening traction in loose ground.. It really depends on your particular mud(no experience with snow) as to if it would be better to sink down to hard ground or float across it.. I tend to think that a wide tire(light tractor) would be a bad thing for a tractor application..

 

[roxynoodle]

I would have to think that tractors would be similar to trucks for tire width. If you want the tire to dig in, you want a narrow tire. The only people who use a wide tire for off road are ones who regularly drive on sand. A narrow tire should work better for both mud and snow.

 

[LMTC]

So if I replace the front wheels and the back at the same time that sounds like the easiest way to go. It seems to me that wider tires would do better in mud and snow. Is that true?

Old Allis-Chalmers D-14s and D-17s were awesome pulling tractors in stock configuration. Once buried an F250 to the rear axle housing in mud...a farmer with a stock D-14 pulled me out backwards. Tall, relatively narrow tires. Way tall. More tall than narrow. He told me going in that the tractor would walk right out with my truck...he knew what kind of traction it would get.

 

[Normmm]

Mace

Your tractor was raised in the mud. That is what the rice tires were designed for. With the 4wd you should get very good pulling from your tractor. More weight will help more than wide tires.

 

[Mace]

OK. You all convinced me that narrow tires are better. A friend at work told me that my tractor is too small to put liquid in the tires. He said that he thought I would loose torque because the engine is too small. Of course, he also said that he never had that small a tractor....

With snow and mud would I be better off putting liquid in the tires, or should I just leave well enough alone?