Groovy tires

[Stan B]

Nothing especially new here, but wanted to share. I grooved my rear tires and siped the fronts. My goal is a bit better forward traction, but mostly better steering when plowing snow. Once I drop the HLA 1800 snow pusher in float, there's a lot less weight on the fronts, so turning on slippery surfaces is not always that effective!

 

[ovrszd]

Nice!!! That should help. Especially the front. Good pics!!!

 

[deezler]

Nice work. What made you decide to sipe through the fronts, as opposed to grooving them the same way you did the rears? More desire for turning traction than forward pull? Kinda cringe-worthy to see those nice R4s chopped up so severely, haha.

 

[ovrszd]

I'm pretty sure I've never saw a SCUT with worn out R4s.

 

[buck12]

I'm pretty sure I've never saw a SCUT with worn out R4s.

A friend bought a used JD 4720 I think and front R4s were pretty well slick. Rears were in decent shape.

 

[ruffdog]

My goal is a bit better forward traction, but mostly better steering when plowing snow. Once I drop the HLA 1800 snow pusher in float, there's a lot less weight on the fronts, so turning on slippery surfaces is not always that effective!

Yep, a non-floating plow will do that to ya.

 

[Egon]

Studs or chains for results.

 

[ovrszd]

A friend bought a used JD 4720 I think and front R4s were pretty well slick. Rears were in decent shape.

Is that a SCUT?

 

[buck12]

Is that a SCUT?

I guess it’s a CUT. I never grasped the dividing line between SCUT and CUT.

 

[Stan B]

Nice work. What made you decide to sipe through the fronts, as opposed to grooving them the same way you did the rears? More desire for turning traction than forward pull? Kinda cringe-worthy to see those nice R4s chopped up so severely, haha.

I siped the fronts thinking that will help more with turning.

Studs or chains for results.

Most of what I have to plow is asphalt and concrete, so studs/chains wouldn't be ideal for me.

 

[John Skull]

good job.. tell us your tool and method plz

 

[Stan B]

good job.. tell us your tool and method plz

The tool is just an Ideal Tire Groover. It came with a #4 head and blades (#4 translates to 1/4"). I set the depth at 1/4" as well and just cut where you see in the pics. There are lots of YouTube videos and writeups on the web, and my technique wasn't really anything special.

 

[RjCorazza]

Aren't sipes a slit in the tire without removing material?
Inquiring minds need to know.

 

[ovrszd]

Hmmmmmm...... Hafta think about that a bit......

So, if the sipe is created during the stamping of the tire, yes, the sipes were never full of material.

If the sipe is cut later, yes, material is removed.

Is the end result any different? Probably not.

An R4 tire stamped with sipes will function exactly like an R4 tire that has the same sipes cut into it.

But, that's just my opinion, for whatever that's worth....

 

[ruffdog]

A sipe is just a slit or cut but if you remove rubber and make a void, it is tread.

Tire Sipes - A Thousand Cuts - The Tires-Easy Blog

 

[Stan B]

A sipe is just a slit or cut but if you remove rubber and make a void, it is tread.

Huh, neat.

 

[ruffdog]

My wife's winter car tires are covered with sipes and they get filled with bits of sand. I'm thinking the grit filled tire surface helps on ice too.

 

[ovrszd]

This will get deep. But I'll try to condense it.

A snow tire (siped tire) works because the sipe fills with snow. Then the traction is gained by snow gripping snow. Rather than rubber gripping snow.

 

[BrkMstr]

Nice job - I'm going to do the same to mine, from what I have read it makes a difference on the R4's - I'm fortunate as I do not have any steep grades to worry about so a little will be just what is needed... I have to look at the groovers so happy to here the Ideal worked for you....

 

[ovrszd]

I have a groover, looks like an old soldering iron. Add a blade, plug it in, wait for it to heat up, cut. If you go too fast the blade will cool off and become very difficult. Works fine.

Friend of mine has a groover that is commercial grade. Cuts however fast you want to go. Only heats when the blade is depressed and activates the electrical short designed to create heat. Let off and it stops heating. That thing will wear you out.