Kubota L40/L60 Front "clown" tires -- why?

[FatTire]

Was looking at our 5740 with its 10-16.5 front R4's, and wondering why Kubota didn't go with something like the 12-16.5's that come on the MX series. Besides the extra beef, the larger 12's look proportional, whereas the 10's look small. I remember a post where someone described the appearance of the Grand L40 series as a "clown tractor". (Less funny now that I own one, but it is sort of true.)

Is there some advantage to the smaller front tires that Kubota wanted to take advantage? Cheaper tires, and less expensive & lighter snow chains is the only thing I notice so far, but I'm wondering if there is a good reason.

 

[FatTire]

BTW- The 12-16.5 are about 3 inches taller.

 

[Coyote machine]

They want to join the circus?

 

[moship]

Fat Tire, When you say "less expensive and lighter tire chains". Do you mean they are lighter because they have less chain links or the chains use a lighter gage chain?

Reason I ask. I'm looking to buy front tire chains for 10-16.5 Industrial tires and notice they jump to 3/8" chain. I was actually looking for something using a small diameter chain for my needs. My research centered around tirechains.com. Right around this tire size seems to be when they jump to 3/8" cross chain and I preferred the size used on the 27x8.5-15 turf tires. They are lighter weight making it easier to handle during installation, provide a comfortable ride and provide enough traction for my needs. If you know of a company using smaller diameter chain, I'd appreciate if you pass it along.

 

[FatTire]

moship-- I run the net style on the fronts and I buy my chains from Tirechain.com. Their website doesn't list the chain diameter for the net style, but I bought a pair and the chain material is quite a bit smaller than what they sell for the 12-16.5. Also the circumference is about 9" less and the width is couple inches less, so there is quite a bit less total chain. The net style isn't perfect as far as ride because you are going on and off the part of the chain that runs down the center of the tire, but I believe they are better than ladder style whether 4 link or 2 link. If you are interested in the net style let me know and I'll get some measurements and photos of what Tirechain.com shipped to me.

All our driveways and roads are dirt and rock. I have no experience with these chains on pavement.

 

[1stDeuce]

I refer to tractor with too small front tires as T-rex style. The 3xxx series LS tractors are the best example, with tiny front tires in the R4 variety... Search for XR3135 and you'll get several side images showing the tiny front tires...

IMO, a CUT really should have bigger front tires. The LS 4xxx series tractors come with 12-16.5's, which look much more appropriate compared to the size of the rears.

Interestingly, my current tractor also has 10-16.5's on the front. If it had been optioned with R1 (ag) tires instead, it would have 9.5-16's, which are the same dia as 12-16.5's. The rear ag tires were only an inch or two taller than the current R4's IIRC. No, they didn't change gearing... I'm considering swapping to 12-16.5's when I replace the fronts, which are starting to chunk out due to age and exposure... I think it would be fine in soft terrain, and I don't use 4wd on hard surfaces... The only catch may be rim width... The 12's usually mount on a 9.5" rim, while the 10's mount on an 8.25" rim... I think I could make it work, and I'd be able to run less pressure without fear of losing a bead.

 

[1stDeuce]

And to the chain guys, having run 5/16" chains on my 10-16.5 R4's, I can tell you anything smaller would be pretty useless, as it would just fall into the voids between the lugs. Even my 5/16" tire chains barely stuck out, and only right in the middle of the tire. 3/8" chains would hopefully provide more contact between the chain and the surface. Turf type tires would be OK with smaller chain size though...

 

[FatTire]

T-Rex is a good one, I pictured it right away. Sometimes for the 12's they go with a 9.75" rim. I am not sure what Kubota used on the MX.

 

[Gator6x4]

Maybe Kubota read the manual and determined the proper tire size for the front. Of course after Kubota sells the tractor with the proper size tires to prevent drive train damage the owner always has the latitude to ignore the proper tire size and install what he/she wants and then complain because Kubota will not provide warranty on the drive train.

"The size ratio of the front wheels to the rear ones is precisely determined in order to produce a positive front wheel lead of between 1.5 and 4%. Otherwise the tires will become deformed or suffer undue wear."

 

[FatTire]

Maybe Kubota read the manual and determined the proper tire size for the front. Of course after Kubota sells the tractor with the proper size tires to prevent drive train damage the owner always has the latitude to ignore the proper tire size and install what he/she wants and then complain because Kubota will not provide warranty on the drive train.

"The size ratio of the front wheels to the rear ones is precisely determined in order to produce a positive front wheel lead of between 1.5 and 4%. Otherwise the tires will become deformed or suffer undue wear."

Yes I understand that the 10's are the specified size for the L40, but why? Kubota designed it -- so why not set it up to run the same ratio as the MX5100? They both have HST, axles appear similar, so why did they make that design choice? Is there some advantage to the smaller tire height? (By the way, the larger L40s and MX4900/5100/5200 use the same size rear tires.)