Now That R14 Tires Have Been Out For A While

[Username Taken]

How do you feel about them vs. the R4?

Enquiring minds

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

If I were to need to replace my turfs, I would consider them.. If they were available in the correct size..

The biggest complaint I seem to find is the R 14 is not available in all sizes.. And the fact it is not available as a radial pattern tire in only a smaller number of sizes...

My question was ...what seems so special about the R 14 as a radial ??....
The overwhelming answer seems to be quality of ride of a radial is better....

This is on a tractor, over a yard, pasture, or wood land and a radial tire giving a better ride is a concern ?? ??
I don't get it.... But that seems important to some....

 

[Username Taken]

If I were to need to replace my turfs, I would consider them.. If they were available in the correct size..

The biggest complaint I seem to find is the R 14 is not available in all sizes.. And the fact it is not available as a radial pattern tire in only a smaller number of sizes...

My question was ...what seems so special about the R 14 as a radial ??....
The overwhelming answer seems to be quality of ride of a radial is better....

This is on a tractor, over a yard, pasture, or wood land and a radial tire giving a better ride is a concern ?? ??
I don't get it.... But that seems important to some....

Thanks for the reply. I am also hoping for someone who currently has R14's that used to have R4's and can give us a comparison. R1's are a little too aggressive for most of us and I am not a fan of R3's

I saw Messick's YouTube Vid and I wasn't convinced. All he was doing was breaking through the top part, the sod, the roots.

Here is a page that lists the available sizes. There is also a way to see only radials and only bias tires. Good luck!

Products

www.titan-intl.com

 

[FlyingDonkey]

I have R14T radials on my Kubota M4. They are very gentle on my turf, better than R4s on Deere 3 series were I think. Very smooth ride (mine are radials). Also they are a fairly wide tire compared to some of the R1s. I’m using the tractor for mowing pastures and a grass runway, along with loader work. Actually I bought the Kubota over a Deere because Deere couldn’t get me these tires.

 

[oosik]

I definitely need the traction that R-1's can provide. I just don't think that R-14 can come up to that requirement. I don't drive my tractor on my lawns. I don't care what type tire I would have on my tractor. At 10K pounds - any style tire will leave ruts and tear it up.

Hey - my Kubota M6040 is a tractor - not a Cadillac. I operate in the dirt & mud & snow. Under these conditions I do not expect a very smooth ride.

 

[warrendeere]

I hate to start an argument, but i CANNOT stand R4 tires. Dealers and tire places love the tires, but if you actually try to do work with them, they are absolutely terrible. Its a tire trying to be good at everything but sucks at everything. I would love r-14, but they are expensive

 

[PuffyC]

Actually I bought the Kubota over a Deere because Deere couldn’t get me these tires.

My Deere dealer didn't even know what R14 tires were

 

[KubotaToy]

Just got a new tractor for the wife and let the dealer talk me into R14s, must admit they looked good on the tractor. Always had R4s which works 99% of the time for the work that she does with the tractors. Only time R4s did not work was in snow and deep mud which I do not experience very often, only one snow over an inch in 12 years.

Back to the R14, after 15 hours of mowing and moving dirt, I wish I had the R4s mounted. The R14s may have marginally more traction on grass but tear it up more and can dirt a hole quicker in the dirt, but the one thing I cannot seem to fix is the bouncy feeling on sloped or rough ground. I had rears loaded and aired up to the OM pressures (around 30 psi) but wow, they look rounded and very little tread touches the ground. I lowered the pressure down to 25 psi for a week which really did not improve anything and finally down to 20 psi this week. At the lower pressure they feel even more bouncy but they do look better and have a better contact patch. I may try 15 psi just round out the experiment.

The R4s always felt rock solid, really did not tear up the grass, and worked well enough in the chert dirt I have around my property. I will give the R14s the summer but will likely look for a set of rims and get R4 mounted as even the wife says the tractor feels unstable mowing our sloped property and has stated flatly that she will not be doing much mowing if it does not get fixed .

 

[IndyJay]

Reviving this older thread after after the subject came up on the "Owning/Operating" forum discussing "Tractors and Wood"...

After running my old tractor on R1 tires for the 27 years that I had it, I ordered my new tractor with the Goodyear-Titan R14 biased tires. The dealer offered the choice of tires without an upcharge. Additionally, I had LiquiTube sealant added to the front tires, RV Anti-Freeze added to the rears for ballast with LiquiTube Ballast sealant due to numerous Locust trees on my property.

LiquiTube Tire Sealant - Home

LiquiTube Tire Sealant - permanent, premium, heavy duty flat tire repair and prevention.

liquitube.com

Never having owned R4 tires, I cannot make a comparison with them. I do like the R14's better than R1's for my use, mostly mowing 40 acres on moderately hilly terrain including wooded trails. In this scenario, the ride is much better and I have less disturbance of my grass, especially in turns.
I use a grapple to clear downed trees and a box scraper to maintain my gravel driveways. I occasionally use a 3pt post hole auger as well. Having just got my tractor a few months ago I have not yet experienced how they do in snow.

Here are a couple of links that might be useful to the conversation:

Titan International - R14T™ Crossover Tire for Compact Tractors

www.titan-intl.com

Product

www.titan-intl.com

Bias vs. Radial Tractor Tires: Which Should I Choose? | PTK

The two-part construction of a radial tractor tire allows the sidewall to flex independently of the tread. The stiffer, diagonal construction of a bias tire...

www.ntstiresupply.com

 

[Williy]

I will stick with my R4's don't tear up the lawn and if you
think R4"s are rough riding on a tractor you need some
thing different to ride, tractors don't have springs or shocks!
Any tire that gives a softer ride on a tractor is going to be
spongy and will not be as stable as the R1's or R4's.

willy