Tire choices and fluid

[bmark]

I am currently running turf tires on the rear and R4 tires on the front of my New Holland 1925D and my dealer has told me that I need to go with all of one type because the R4 fronts are a different size than the Turfs. Anyone else had any problems with mixing types? Also, my dealer stated that I needed to put fluid in my rears because otherwise, the loader puts too much strain on the front axle. That doesn't make sense to me, how can adding weight to the rear tires take strain off the fron axle? Now if he had said add balast on the drawbar, I can understand since that would cause a weight transfer to from the front to the back.

I am considering fluid to give me more stability via a lower center of gravity and for that reason, thought 50% fill would be better than 75% since I'm keeping the added weight below the axle. What is the conventional thinking?

Lastly, I have a steep asphalt drive and have had some traction issues when blading snow, but am afraid of tearing up the asphalt if I go to chains. Do chains tend to eat up the asphalt or not?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[slowrev]

If your tractor is 4WD then the size ratio of front to back tires MUST be maintained unless you want to do some expensive drivetrain repairs.

I think I agree with you on the loaded rear tires not reducing the weight on the front tires/axle. But loaded rears will make your loader safer to use and lift heavier stuff, maybe...

On the asphalt, yes tire chains can damage asphalt, The damage will be worse if it is crumbling or cracked. The canins can grab in the cracks and pull it out of there.

 

[timb]

Re the fill level - even the position that the 50%-75% fill ends up (if you think of that way) above the axle is still probably lower than the rest of your center of gravity - espeically the center of gravity of a load in the bucket.

But - more importantly if you use the traditional and corrosive Calc. Chloride tire fill - the advice has always been to keep the rims under water so to speak - to reduce exposure to air and consequent corrosion. If you want to go down to 50% you'll have to use a non-corrosive alternative - or better yet an anti-corrosive mix. RimGuard is supposed to have mild anti-corrosive qualities, some of the anti-freeze based solutions may as well.

 

[Harold_J]

Your dealer may not be talking about a weight bearing strain but a strain on the drivetrain components. When the rear wheels slip, more of the pulling/pushing will be done by the powered front axle, drive shaft etc. especially with a load in the bucket. You want to have each axle pulling its share. Also if the thread design on the rear slips more easily than the front that can cause the same problem. I would say there is nothing wrong with mixing tire types as long as you maintain the same ratio of circumfrences front to back as original and don't have a traction problem.

I would load the tires to the 75% or up to the valve stem, you will still end up with a lower CG than no weight at all and you definitely need all the rear weight for loader operation.

 

[JJT]

If you have a loader, you should have loaded rear tires for safety. Install tubes and you wont have to worry about rim corrosion.

As for chains and blacktop, yes they will cause damage. They do make rubber chains, try a web search.

 

[rambler]

On ag tractors if 4wd, the front axle _must_ pull 1-5% faster than the rear axle, or you will bind up the drive train & cost a lot of expensive repairs in the front hubs that is not covered by warrenty. If the front tires pull above that, then you are putting too much wear on them. If one tire goes flat, you need to replace all 4 at a time. This is extremely critical on large 4wd tractors. The same principle applies to the CUTs, tho I suppose if you are using it lightly & as light as they are to begine with, you can get away with a bit more abuse. But, mis-matched tires will abuse your drivetrain over time.

The real axle of a tractor is always bigger & stronger. The rear tires are much bigger & offer much more traction than the fronts - if they are contacting the ground. Without weight on your rear end, you are putting more strain on the drivetrain (hubs, couplers, etc.) of the front wheels, while the strong rear axle, spiders, differential, etc. are practically not being used. It is better for your drive train if the rear end does most of your pulling & pushing, & the front axle just helps out. While that is not really practical with a loader attached, the closer you get the better.

Rear weight is always a good idea on a loader tractor.

Chains will be hard on your asphalt. Fill the rear tires for safety & traction & balance, get your front & rear tires properly matched on size so the axles aren't fighting each other all the time, and you won't believe how much better your tractor pulls, and you won't need chains.

--->Paul

 

[JerryG]

<font color="blue"> If one tire goes flat, you need to replace all 4 at a time. </font>
I have a problem with that and most anyone, farmers or not would. The smaller FWA tires will wear out about 5 times faster than the large rear tires. If the front tires are newer that the rear, just adjust the air pressures to compensate for the difference. Anyone with FWA should adjust the pressures, to where there is less stress on the drive train as the front tires wear.

 

[rambler]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( <font color="blue"> If one tire goes flat, you need to replace all 4 at a time. </font>
I have a problem with that and most anyone, farmers or not would. The smaller FWA tires will wear out about 5 times faster than the large rear tires. If the front tires are newer that the rear, just adjust the air pressures to compensate for the difference. Anyone with FWA should adjust the pressures, to where there is less stress on the drive train as the front tires wear. )</font>

I understand your concern. On a big 250 hp ag tractor with front wheel assist, the front hubs cost something over $8,000 to repair. One wheel being bigger than the other three puts you in quite a bind. 'Clank' it goes, and you are in big expensive trouble. These tractors have dualed front wheels now, as well as duals in back. We can replace the front tires in pairs, the slight over-size is not a problem, and we can use the 'old' tire for the outer dual, so we don't really throw away many tires. Most are using raidial for compation & traction issues, and we do not have the luxury to just adjust air pressure - we are on a pretty close margin as it is.

But, the 4 basic inner tires the tractor rides on need to be closely matched up, most especially in axle pairs, and the fronts must always pull a bit more than the rears.

Too many have learned the hard way that mis-matched tires just breaks a lot of expensive parts.

Again, on a compact tractor, this is less of an issue, but I would _not_ want to bind up the front axle with undersized front tires! And I would not want one tire more than 10% worn from the axle partner it has. There are some very small spider gears that get _way_ more pressure than they were designed for that way.

--->Paul