Tire studs?

[Too many Kubotas]

Grooving tires takes a lot of time. I have only seen this in cases where a tire reseller wants to deepen the groove to make the tread depth deeper, not add new grooves, but the hand held tool isn't a fast option.
David from jax

Grooving is fun, I think. Well, for the first 1/3 of the first tire.

I've done lots of it, primarily to create a more flexible contact patch.

 

[Too many Kubotas]

I run chains front and back!

Chains? Aren't they normally referred to as bracelets in those sizes?

 

[Shawn T. W.]

Beats walking, or shoveling!

 

[LouNY]

You hate using them or installing them? Installing them is a little work, though it really isn't bad at all on a little machine like yours. Nothing like putting chains on a 6 ft high skidder tire. That's some work.

They're cheaper, but studs won't last anywhere near as long. A few seasons perhaps, with the efficacy going down each one. Set of chains should last essentially forever if you're not using the machine on a daily, commercial basis and if you take them off in the summer.

You can (and should) chain up all four tires unless you don't have clearance in the fenders for them.

We hear so many times how hard tire chains are to put on.
Use the right method and they are not bad at all. Just let the tires do the work.
An old thread on the topic;
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/threads/mounting-tire-chains.405039/
You can also find this method on you tube and some chain venders websites.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

That's similar instructions as my Aquiline chains came with.

 

[Rustyiron]

If you put 'em on more than once ever 4-5 years you'd be a lot better at it.
If you notice that the boys in snow country that must put them on each winter are mostly the advisors on this topic.

 

[RayIN]

You ever driven a tracked machine on ice?

About the same as watching a hog on ice.

 

[dnw64]

Grooving tires takes a lot of time. I have only seen this in cases where a tire reseller wants to deepen the groove to make the tread depth deeper, not add new grooves, but the hand held tool isn't a fast option.
David from jax

Okay, you're not going to do it in 5 minutes. But it's not a big deal.

Yes, I think the "original" idea with groovers is to deepen existing grooves. That's not what we're talking about. It's ADDing grooves to those wide flat areas that have no bite. I am thrilled with the grooves on my R4s. Would I have gotten R14s? Sure, but I bought a 12 year old tractor that had R4s and made the best of it. My driveway has to be in the top 95 percentile most challenging, and I never need chains unless it gets really icy.

 

[sandman2234]

Okay, you're not going to do it in 5 minutes. But it's not a big deal.

Yes, I think the "original" idea with groovers is to deepen existing grooves. That's not what we're talking about. It's ADDing grooves to those wide flat areas that have no bite. I am thrilled with the grooves on my R4s. Would I have gotten R14s? Sure, but I bought a 12 year old tractor that had R4s and made the best of it. My driveway has to be in the top 95 percentile most challenging, and I never need chains unless it gets really icy.

Completely understand! If I had R4 tires and needed more traction, I would probably grab my skill saw and draw a couple lines on each tire and set the depth to about 1/4inch and give it a whirl with a multi tooth sawblade. May go back over them in a year or two to deepen them as the tires wear. There are wider sawblades (Dado?) but I think I would start with a 1/8 inch blade first to see how it did.
A really good exhaust fan is going to be needed, and I am sure the rubber on the blade will get hot as it burns off, so lung, sleeve and eye protection is a must!
David from jax