Tires Turf tires to ag tires

[cperky]

My MF-1140 has turf tires on currently. I am debating putting ag tires on the rear. I do have a finishing mower that I use on a reguler basis to mow around the house. I have been wondering how much damage would the ag tires would do in the yard if I only change the rear tires. I also have some hilly land that I want to brush hog but have been a little nervous about tracton with the turf tires. Are there any what I call tweeners (tires that are better than turf but not necessarily ag tires) that you would suggest for my uses? I also use my BB and am going to have a rototiller in the near future

 

[KiotiJohn]

You can go to the R4 industrial tires. They have a less aggressive tread on them and don't do nearly the damage that R1 ags can do, but have more traction than turfs. I don't know the MF1140, but if it's 4 wd, you will need to replace all four tires, not just the rears as the tractor is geared for certain sized tires, and you can damage the drive train because of 4 WD lead / lag. Check your owners manual for the different tire sizes, or MF's website. The front tires on 4WD must be a certain circumference in relation to the rears in order for all to be well, so make sure you check this out. If it's 2WD, there shouldn't be a problem. I have R4's and for the most part, am very happy with them. They don't do much damage to my turf unless very wet and I do repetitive back and forth in the same area. Most of the time I have enough traction for what I'm doing. Hope this helps, John
CK20 Shots

 

[zuiko]

I drive on the lawn all the time with R1s. It is not a problem unless the ground is pretty damp. Even if it is the tracks eventually go away, it just takes longer. If you do happen to spin them you will make huge divots though.

 

[keeney]

I have a set of chains that I put on over my turfs when I want some extra traction. They work great in sticky mud as they clear themselves pretty good.

I only went with regular chains, but you could go with the kind with the spikes/teeth for even more ground-grabbing ability.

Much cheaper than a new set of tires and they come off easy when I don't want to rip things up.

- Rick

 

[BobCorazza]

On my previous 2WD I switched the rears to R4's and it was like night / day as far as traction. I spec'd my 4Wd with R4's and they are the best compromise tire you will find. R1's will do fine on turf also as mentioned above, but with either the turf can be messed up if you're not carefull.
I like the R4's also because they are much smoother on pavement than R1's.
As mentioned in a previous post... if your machine is 4WD the tires (front / rear) are matched. It WILL tear up the tractor if the correct tire sizes are not put on!

 

[bomack]

I would definitely not use my JD4310 with R4's as a finish mower. Regardless of dryness, it would tear up the lawn on turns. When just pulling a wagon across the turf I'm careful not to turn sharply. Don't know if your machine weighs as much. Also, if your machine is 4WD enquire with the dealer, I'm told on 4WD they should all be same type.

 

[cperky]

Thanks for the input and keep it comming!! My tractor is a two wheel drive and weight is about 2600 lbs. Are the R4 tires similar to the tires on the new kubotas? Can you get the R4 tires at the dealer only or can most tire stores get em

Thanks
Chris

 

[cperky]

Keeny

Are your chains good on hills? I am not doing much in the mud I just need traction for a hillside brush hogging and implement pulling

 

[Rip]

Most anything you would consider a "lawn" would not take kindly to Ag tires. R-4 or Industrial tires are a good compromize for your application.

Any tire shop that deals with farm/industrial tires can provide. Although the 4WD ratio is not an issue for your 2WD tractor, wheel size can be.

Ag (R-1) tires almost always use a fairly large diameter but narrow wheel, while turfs use a smaller diameter and wider wheel. R-4s can be in between. Bring your specific wheel size to the tire or tractor dealer and see what the options are. You may be able to get by without new wheels.

Rip

 

[RalphVa]

Based on discussions here, I got a set of ag tires for my Gravely. Didn't have any opportunity to use them on snow/ice with the metal screws into the threads, as our snow quit by the time I mounted them. The ag tires are only better on soft mud where they don't load up (on really soft mud where they load up, they aren't any better). Apart from this, the turf tires have far more traction because there's simply more rubber put onto the ground at a given second in time. Ag and R4 tires will have less than half the actual rubber contact surface in contact with pavement or ground.

Unless you need to take the tractor frequently into soggy areas, I'd go with turf tires. Or buy yourself a set of both, complete with wheels like I have for the Gravely.

Jurie's still out whether the ag tires with metal screws are gonna be better pushing snow. Let you know next winter.

Ralph

 

[uhmgawa]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Ag and R4 tires will have less than half the actual rubber contact surface in contact with pavement or ground.)</font>

On a flat surface frictional traction is independent of
the ground contact area. As the contact area decreases
the load per unit area increases resulting in the same net
frictional traction.

On a compressible surface mechanical traction is developed
which varies depending upon tread configuration, surface
viscosity, shear, etc..

 

[frank_f15]

R4's are avaiable almost anywhere. just remember , no particular type of tire tread is a cure all for every condition. i run R4's and like them 90% of the time.

 

[frank_f15]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( On a flat surface frictional traction is independent of
the ground contact area. As the contact area decreases
the load per unit area increases resulting in the same net
frictional traction.

On a compressible surface mechanical traction is developed
which varies depending upon tread configuration, surface
viscosity, shear, etc..
)</font> EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[keeney]

My experience with the chains has been in pure dirt / mud (wet clay) during the construction of my home.

I had chains on the rear over the factory turfs. I swapped the fronts to some wider ag-style tires that fit on the same rims as the turfs that were on there because the tractor needed new front tires, chains would not fit on the front, and new tires for the same rims was the cheapest option for the front.

I never had any problems on side hills with the rear tires. Mostly, I remember having problems getting the fronts to bite turning uphill with a full scoop in the loader. Using the differential braking was very effective in these situations, so the chains worked good in that regard.

It turned out to be a great way to go because now that I have my yard in, the chains are off and I saved a ton of money. the smaller ag-style fronts don't appear to have much negative effects mowing on grass, but I don't use 4wd and they are not that aggressive of a tread anyway.

- Rick

 

[RalphVa]

Good point about the force on smaller contact area for R1s and R4s. Friction is proportional to contact area, something like coefficient x Force x contact area. When going from turfs to R1s/R4s, you trade off contact area for coefficient on contact area. Think you lose out unless they sink in a little bit in soft soil. Force remains the same, which is the weight of you and tractor. The coefficient in soft dirt undoubtedly goes up with R1s/R4s.

My experience with both R1s and chains are that they dig in dirt. I don't like being bounced around while they do this. They tear heck out of the dirt and what's in the dirt when they do dig. They've lots of traction up to the point of dig, but frankly, I think the turfs will hold more traction and not dig when they lose out.

For snow/ice, chains help a lot. Have had chains hang up on things and break (the chains). Have shucked the chains in favor of metal screws into R1 lugs in the winter.

Ralph

 

[5030]

Ralph:

I know that screws work real good in motorcycle tires for ice racing but I never heard of using them in tractor tires. Every time I got a screw in a tire, it went flat. Basically, I got "screwed" /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif