Tires Turf vs Ag tires?

[jimmer2880]

I have a new to me F16d 4x4 with a Woods belly mower (rear PTO driven). Although I will be mowing with it, I really don't care much about my yard. My last tractor I used, had Ag (Bar tread) tires. I also will be using this for playing in the dirt, plowing snow, etc. Because my driveway is blacktop, I don't want to put chains on the tires for snow removal.

So, I want to open the can of worms & get opinions on if I should swap these turf tires for some bar treads.

Thoughts? Ideas?

 

[jbrumberg]

Jimmer2880:

Welcome to TBN ! How will you be playing in the dirt? What are your short term and long term anticipated projects (tilling, boxblading, grading, landscaping, FEL work)? Keep the posts coming - Jay

 

[vallyfarm]

Dirt and snow make turf tires pretty useless. I find that blacktop driveways have more of an ice problem than snow in regards to traction. If this is true for you, then my choice would be to go with turf tires and use chains when in the dirt. If the drive doesn't get iced over, then ag tires 100% of the time. If you go with turfs get the skinniest possible. This will help with traction. Also wheel weight can help too. Rember fat tires give flotation, Narrow gives traction. Mike

 

[jimmer2880]

Thanks for the advice and welcome.

Does anyone have any idea what kind of price I can get for these turf's? They are the older, skinny tires with a diamond pattern. they are in excellent condition with no cracking, etc and plenty of tread left on them (near 100%) The tractor must have been garage kept before I found it.

Jimmer2880:

Welcome to TBN ! How will you be playing in the dirt? What are your short term and long term anticipated projects (tilling, boxblading, grading, landscaping, FEL work)? Keep the posts coming - Jay

Mostly, some FEL and blade work (landscape/grading stuff). Tilling and row plowing a couple times per year.

Dirt and snow make turf tires pretty useless. I find that blacktop driveways have more of an ice problem than snow in regards to traction. If this is true for you, then my choice would be to go with turf tires and use chains when in the dirt. If the drive doesn't get iced over, then ag tires 100% of the time. If you go with turfs get the skinniest possible. This will help with traction. Also wheel weight can help too. Rember fat tires give flotation, Narrow gives traction. Mike

I'm with you on the blacktop/ice problem. I usually do a pretty-good job of keeping the ice off of the drive. Part of that, is back-plowing the snow a good 5' on the up-wind side into the grass to keep the drift's down. This is probably my biggest concern. With my old 155d w/ag tires, it was never a problem. But, I'm a bit concerned with this 16d w/turf's.

 

[Tractors4u]

If you go with turfs get the skinniest possible. This will help with traction. Also wheel weight can help too. Rember fat tires give flotation, Narrow gives traction. Mike

Yes fat tires give you floatation on mud or a wet lawn, but wider tires give you more ground contact and more traction on dry ground when trying to pull a landscape box.

 

[jbrumberg]

Jimmer2880:

There will always be a lot of discussion and opinions about what is the best tire for a given tractor. It depends on primary use. You already stated that although mowing is one of your anticipated tasks you also implied that you were not interested in a pristine lawn. With that in mind and knowing that you will need some traction for FEL work and grading an eventually tilling I would lean towards weighted R-1's for the traction. If you will be dealing with mud definately go R-1. If you will be doing a lot of FEL work you could consider weighted R-4's. R-4's are a good trade off between R-1's and R-3's. If you go with R-1's I would recommend
8 ply rears and 6 ply fronts. Jay

 

[Grrrr]

If your not worried about your lawn to much I would go with R1's. They should give you plenty of traction for snow removal and dirt work. As long as your careful on your lawn they shouldn't tear it up too much.

 

[LBrown59]

I have a new to me F16d 4x4 with a Woods belly mower (rear PTO driven). Although I will be mowing with it, I really don't care much about my yard. My last tractor I used, had Ag (Bar tread) tires. I also will be using this for playing in the dirt, plowing snow, etc. Because my driveway is blacktop, I don't want to put chains on the tires for snow removal.

So, I want to open the can of worms & get opinions on if I should swap these turf tires for some bar treads.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Put the AGs on and make a real tractor out of it.

 

[LBrown59]

Jimmer2880:

There will always be a lot of discussion and opinions about what is the best tire for a given tractor. It depends on primary use. You already stated that although mowing is one of your anticipated tasks you also implied that you were not interested in a pristine lawn. With that in mind and knowing that you will need some traction for FEL work and grading an eventually tilling I would lean towards weighted R-1's for the traction. If you will be dealing with mud definately go R-1. If you will be doing a lot of FEL work you could consider weighted R-4's.
R-4's are a good trade off between R-1's and R-3's.
If you go with R-1's I would recommend
8 ply rears and 6 ply fronts. Jay

Yeah they give you the worst of each.

 

[Grrrr]

Yeah we had a little industrial ford loader once and as soon as those R4's got moud in them they became slicks!

 

[jbrumberg]

LBrown59 and Grrrr:

I do not disagree with you especially when dealing with mud. I was trying to be "balanced" on the tire issue. A lot of TBN posters like R-4's due to their ply ratings for FEL use and puncture resistance in the woods. Would I purchase R-3's or 4's for my tractor- No Way. For my needs I really need R-1's and I have a heavier ply rating on my R-1's than the usual 4 ply rating. Jay

 

[jimmer2880]

Thank you all for your opinions. Now for the stupid questions...

1) What are my chances of selling my old Turf's for enough to cover the aggrevation of selling them? How much could I ask if anything?

2) What kind of $$$'s am I looking at for the new Ag's?

thank you again... this is a great forum with many good opinions.

 

[jbrumberg]

Jimmer2880:

What size tires are on a F16d? Jay

 

[jimmer2880]

Jimmer2880:

What size tires are on a F16d? Jay

Bridgestone 9.5-18 on Rear
Bridgestone 6-12 on the front.

thanks again

 

[mark777]

Jimmer,

I don't see anything in the YM model tire chart that will interchange.

You have very wide, short front and rears (yes typical for Turf's) but they will not cross to OEM rims on the YM models.

If it's possible (and I'm not sure it is) the best scenario would be to swap wheels and tires with someone who has a model in the YM1401-YM1510 range. If the bolt pattern is the same, both parties should keep the correct rolling circumference for 4WD.

Mark

 

[waynokakid]

My F16d has 5x12 on fronts and 8.3x20 on the rears. I just bought a new pair of rears at the local discount tire store. Very similar to OEM. I think they are Korean made.

 

[jimmer2880]

Jimmer,

I don't see anything in the YM model tire chart that will interchange.

You have very wide, short front and rears (yes typical for Turf's) but they will not cross to OEM rims on the YM models.

If it's possible (and I'm not sure it is) the best scenario would be to swap wheels and tires with someone who has a model in the YM1401-YM1510 range. If the bolt pattern is the same, both parties should keep the correct rolling circumference for 4WD.

Mark

Thanks again.

If anyone wants to swap, please let me know. You can email me at jimmer2880@myactv.net

For funding reasons, I'm hoping for a swap before I have to go the "buy it new" route.