Yet another tire pressure question

[sailorman]

Ok, I did search the forum for an answer to this question, but found nothing that quite fit. I have a B2320, industrial tires. Manual says 40 psi rears and 35 psi front. Tires say the same, but call it max inflation. Geez, 40 psi rear seems way high and 35 psi front also unless using loader. The tires had a much lower inflation from dealer 7 months ago. One day I checked them and just figured they were under inflated by a lot and added some air, but not up to manual specs. What say ya 'll ? Hope this doesn 't turn out like UDT, SUDT discussions

 

[Soundguy]

Pull the tractor up on a hard surface.. look at the profile of a tire.. if it deflects too much, cups in the center of the tread and squats out.. it's under inflated. if there is no sidewall deflection, and only the center of the tread makes contact.. it's over inflated.

once you dink with tractors long enough you can look at a tire and know if it has enough air in it without ever walking to your garage for a pressure gauge.

soundguy

 

[DanD78]

Run a wet tire on concrete and see what the foot print looks like. If it is not touching out to the edge I think it has too much air. The print will change with axle load so you might want to do this with what ever you usually have hanging on the back end.

Dan

 

[sailorman]

I went to service manager and asked. He said I didn 't need to run manual pressures. He recommended 20 -25 rear and 25 -30 fronts which leads me to an after thought question. I 've read many threads on the need to match fronts and rears properly for 4wd to work correctly. Does running various pressures have any affect on 4wd ?

 

[Soundguy]

as has been stated about 12 times now, tire pressure, thus tire deflection and contact path are related.. those items effect traction and rolling circumference.. so yes.. there is some effect on 4wd handling depending on the pressures you run.

soundguy

 

[gerard]

On last observation. R4's tend to have a lower profile than R1's so if you're running heavy loads in the loader I would probably run the fronts close to the 35psi recommended. (My R1's run at 26psi and I have a lot more rubber between the road and the outside rim of the axle than an R4 would)

 

[sailorman]

as has been stated about 12 times now, tire pressure, thus tire deflection and contact path are related
soundguy

Gee, thanks soundguy for keeping count for me. I really needed that information although the second part of your post was more helpful.

 

[sailorman]

so if you're running heavy loads in the loader I would probably run the fronts close to the 35psi recommended.

Thanks, that what I thought for heavier loads. I 've not had occasion to do that yet, but I 'm sure I will.

 

[jda1961]

do what the owners manual says, the manufactorer built the machine and they should know how much air the tires need, its a no brainer.

 

[skipmarcy]

Thanks, that what I thought for heavier loads. I 've not had occasion to do that yet, but I 'm sure I will.

I have R4 industrials on my tractor too, and have a loader which stays on all the time. I run my front tires just a couple psi under max (checked cold) all the time as I never know when I'm going to use my loader. My front tires are max rated at 40 psi and I inflate to 36 - 38 psi. and that's done in the morning and before the sun hits the tires - you'll be surprised how much just the heat of the sun will change air pressure !! The carcass/sidewalls on my front tires are so stiff that I've had flats before and didn't know it until I used the loader. Since the tires are so stiff, the ground contact pattern of the lugs doesn't change much whether the air pressure is low or high and the ride doesn't change either so I keep them on the high side (I do use a gauge to check the fronts) and am ready for any type of work at all times. I do not run any ballast in my front tires.

The max on my rear tires is 20 psi but I run right about 10 psi - that gives me the good bar contact pattern on the ground and the best traction without wrinkling my sidewalls with any implement I use. At just an increase to 12 psi I can tell a huge difference in traction and contact pattern so it is best to see what works for your particular rig and make very small adjustments at a time. My rear tires are loaded approx. 3/4 full with water/methanol mix. I don't use a tire gauge on my rear tires but maybe once every year - and I have the valve stem above the water level and use a spring-loaded wet gauge and then again in the morning and before the sun gets on the tires for any length of time.