Need tire/wheel suggestions on my Ford 7710 4x4

[pharmvet]

Ruined a rear tire on my 7710. Currently it has 18.4x30 on rear and 12.4x24 on front. I have always thought that when it comes new tire time that I would go with larger tires all around. In researching, it seems that 4x4 tractors must maintain correct front:rear size ratio. Also seems that to go larger I would need different wheels. Lots of $$$$. Is there any real advantage to going with larger wheels/tires? I suppose this is how my tractor came from the factory, but I'm not sure since I bought it new.

What would you do?

 

[boggen]

TractorData.com Ford 7710 tractor information
at size of tractor i would assume purely farm field tractor for most part.

larger diameter tires = faster MPH on road. but less lower gear torque. if roading a lot between various fields it might be worth something. but if ya pulling at lot in 1st gear, and tractor is just making it by with the given unit ya pulling... you may be in trouble.


are you wanting to "float" more on the surface vs pizza cutter tires, were ya cut through the soil and down into the more stable soils to gain traction in the field?

radials vs bias tires. can be a big issue

ply rating may be something you want to look into. higher the ply, the strong and/or thicker the rubber is. and less flexing of the tire.

i don't see any front mounted weights. though what you are pulling did you remove the front weights?

are you filling tires up with a fluid? if calc (think salt water), you may want to tube the tires. to keep the calc from rustting the rims out.

dealing with R1 tires, and amount of tread left, can be a big issue. 100% vs 75% tread can be a huge difference in how much traction a tire will give. the difference between sinking the tread down a lot deeper vs just running the treads over the top loose soil, and having wheels spin on you.

ya need to remember it is a "system" proper ballasting of weight, to air pressure in tires, to gearing to what ever you are pulling to given soil conditions at any given spot in field and time of day that it is. it is a mix of it all.

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call up the local agriculture tire places, they will be most likely ones coming out and swapping tires out. ((call places even a couple hours away)) they all charge different, from miles of travel, to a constant hourly rate, to other. hint look up internet for "AG R1 tire" and get on the various manufacture sites, to look up local places, you most likely will need to hit a few manufacture websites to find local tire places that handle tractor tires. the ag tire folks, will be able to pull up lists of tires and tractor 4x4/MFWD ratios and tell ya whats available. some places only handle certain type of tires from different manufactures, so call around.

 

[eddie48]

It's important to keep the size ratio of the front to rear tires as it came from the factory. Changing tire size on the front will mess up the gear ratio between the front and rear tires and will result in wearing out tires, at the least, and could easily break something very expensive in the drive train. Stay with OEM sizes.

 

[pharmvet]

Can anyone confirm that 18.4x30 on the rear and 12.5x24 on the front is a proper OEM combination for my tractor?

 

[boggen]

Can anyone confirm that 18.4x30 on the rear and 12.5x24 on the front is a proper OEM combination for my tractor?

add to that which tire manufacture are you going with? multi ones out there, each tire manufacture has a slightly different over all diameter of tire. that difference could offset the ratio.

 

[pharmvet]

My local dealer told me that the FWA tractors they get today commonly have 18.4x34 on the rear and 14.9x24 on the front. Can I assume that this combination would work for my 1990 model 7710?

 

[cruz54982]

measure your tire from ground to top - have the dealer do the same on the 34's if its the same or close ratio to front will not change

 

[sixdogs]

You need to find your "gear ratio" so you can check the rolling circumference of the two tires. The front tires should pull the rear by a couple percent. Tire shops have this info.

For the rears I would guess you need 18.4 x 34 and a 30" would be too small for your kind of weight and horsepower. Not sure on the front but that's where a tire shop comes in. Get their info and then double check. I'm pretty sure I have an original sales flyer for the 7710 if needed.

You can also check the Nebraska Tractor Test info, probably on line and I think that has tire info as well. I have this info as well if you get desperate.

Buy good tires and I'm thinking Firestone bias or radial long bar/long bar.

 

[pharmvet]

I spoke with a gentleman today at Unverferth. They will manufacture replacement wheels to fit my Ford 7710 FWA. This would allow me to increase my tire size. They offer 2 options:
1) 2 piece adjustable wheels
2) straight plate outer wheels
Which would you choose and why ?

Also, the gentleman asked me what I wanted my wheel width to be.

Currently, my 30" tires are approx. 68" apart center to center. When I go with 34" tires, what center to center width should I go with?

 

[sixdogs]

I spoke with a gentleman today at Unverferth. They will manufacture replacement wheels to fit my Ford 7710 FWA. This would allow me to increase my tire size. They offer 2 options:
1) 2 piece adjustable wheels
2) straight plate outer wheels
Which would you choose and why ?


Also, the gentleman asked me what I wanted my wheel width to be.

Currently, my 30" tires are approx. 68" apart center to center. When I go with 34" tires, what center to center width should I go with?

If you have replaceable centers Unverferth can make just the centers. I have had that done. I also had them cut the centers out of one wheel and replace it with a different bolt pattern center. They do an absolutely beautiful first class job but it's not real cheap.

First I would check the boneyards for used wheels, I believe that 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000 and even 9000 use the same wheels and bolt pattern. Probably even the TW series. Used is cheap if you find good wheels and there are a lot of your wheels/centers/tractors around.

You go with a fixed center if you know forever what your wheel center will be and adjustable wheels if you ever want to change. You should go adjustable even though you will never change the width. Width changes for crop purposes such as corn on a 30" row center and you aren't going to be doing any of that. Maybe. Ford also makes "spin adjustable" (they call it something else) wheels that you loosen the bolts and drive a little to spin the width in or out. Another reason to buy used IF they were originally used on your tractor.

Let me suggest you spend time doing background research before spending a LOT of money on new wheels that are only marginally needed. Get a lot more education first. Better to put the $$ into Firestone radial tires and then really have a beast of a pulling machine that can float over the wet areas at 7 psi air pressure. Sort of float like a butterfly but sting like a bee.

Search for dismantled big ford tractors. They're all over the Midwest and East coast. Start thinking road trip to pick them up. Wheels are heavy so line up a couple of beefy friends, plot out the nice diners in advance and beans are off the menu until you get back home. Don't forget the work gloves and don't buy wheels that have had calcium added (rust) for weight.

When you get back have the wheels sandblasted, painted with the right white (get from dealer and has M1619** on the can) and call it good.




**EDIT--I would need to double check that number but am 99% sure that's what it is. It's a slightly off-white (Wimbledon White) from the Mustang era 1960's and used on trucks and tractors and everything. Many names and I think it now called Performance White at Case NH


The 7710 is a great tractor.