Traction Winter traction and studded tires

[Kernopelli]

With all the recent traction discusssions, I was curious about an idea I have planned to use but with our recent mild winters have not yet tried. I am a life long dirt bike rider and years back a forum I belonged to had a number of Northern States riders that used studded tires and knobbies with special ice screws with an aggressive head shape, screwed into the knobs of the tire for winter riding and ice racing (the screws are similar to self tapping sheet metal screws). I love to ride in the snow and one winter decided to try sheet metal screws in my tires. My primary concerns were that hard impacts or jumping would puncture the tube, that the screws would tear out of the knobs and quickly destroy the tire or that the screws would simply come out too easily and would not be effective. I put 1-2 screws in each knob ( depending on how big the knob was), after one ride I was hooked! It is nothing short of amazing. The traction in packed snow and ice is comparable, if not better, than riding on the best groomed loam with new knobbies. After 5 years I have found that I lose relatively few screws and have never suffered a flat. I have to admit that I was so impressed initially that I actually rode year around with screws for that first year after first trying it. For slimy spring time riding they really help dig in and when used on hard pack clay in the summer they give so much traction it is like riding on rails. As a side benefit it all but eliminated tire wear but I did have to occasionally replace lost screws or screws with worn heads . After removing the screws the holes basically seal themself and disappear and the tires don't noticably wear any more quickly either. The only downside is that the screws are slick on dry, paved surfaces and very rock ground.

Since my experience with dirt biking is that sheet metal screws that are approx. long enough to go in 2/3 to 3/4 the thickness of the rubber and placed in a pattern in a semi hard compound tire offer incredible ice and snow traction, do not destroy the tires or cause flats. I am certain that some will think this is nuts and that it would never work but I have seen that it can be far more viable than I first imagined. Yes, tractors produce a lot of tractional force but so does a 45-50 HP bike hitting objects at 60 mph with 500lbs of bike and rider so I don't think the end effect would be much different using them on tractor tires. I have been waiting for an icy/snowy year to try it out on the tractor. Has anyone ever heard or tried it with theirs?

 

[IXLR8]

I have heard of such a thing with car ice racing. Don't know why it wouldn't work with a tractor as well. One would just need a TON of screws to put into the tires to do much good I would think.
Were you talking about standard screws or special pointed ones that are put in with something like a nut driver?

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I used to ice race in my younger years before I knew the real meaning of the word "pain". I used grade 8 sheet metal screws in the knobies. They worked very well, not as good as the spikes in the Jawa ice bikes but more than good enough for a ham and egger on a Maico I left mine in till the knobbies wore out in the summer and of course the holeshots on pavement were awesome... SPARKS!!!

I had the same idea for the R4's on my 2520 as it looks like the fender clearance is marginal for chains. I looked for the screws but no luck. I figure I would need 150 or so per rear tire and maybe 75 for the fronts.

The only thing thats making me a little hesitant is the cost of replacement tires if I hose it up and ruin one. R4's are a lot more $ than a 4.50-17 Metzler...

Now that I think about it, the lake is frozen, I have a old set of knobbies on the Husaberg and a fresh charge on the drill.... Hmmmmmm

Tom

 

[ME83]

I have studded my sport quads and dirt bikes also and there is a huge difference. The only thing I would be worried about with a tractor is the weight and the fact that alot of the times you are running them on pavement to clear a driveway. They might wear down very quick if you start spinning the wheels, then you will never get them out. I would also hate to loose a stud and run over it with a car tire.

 

[daTeacha]

I seem to remember a discussion last winter about putting the hex head style screws in R1 and R4 tires. I think those would work better than the standard panhead sheetmetal screws. You can probably find them for not too much money in a big box hardware section. I would think 1/2 to 3/4 inch #10 screws would be pretty good without posing too much danger to car tires unless they happened to come out and stick vertically in the driveway.

 

[jpm]

i used the hex type last year when i waited to long to put on my chains and they worked alright but chains work better

 

[Kernopelli]

Hiya,

I used to ice race in my younger years before I knew the real meaning of the word "pain". I used grade 8 sheet metal screws in the knobies. They worked very well, not as good as the spikes in the Jawa ice bikes but more than good enough for a ham and egger on a Maico I left mine in till the knobbies wore out in the summer and of course the holeshots on pavement were awesome... SPARKS!!!

I had the same idea for the R4's on my 2520 as it looks like the fender clearance is marginal for chains. I looked for the screws but no luck. I figure I would need 150 or so per rear tire and maybe 75 for the fronts.

The only thing thats making me a little hesitant is the cost of replacement tires if I hose it up and ruin one. R4's are a lot more $ than a 4.50-17 Metzler...

Now that I think about it, the lake is frozen, I have a old set of knobbies on the Husaberg and a fresh charge on the drill.... Hmmmmmm



Tom

AHHH, we sound like we would get along just fine! Back in 1974 ( I was 12 then) I was trail riding my '73 Yamaha RD 60 and the guy at the garage I hung out at had gotten a perfect '72 MC250 Maico in on trade for an old 'Cuda. I coveted that bike more than anything I could dream of. In '76 I mowed enough yards to buy a like new Yamaha TY 175 trials bike for $740 then in '78 I scored a used YZ400E with about 5 hrs on it for a cool $900 (1/2 the MSRP price). MAN, THOSE WERE THE DAYS!!! I just handed down my KX to my middle son and have been looking for a good used deal on an FE550. I have always loved Husabergs and since KTM took them over I think they are one of the best off road mounts available..period.

I have been watching ebay and it seems like ice screws have come down considerably in price since I first looked at them 5-6 years ago. 1000 Kold Kutter ice screws are $56.00... seems like that's about half price from back then (or maybe I was just poorer then and it seemed like they were too expensive). When you consider carbide heads that are 2-3 X's as deep/sharp as sheet metal screws, the real ice screws are the way to go. I think I'm gonna pick some up... 1000 ought to be just enough for my tractor and do the bike too.

Now get out there and do some 5th gear power slides on the lake for me ( well.... 3rd might be fine these days)!!!

 

[LBrown59]

I have studded my sport quads and dirt bikes also and there is a huge difference. The only thing I would be worried about with a tractor is the weight and the fact that alot of the times you are running them on pavement to clear a driveway. They might wear down very quick if you start spinning the wheels, then you will never get them out. I would also hate to loose a stud and run over it with a car tire.

Wouldn't screws leave scratch marks on concrete and black top drives?

 

[RalphVa]

I put hex head metal screws into the outer parts of the lugs on my R1 tires on the Gravely that I had. I did this after reading some threads here where some of you had used them on racing motorcycles on ice lakes. I didn't really get a chance to test the Gravely because I got the JD not too long after that.

In Hokaido, Japan people put 4 wheel studded snows on their tires for the winter and don't bother clearing the roads (and sidewalks) much. The streets (and sidewalks) in town were icey slippery. The cars with 4 wheel studs were getting around fine.

We fell flat on our butts a couple of times.

Ralph

 

[Ductape]

Dunno why, but ice screws never occurred to me. I think its a good idea. I never bothered studding the tires on my CR500. I always figured if it would hook up, it would be completely un-rideable. The complete lack of traction was the best way to steer anyway. Ahhhh...... the good old days. First one to do this..... please put up some pics and give us a review.