R4 Mowing Tears Turf

[oldballs]

After two seasons of MMM mowing with the stock R4 tires, I'm wondering if switching to a set of Turf tires (just for the front) would be easier on my lawn area around the house. Usually I mow without any other attachments on and only in two wheel drive. But turns still tear up the sod even at slow speed. If I forget and make a sharp turn with any speed, that really tears things up. Occasionally I have the FEL on, and that makes it worse especially if the turf is even a bit wet. Would the turf tires just on the front make much differance??? Thanks to the TBN membership for your help in the past years.

Cheers, Mike

 

[dave1949]

Is your front wheel alignment correct?

 

[Gary Fowler]

I think that even with turfs, if the ground is wet and you turn sharp at higher speeds, you are going to damage the grass. You may not get as much damage with turfs but still some damage. Best thing is to avoid tracking on to the soft /wet lawn and slow down on the turns, make wide turns and use only 2 wheel drive to avoid damage to the turf. Better to let the grass grow a little long and wait till the ground is dry before mowing even if you have to make it a double cutting.

 

[oldballs]

Thanks Dave and Gary. Will have all winter to think about it. Routinely I do mow three acres in the late afternoon when things are driest, certainly not when it is wet. As for front end alignment, I can't say for sure. ... haven't done any damage that I'm aware of....but that's a possible even though they look okay. You know, I mowed three seasons with a BX2660 (60 inch MMM) that had turf tires and don't remember this as an issue. But heck.....I'm remembering less and less.:laughing:

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody........Mike

 

[aczlan]

Does being in or out of 4wd make a difference? I notice a difference with our B7500 (R4s) and L3830 (R1s).

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

Does being in or out of 4wd make a difference? I notice a difference with our B7500 (R4s) and L3830 (R1s).

Aaron Z

4 wheel drive makes it more difficult to turn and will cause some tire slippage on the tire inside the turn. My LS has a really sharp tire turn and it isn't as noticeable as on my Kubota. You can actually see the inside tire spinning in the grass when turning full turn of the steering wheel. Check it out with full lock to lock on the steering wheel in 4 WD and then in 2 WD then measure the diameter of the turning circle.

 

[whis]

turn your tires backwards

 

[Recoveryhill]

Don't mix R4's on the rear and turf's on the front. Different rolling diameters will not be kind to 4WD kit.

 

[RickB]

Don't mix R4's on the rear and turf's on the front. Different rolling diameters will not be kind to 4WD kit.

Nothing says R-3's can't be found that match the dimensions of the R-4's close enough to work well. In fact, many common sizes of CUT fronts are available in both tread styles. It's not at all uncommon to see CUT's equipped with FEL to have turf rears and R-4 fronts due to the increased load capacity of the R4 as compared to R-3's.

 

[chim]

There can be a difference in the way things work because of the grass - and dirt below it - at different locations. Brand new tires with sharp edges do mark things up more than tires with a hundred hours of "experience".

I used turfs on a 2WD for the first 2 years we lived here and then R1's on a 4WD for the next 10 years and now R4's on a 4WD for the last 12. The only times any of them tore up grass was if I used 4WD on a tight turn OR made a tight turn with the FEL on the tractor. On the original 2WD tractor an attempt at a quick turn resulted in the front tires slipping sideways.