I have r4's on my 1026r, they seem to work well for mowing. They do leave some marks on the lawn, but not much worse than my old garden tractor with turfs.
I am a little skeptical about some of the raves I hear people saying about turfs in other conditions. I have used my smaller tractor in snow and mud, and the turfs sucked. They fill up with mud or snow very easily, and end up resembling cue balls. I'd much rather have R4s in those conditions.
Ditto, in fact I am more than skeptical. No one is ever going to convince me that turfs are anywhere as capable as R4 in mud or snow.
I was the same way..... UNTIL I seen them in snow. I switched, and I never looked back. I blow snow in reverse, and the R-4 tires would just spin on the pavement. The R-3 Multi Trac tires are the same in reverse as going forward. I was going to get chains, but never did. Has Quebec had a snowy winter this Year? WNY has been strangely warm, and snow free.....
These tires are awesome on snow covered blacktop. With 7' front blade, 4000 pound tractor, and 1250 pound ballest box, it is nearly unstoppable, frontwards and backwards...in 2 wheel drive! If the snow load is wet, heavy, and pileing up, I will engage 4 wheel drive to help pull and steer. For finish mowing grass, there is nothing better. I am very impressed how they perform on dirt doing box blade and loader work. For sloppy mud, there are better choices, R1's. R4's are a construction tractor tire, comprimise for all situations, good for few. They have very high load capacity, very good on road capabilities (traction and wear), and are very puncture resistant. They look cool, probably why most dealerships have them on tractors and why most people buy them. Philip.
Any real world use recommondations would be helpful.