Tires R4s are better in the snow than R3 turfs

amigauser · Feb 23, 2015

I also have run both (R4 on a B3030 and R3 on my GL3240). The Titan Turfs on the Grand L work much better in snow. The B3030 was horrible with the industrial tires although they are heavier duty and better for loader work than turfs.

devildog1 · Feb 23, 2015

Well all I can say is the R4's on my Grand L3540 with no chains seem to work real well on all the snow we have gotten here in up-state New York, and boy oh boy have we gotten snow! I use the fel and either the LP3584 BB or the L2674 Three point snow blower and I have been pushing back 7' & 8' banks back on the end of the driveway which the state plows have left when plowing our road. We just on Saturday received 10" and I do my drive 200 ' and elderly widows the same distance driveway and most times I'll never spin a tire. I live in the country with large open fields, so lots of drifting. So I'm really wondering how some have issues with even bigger tractors then me with R4's .
DevilDog

Sprinklerman · Feb 23, 2015

I have r 4 on the front and turf on the rear , the best of both worlds

Jay4200 · Feb 23, 2015

jim44 said:
I must say, R4s look a lot tougher than either of the others, and supposedly will carry a lot more weight. As far as driving around, turning, or pushing, they pretty much suck.

Exactly - they look great, but aren't worth much except for loader work where the stiff sidewalls prevent blowouts. They are worst of all worlds when it comes to traction.

PILOON · Feb 23, 2015

Stands to reason when you look at the treads.
Turfs are closest to a snow tire tread, just that the rubber might be a different composition.

JerryK · Feb 23, 2015

Turfs are great if you are running chains, but are useless when the right kind of snow packs the voids full and they turn into slicks..... Running without chains, I'd take R4's or R1's ...

RalphVa · Feb 23, 2015

Sounds as though my memory is bad. Think this dry snow is just more grippy for any tread.

From the comments, think I'll go for R3s in my next tractor. I've really notice the R4s aren't worth swat for turning traction, and I get antsy if I going across a slope without much clearance to the sides (between stuff), afraid they'll slip sideways.

Yeah, these R4s do appear a little better for loader work, and they're keeping their air better than the R3s.

Ralph

Billrog · Feb 23, 2015

Some thing I haven't seen mentioned is there are different stiles of turf tires & I have all three. 2 of them are very good in snow and icy conditions the one pair not so good. Then good year on my small tractor are good the titans on my new tractor are good the Kubota ones are more like slicks than good snow tread.

SweBota · Feb 24, 2015

JerryK said:
Turfs are great if you are running chains, but are useless when the right kind of snow packs the voids full and they turn into slicks..... Running without chains, I'd take R4's or R1's ...

Every snow contractor in this country would disagree. The advantage for turfs is even bigger without chains. I only need chains once every 5 years.

/M

RoyJackson · Feb 24, 2015

I've also found R-3 tires are much better for snow removal. I've had both R-4's (on a 790) and R-3's (on a 4400). The R-3's plow right through the snow...R-4's...well, not so hot.
My current tractor, a 4520 Deere, has R-4s. I had a chance to swap for R-3s when I bought the machine, but I wanted the R-4 tires for some field work...much more puncture resistant (8 ply R-4s vs. 4 ply R-3s).
There is a thread in the snow removal forum discussing siping (grooving) R-4 tires...pretty good thread and most have had good luck with siping their tires. I just received the siping gun and I'll be doing my tires when it gets warmer.