Tire Selection R3 Turf vs. R4 Industrial on CUTs

[Texasmark]

I think you missed what I was saying. I was responding to your statement:

Yessir I understand that. Just mentioning that I keep the fronts up for 2 reasons: Aspect ratio is like 60 which I think is the way to have it (over 75) and if I fill my bucket heaping full of sand add the front end weight of the tractor and loader frame and the feet (ft-lb equation) the bucket load is in front of the front axle, the load on the fronts, not counting the sidewall squirming on a hard surface encountered and all... are under due stress.

 

[wawajake]

I have had R4s on my BX2660 for 11 yrs I have 3 acres of lawn that I cut with rear finish mower. No problems leaving impressions in lawn...I just use common sense to not have it in 4wd if lawn wet. (my lawn is clay base) If lawn really wet (spring or fall) I don't drive on same location twice to get somewhere across lawn. It seems to me if you are carefull in wet weather. The advantages of R4s for your jobs you mentioned out weigh any minor damage you can avoid if careful on R4s.

 

[WinterDeere]

Hey guys, I debated this one right up to purchase day, two days ago. After driving the 3032R and 3033R at the dealership around on their lawn, I went with the turfs. There was a very noticeable difference between the impression left by the same machine with turfs and R4’s, under the soil conditions we had on Saturday.

In higher and drier areas, the difference was minimal. But in lower softer areas, there was definitely a noticeable difference. Temperature was around 19F, although it had been warm several days preceding, so there was just a touch of frost in the ground, not deep enough to matter much. This was comparing the same machine (2038R) with the two different types of tires (R4 vs turf).

What was more of a surprise to me is that, with R4’s on each, the overall ruts left by the 3500 lb. 3033R+320R were almost identical to the 2900 lb. 2032R+220R. Reading up on this, it seems that while tire width has almost no bearing on tire contact patch size, tire diameter does, and the ratio of tire diameters on these two machines is almost identical to their ratio of weights. I guess that explains it.

In the end, I bought a 3033R + 320 loader with the turf tires. I will modify or replace my current set of four tire chains to fit the new machine, so I will be able to chain up for those tasks where I’d have been better off with R4’s.

 

[jjp8182]

Hey guys, I debated this one right up to purchase day, two days ago. After driving the 3032R and 3033R at the dealership around on their lawn, I went with the turfs. There was a very noticeable difference between the impression left by the same machine with turfs and R4’s, under the soil conditions we had on Saturday.

In higher and drier areas, the difference was minimal. But in lower softer areas, there was definitely a noticeable difference. Temperature was around 19F, although it had been warm several days preceding, so there was just a touch of frost in the ground, not deep enough to matter much. This was comparing the same machine (2038R) with the two different types of tires (R4 vs turf).

What was more of a surprise to me is that, with R4’s on each, the overall ruts left by the 3500 lb. 3033R+320R were almost identical to the 2900 lb. 2032R+220R. Reading up on this, it seems that while tire width has almost no bearing on tire contact patch size, tire diameter does, and the ratio of tire diameters on these two machines is almost identical to their ratio of weights. I guess that explains it.

In the end, I bought a 3033R + 320 loader with the turf tires. I will modify or replace my current set of four tire chains to fit the new machine, so I will be able to chain up for those tasks where I’d have been better off with R4’s.

That's interesting on the tire sizing ..... while it's not a whole lot larger in diameter I wonder if the size difference with the 420/70-24 tires on the rear of my L3560 make that much of a difference. Wouldn't think a 5%-6% larger diameter tire would make that much of a difference, on the other hand looking at the smaller R4 tire option that John Deere appears to offer on the 3033R I could see how a 16%-17% larger diameter tire could make a noticeable difference.

Either way I suspect the only improvement you may have seen in the cases you described would have been in the muddy situations. From all I've seen and read friction between the tire and ground tends to be the limiting factor for traction on hard surfaces like ice, pavement, etc; whereas with mud and soils the shear forces between soil/mud particles tends to be the limiting factor to traction (snow might fall into the same category a soils, but once it's removed there's typically a frozen solid/non-shearing surface underneath).

 

[rScotty]

I've used both turfs and R4s.... I like the turfs on a tractor that gets used on a lawn and prefer the R4s for all other tasks. My old back sure does like the softer ride of the turfs so I don't keep anymore air in them than necessary. The lawn appreciates it too.
The R4s have such a thick rigid sidewall that with R4s I can't feel any difference between 12 and 20 psi in the rears. But the ride difference between those two pressures in the turfs is easy to feel.

One thing I've noticed is how much more both tires tear up grass when turning in 4wd. I suspect that it has to do with the how much the front/rear tire circumference ratio varies from 1:1.
All 4wd tractors are made so that the front tires are driven faster relative to the rears. A perfect ratio of 1:1 front to rear would be optimum, but you never see manufacturers doing that. It's usually 1.05:1 or there abouts. The reason is making the ratio the way they do is that if the opposite were true - if the rears are overdriven relative to the fronts - then turning becomes a hazard. It can even become impossible to turn. So they err on the side of safety.

An easy way to get a feel for a particular tractor's front to rear tire ratio is to note how difficult it is to shift out of 4wd after driving on a surface with good traction. What is fighting you when trying to move the lever is called driveshaft "windup" and the more the front to rear drive ratio varies from 1:1, the harder that manual 4wd lever is going to be to move. Also, more windup means slides the front tires more on grass in 4wd when turning.

rScotty