New R14 tires.

[Green Acres Homestead]

Anybody have anything to say about the new R14 tires. I think Titian makes them. I never had good luck with Titian or Carlyle tires. Crack with a year. So does anybody have the R14. Are they smooth, do they have good traction, are they cracking?

 

[RjCorazza]

I've never had a problem with Titan tires cracking, but my tractor is stored in a garage, and not subject to constant uv exposure.
I'm in the market for a new set of front R14's, but I need to get the circumference numbers to get the lead / lag right. I've read good reviews on the R14 tread.

 

[paulsharvey]

I have the R-14s on a CK2610. I had Ag tires on the old tractor, and I feel like I have 80% of the traction, without the probelms of R4s (low traction, overly wide, but not what you would call floation). They aren't a cure-all, but IMO, a good compromise. For the traction, they are very easy on grass, but do lack a bit of traction in sand, compared to R1s. No experience in mud, or that white stuff they have up north.

 

[tacticalturnip]

I've got R14's from Goodyear on my Kioti and I've been very impressed with them; so long as I've maintained proper weight distribution, I've found them to be excellent while doing loader work in mud and snow. Night and day over my experiences with R4's.

 

[IndyJay]

Anybody have anything to say about the new R14 tires. I think Titian makes them. I never had good luck with Titian or Carlyle tires. Crack with a year. So does anybody have the R14. Are they smooth, do they have good traction, are they cracking?

I just completed my third year on Titan R14's with no issues. Not quite as good traction as R1 (obviously) but they do very well. They do give a smoother ride with the center strip, especially on hard surfaces. They do not tear up the turf as badly as R1.

 

[jeff9366]

R14 VIDEO:

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

Nokian R14 owner here. My primary use is winter snowblowing but also some minor tree work with a logging winch, 72” rotary cutter and a chipper.
I’ve run turf tires for many years on a NH 4835 and my JD 4720 came with cracked R1 Titan tires that I truly hated.
I’m never looking back on buying these radial tires. Very smooth and comfortable ride. Enough traction to do the work needed yet not enough to go places I don’t belong in. I find them perfect other than they ain’t cheap but nothing is anymore. Buy once. Cry once.

 

[5030]

I need to get the circumference numbers to get the lead / lag right. I've read good reviews on the R14 tread.

That is correct. Your dealer will have the chart I suspect. I have no material use for anything but R1 radials as I farm and bar tread tires are the only efficient way for me and I run Trelleborgs. They wear excellent. Be ready for sticker shock, tires have went way up. I just reshod one of my M's with Trelleborgs and it was just north of 5500 bucks installed here at the farm by my ag tire dealer.

Got over 6K hours on the Titans but the tread was about gone. I considered having them recapped as the carcases were still good but...

Interestingly, I had good luck with the Titans but the Trelleborgs were endorsed by my tire dealer and they were a couple hundred less than the Titans or the Firestines and he waived the tire disposal fees too.

 

[LouNY]

I have one set of R14's. They are on the new Kioti and are working well for me. If and when I need new tires on another tractor I will definitely be considering them instead of R1's as my tractors don't do enough drawbar tillage to say so and I believe the R14's would do a good job on hay ground.

 

[JeepHead]

I have the Goodyear R14's on my new Kubota 2502. The first thing I noticed is they don't tear up my yard at all. I have had them in the woods working in mud as well and they did great and cleaned out good. I would buy them again.

 

[John_Mc]

I'm running R4 tire now. I do a lot of loader work, and also wanted the sidewall toughness for work in the woods. I've been debating going to R14 tires when these wear out, but can't find info on whether the sidewall toughness is there as compared to the R4

 

[LouNY]

I'm running R4 tire now. I do a lot of loader work, and also wanted the sidewall toughness for work in the woods. I've been debating going to R14 tires when these wear out, but can't find info on whether the sidewall toughness is there as compared to the R4

From what I've read it sounds like 4 or 6 ply similar to an R1 so it will flex and put a good foot print down.

 

[John_Mc]

From what I've read it sounds like 4 or 6 ply similar to an R1 so it will flex and put a good foot print down.

Are you talking sidewall plies or tread plies?

It's often the sidewall plies that are lower rating in R1/Ag tires as compared to R4/Industrial. When I contacted the tire manufacturer a couple of years ago, I got a non-answer: all they wanted to talk about was traction, not sidewall strength. It's been a while since I looked into it, however.

 

[LouNY]

The "plys" will depend on the tire design and ratings. The bias ply tires will have the plys running crosswise diagonally on the tire carcass, a radial will have the main plies running with the circumference of the tire.
Most R-1, R-3, R-3 and R14 tires will be constructed with 4-8 ply ratings regardless of construction design. Even then those are just "ratings" not the number of actual plys.
Many of the R-4 tires will have a higher ply rating, 8-12 are not uncommon making for a stiff carcass with less flex when inflated to design specs., also resulting in a smaller foot print on the ground.

Skidder tires are constructed with several feathers different from tractor tires, such as rubber that is more cut resistant then that used in ag tires. They are also often used with chains for traction enhancement year round.

In many cases stronger sidewalls result in stiffer lower traction tire foot prints. So it ends up as a balancing act of the desired characteristics.
More traction or tougher, which may be effected by the desired use of the tire, tractor, loader, skidder, all different performance issues.

 

[oosik]

My first tractor - Ford 1700/4WD - had R-1 Goodyear. After 27 years the tires were worn but still in good shape. I think a whole lot of tire problems relate to exposure to the sun and UV. My tractors have always been garaged.

 

[LouNY]

My first tractor - Ford 1700/4WD - had R-1 Goodyear. After 27 years the tires were worn but still in good shape. I think a whole lot of tire problems relate to exposure to the sun and UV. My tractors have always been garaged.

Many tractors will get several thousand hours on a set of tires, the fronts (on a 4wd) will usually be replaced 2-3 times before it's time do do the rears. My IH574 has an unknown 1000's of hours on it and the rear tires, if it was being used on hard pulling jobs it would need new sneakers but as it's a generator and backup tractor that doesn't get much mileage on the tires they still hold air and only have a couple of repair boots inside the tires they still work.

these tires have numerous cracks in the treads and sidewalls each one has at least two boots in them to patch punctures/tears in the carcass. But they still hold air and keep the chains on for the winters.
If they were on a primary tractor doing lots of work I'd change them, but even when the tractor gets a hundred hours on the engine she is likely to only get 5-10 miles on the tires.