Tires 16.9-28 Tires on 12" rims

[deere5105]

I am interested in knowing if anyone has ever mounted a 16.9-28 tire on a 28"D X 12"W wheel. I currently have 14.9-28 tires on 12" wheels. The tire states to use a 13" rim, but from the factory the tires are mounted on the 12" rim. After looking into the 16.9-28 tire, it states on the tire to use a 15" rim, but from the factory it comes on a 14" rim. My local tire store that does a lot of tractor tires seemed to think this would not be a problem. He even called his supplier and run it by him for me and he didn't think there would be a problem either. I was interested in going to a bigger tire to put more contact area on the ground and to be able to add more fluid to weight the tire more for increased traction and to reduce wheel spin when pulling heavy implements. The local tire store said they have done this before with no problems. The supplier indicated I would probably gain a little over 3" in height which is not an issue. I emailed Firestone with this questions and there response was that I needed to have the recommended width wheel and that there was a possiblity of chafing between the tire and wheel under heavy loading conditions. I would like to hear some "real world" experiences if anyone has tried this.

 

[RickB]

It would probably work with no short term problems. But to gain the full advantages of wider tires, 16.9's should be mounted on rims at least 14" wide. I'm about as cheap as they come, but if I were in your situation, if I could not buy wider rims, I would not buy 16.9 tires. With narrow rims and wide tires, your contact patch will be narrow at normal inflation pressures, and when deflated to a more normal contact patch, sidewall flex will be abnormally high. Bias ply tire life will be lessened under these conditions.

 

[deere5105]

Any other opinions or everyone of the same opinion? RickB, this isn't the first time I have heard exactly what you have said. I am just curious if anyone has tried it for any length of time with noticeable improvements in traction. If ordering new today I would order the 16.9's, but after looking at the wheel and tire price to upgrade now, I am not sure it is worth it. Waiting to hear from dealer on delivery date of new FEL I ordered Monday. Probably just going to stay with what I have and see how it goes. Considered adding wheel weights at 110 lbs each and even thought about checking on loading with RimGuard instead of water. Looks like the RimGuard would add a little more than one set of weights per tire. Anyone tried one set of wheel weights or can offer advice on how much difference 110 lbs per wheel would realistically make in traction improvements.

 

[deere5105]

Looks like after almost 100 views no one can recommend running the 16.9 on a 12" wheel. I consider this issue closed. Thanks for the input RickB.