Tires Ag or industrial tires...

johnk · Jul 16, 2004

I'm mostly in the mud thats why I opt for the 1's...........

RMAL · Jul 17, 2004

Thanks guys . Johnk and 1savoy ...Its been a wet summer in western ny.
Al

Boondox · Jul 17, 2004

Al -- So much of this depends on your usage and local conditions. I had R4s on my first tractor. Great for loader work and let's face it, they just look so cool! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif But they loaded up with mud with annoying regularity and left me stuck in really inconvenient places. Since I log in the woods with my tractor, and do a lot of backhoe work in clay or near streams, I opted for R1 aggies on my present tractor. Love em, and will never go back to R4s given my needs and soil conditions! I finish mow with mine as well, and unless the ground is completely saturated the lawn shows no damage from the tractor at all. The marks on the lawn come from the narrow tires on the mower itself.

Good luck with your decision. Seems like everyone makes do with whatever they select.

Pete

rw2 · Jul 17, 2004

One piece of information that might be useful is that ag sidewalls are thinner and more likely to tear. If you're in the woods this can be important.

OkieG · Jul 17, 2004

ag sidewalls are thinner and more likely to tear 

Never had a sidewall tear, but the flexible sidewalls are prone to other problems, too.

A year ago or so, I read a TBN post about an AG tire that separated from the rim bead enough to go flat while driving. A matter of a few days later, it happened to me...going across a sidehill with the backhoe mounted, the tractor started to lean. There was no pop or anything, but the downhill rear tire went very flat very fast. I was close to compressor air, and the BH stabilizer took all weight off the wheel. The tire reinflated easily, with no damage.

My advice is always have the Ags fully inflated when going through the woods. And, beware of going across sidehills with heavy loads. The BackHoe saved me, but it's weight also caused the problem in the first place. The stiffer sidewalls on R4s make this problem less likely.

Just something to keep in mind. I still like R1s for what I do.

OkieG

To20Chris · Jul 17, 2004

I'm learning to deal with the R4's by now, but mostly I think they're a pain in the rear! I've had to deal with a lot of working in the mud, and they just load up so easily. It doesn't come out easy either, it just falls out later somewhere that you don't want it! I'm always doing top gear runs down the road to try to clean them out. I'll admit that some of it is learning to use the equipment, and recognizing when you are getting close to the limits of trction, but sometimes you just have to go in there anyway!

You can load up the R1s too, but they don't hold as much and it falls out much more quickly. I would definitely get the Ag tire if I had it to do again.

KiotiJohn · Jul 18, 2004

( On paper ag,s rule but my heavy power wagon covers tough terain better with gentle tread,but wider tire(get stuck less). Do tractors react like this?? )
Industrial R4 tires are generally wider than Ags, and anytime you widen the tire you're going to increase ground contact thus reducing the tendency for the tire to sink in, however, there are limits to that as well. Flotation is but one part of the equation. It will take a little longer to sink into muck with R4's than Ags, but traction itself will be gone faster with R4s than Ags as the shallower, differently-configured lugs fill with material. Most people who've worked in moist ground know that "working" the soil over and over brings more moisture to that area and more chance of getting stuck. With either tire, if you're working over and over at the same spot, you're going to soften up that soil and you may get stuck with either. I think there's a fine line between the difference in traction as the one tire has deeper lugs and contacts less ground, the other has shallower lugs but contacts more ground. Most say Ags win in traction and probably do, but I wonder just how much REAL difference there is as the industrials grab more ground width. It's really up to you. For me, and I've used both, I find the R4s to be pretty good in most conditions and I would opt for them again unless I were going to be doing a lot more ploughing. John

johnk · Jul 18, 2004

I think the R4's get less traction due to the fact when in mud the slime is on the top and being the wider of the two the R4's will be working in the slop as the narrower R1's penetrate to dryer more stable ground. The same goes for wide tires in the snow. They have a tendency to have a lot of resistance because they are wider and have to push the mud or snow to the side while trying to ride on top of the Muck. Just my 2 Cents..........

KiotiJohn · Jul 19, 2004

( I think the R4's get less traction due to the fact when in mud the slime is on the top and being the wider of the two the R4's will be working in the slop as the narrower R1's penetrate to dryer more stable ground. )
I think you're right, to a point. If the muck is really deep, the R1s will just help you get to the bottom a lot faster! The R4's will stay on top for a while longer, but then when they hit the bottom they're going be harder to get out because of the resistance of the wider tire. Maybe 6 or one...
I have to say that I have never gotten stuck with my CK20 that I couldn't get out with the loader though. Just reach out with the loader and curl myself out. Works great every time so far. John

GeneD14 · Jul 19, 2004

It all depends on what you use it for. On both the Firestone and Goodyear websites they have lots of info on tire selection:

R4 Industrial Tread has the advantage on hard surfaces like asphalt, concrete, etc... because of the greater surface area. Also on sand where floatation is a must. Most have better puncture resistance.
R1 Ag Tread typically gets better traction in clay, loam, snow, or other similar soil conditions.