Ag Tires vs. Turf Tires

[PCABE5]

R2 is front wheel, smooth ribbed tire, ribs made for holding onto dirt when plowing, when making turns. Ford 8 series tractors had a single rib, 100 and 1000 series had 3 rib. JD I had in a 9" width had 4 and so on.

R2 tires are a specialty tire for rice and sugar cane. They look similar to the R1 tire but you will see a difference. What you are describing sounds like a front rib tire for a 2wd tractor.

 

[3gunr]

I have one tractor with turfs 2 with R4s and 1 with ags. Yes the ags are great for plowing a field or working in mud, But most guys on here never do that stuff, I take care of our 360 acre hunting property, My 5 acre house property, my sons 6 acres and my daughters 5 acres, I will take R4s any day over the other 2, Maybe the new R14s are worth a look, I just finished disking 9 acres for a crp planting ,and there were areas in the field that were very wet. I got stuck one time. Put it in 4wd and drove right out. Load your r4s and you will get way better traction.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I would never buy an R-4 for anything other than on heavy tractor that has a back hoe on it 90% of the time. They ride a lot rougher than an R-1 or R-3. R-14's look interesting but if they are designed on an R-4 tire carcass I'm not interested.

Also look at the rim of an R-4 tire. Whole numbered rim sizes like R-1 and R-3 sit on a bead in the rim. XX.5" rim sizes tires like R-4's lay against the rim and depend on air pressure to hold them in place. Which means that you can't lower the air pressure below a certain point to improve ride quality. Other wise the tire will fall off of the rim.

 

[Hay Dude]

I would never buy an R-4 for anything other than on heavy tractor that has a back hoe on it 90% of the time. They ride a lot rougher than an R-1 or R-3. R-14's look interesting but if they are designed on an R-4 tire carcass I'm not interested.

Also look at the rim of an R-4 tire. Whole numbered rim sizes like R-1 and R-3 sit on a bead in the rim. XX.5" rim sizes tires like R-4's lay against the rim and depend on air pressure to hold them in place. Which means that you can't lower the air pressure below a certain point to improve ride quality. Other wise the tire will fall off of the rim.

That’s correct.
R-4s are somewhat versatile in that they can be driven for long periods of time/miles on any surface, but like the “Swiss Army knife” they are, they don’t do any one task very well.
After owning all kinds of equipment riding on all kinds of tires, I would have to say that R4s are best suited for loader work on pavement or gravel. If you never get into anything soft or muddy very often, they are a decent tire.
Once you learn how and when to drive R-1s on delicate areas, you realize they are the better choice for getting the most out of your tractors power and capability.
I have taken R4’s into soft areas and done far more damage than R1’s. Once the R4s start spinning, you can do lots of damage where the R1’s will do less damage because the taller paddles will just pull you through.

 

[CobyRupert]

I agree with Hay Dude.
Traction is a tricky balance of weight, soil resistance (to both sinking vertically and lugs pushing off horizontally), tire surface area, and “paddle/edge” grip. There’s a lot of trade-offs, and varying conditions, so there’s no one best answer. Sometimes you want to float (be light and have lots of surface area), other times you want to dig and be heavier. Most of the time you want the right balance between the two.

 

[Hay Dude]

I agree with Hay Dude.
Traction is a tricky balance of weight, soil resistance (to both sinking vertically and lugs pushing off horizontally), tire surface area, and “paddle/edge” grip. There’s a lot of trade-offs, and varying conditions, so there’s no one best answer. Sometimes you want to float (be light and have lots of surface area), other times you want to dig and be heavier. Most of the time you want the right balance between the two.

Bottom line is this. On a farm tractor or other tractor used in soft conditions, only the R1 tire gives you the chance to get through just about any conditions (deep mud, soft dirt, snow drifts, etc) The others cannot offer that capability.
You can also carefully get across delicate areas with little damage IF you know how/when to do it.
Me? I’d rather be able to go pretty much anywhere and take my chances on a delicate area.
This would not apply to lawn tractors or pavement tractors

 

[Texasmark]

I would never buy an R-4 for anything other than on heavy tractor that has a back hoe on it 90% of the time. They ride a lot rougher than an R-1 or R-3. R-14's look interesting but if they are designed on an R-4 tire carcass I'm not interested.

Also look at the rim of an R-4 tire. Whole numbered rim sizes like R-1 and R-3 sit on a bead in the rim. XX.5" rim sizes tires like R-4's lay against the rim and depend on air pressure to hold them in place. Which means that you can't lower the air pressure below a certain point to improve ride quality. Other wise the tire will fall off of the rim.

You nailed it sir. Absolutely my problem with small tractors that seem to be popular these days. Other thing is the lugless R4 that's getting popular now....since lawn whiners must be moaning about the little zippers that lugs make in the lawn, the traction on the shallow Lug R4 Totally sucks.

Soooooo why should the rest of us have to tolerate the wishes of the "apparent" masses??????? Because to get otherwise means special order, special price, delayed delivery vs sitting on the lot.

I just wonder what percentage of small tractors actually are sold with a B/H? But the ride quality thing is the same with lawn mowers, ZTs especially.....they even state it in the ads....made for smooth terrain....golf course I guess. Well everybody doesn't have a golf course lawn. Clump grasses like Fescue to name one, and Houston Black Clay that shrinks and becomes hard as a rock in the summer make for a spine jarring experience on what you can find on the market for grass mowing. Whine whine whine........

 

[Texasmark]

R2 tires are a specialty tire for rice and sugar cane. They look similar to the R1 tire but you will see a difference. What you are describing sounds like a front rib tire for a 2wd tractor.

Beg your pardon sir. I was out of line.....had the F confused with the R 2. Sorry about that folks.

Farm Tire Tread Types Explained | PTK Tools

This guide explains the differences between each of the farm tire tread styles and highlights the applications in which each tread type performs best.

www.ntstiresupply.com

This clarifies things.