Are these R4 tires (pics)

ovrszd · Nov 21, 2016

Soldier415 said:
Its going to need front tires in the spring.

Milking the rears

You would be amazed how many years those tires have left in them!!!!! I'd run em!!!

motownbrowne · Nov 21, 2016

fried1765 said:
What about the sidewall cracking, and dry rot (second photo)?
These appear to be 15 year old tires (2001 Kubota) suffering from significant dry rot.

Those tires honestly look great to me. I wish I remembered where to find the article, but I read about a guy who found old Allis Chalmers tractor that he restored working order. Not a full restore, just made to function again. It was a huge 2wd ag tractor. He did a lot of tractor pulls with it totally stock running the original duals on the rear. The tires were like 45 years old!

My old 8n has rears that look like cr@p. TONS of weather checking. You could empty a pocket of change by jamming coins into the cracks of those tires, but they've got great tread and they hold air, so why replace them?

15 year old tires are no big deal.

bcp · Nov 21, 2016

But remember, no high speed freeway driving with those tires!

Bruce

Soldier415 · Nov 22, 2016

Xfaxman said:
On my computer screen they look like cracks sometimes and mold flash sometimes, depending on how my eyes focus on it.

View attachment 488854

View attachment 488853

I'll take some better pics today

Btown · Nov 28, 2016

Gary Fowler said:
I don't understand why the tread is broken at each lug. Any one speculate on that cause.

I think you are looking at the tire wrong. The dark part is the tread. The light part is the groove. It has the molding excess still in the groove

Edit. I didn't finish reading the thread. Looks like some one beat me to it.

Ford850 · Nov 28, 2016

ovrszd said:
Here's two examples of what I know as a "normal" R-4. The one on the left are Titans. Can't remember what the ones on the right are.

View attachment 488365

Those tires are inflated much more than I run mine, but you might have them like that for a reason. In my case, I keep the tires inflated so the full bar width is in contact with the ground for best traction, especially in snow. A quick check can be done after driving on dusty gravel like those were in your picture. The one on the right is only making ground contact with about 1/3 of the tire tread. The one on the left, 2/3's. For me, that makes a huge difference in snow and ice. But, sometimes I inflate more for carrying heavy loads. Just thought I'd mention it since your picture is a good example for others when trying to improve traction and grooving.

PILOON · Nov 28, 2016

When tire cordage was cotton you had a problem as cotton rots however all modern tires use synthetic cordage which won't rot out.
Steel belted would pose another problem as steel rusts and weakens but synthetic cordage or belting will last forever.
I have seen tires so worn that no threads actually remain to the point they look like slicks and need chains year round just for traction.