Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Cutting / Groving / Siping R-4 for snow
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KenB2920
Veteran Member
Complete with factory defect
Looks great chim.... Pretty easy aye?
Are you a pit crew member for nascar or an average guy like me?
People doubt the ease of this....
chim
Elite Member
Ken, it was a whole lot easier than I thought it would be. Before reading a few of the more recent posts, I thought it would take at least a whole day. One concern was the tractor is stored in an unheated shed and the temps were in the 30's when I started grooving. However, somewhere around 2 hours is all it took. I'm an average guy and good with tools. The rears took longer - mostly learning curve and more limited access. I think it was around 10:something this AM before I had the Ideal tool plugged in. A hard push with two hands slices through the rubber like butter. A couple times I did more difficult to reach lugs (too hard-headed to move the Kubota) and it necessitated using one hand. Those cuts were made at a much slower pace.
ovrszd
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A friend of mine has a "high dollar" cutter. It only heats the blade when you pull the trigger. Has a box transformer affair that the lead comes out of. That thing will cut as fast as you can control it. Instant heat when the trigger is pulled. Almost instant cool when it's released. If you pull the trigger without the knife against cutting material the knife will instantly glow cherry red. It's awesome!!!!
dragoneggs
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Thanks for sharing and don't get me wrong... I am not doubting the benefit of siping but I am wondering if the results implied in the video are 'real'. Does the tire spinning have anything to do with the differential axle lock, etc.? I guess if the tires were 'reversed' with the sipped tire on the left and you get the same results on the other side, then I would really be a believer. One thing for sure, I don't think sipping can hurt!
Garandman
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Take a look at any modern winter tire....
k0ua
Epic Contributor
Exactly, I just bought a set of Blizzaks for my minivan, and that is more or less what they look like, with thousands of sipes on each tire. Of course there is more to them than just sipes, they also have a very soft porous rubber compound.
ovrszd
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- Kubota M9540, Ford 3910FWD, Ford 555A, JD2210
James, remember the huge discussion we had here on TBN about sipes and snow tires last Winter??? I'm talking over 100 posts!!!! Some very strong opinions were expressed.
The most controversial point was that the tire doesn't make traction by contacting the snow/ice. It makes traction by collecting snow/ice in it's sipes, then uses that material to bond with the snow/ice on the road surface and that's when the traction happens. It needs to be designed to throw that material off with each revolution and pick up a new bite when it contacts the surface again. If you watch a well designed tire driving thru snow at a slow pace (10 mph or so) you'll see it clean itself as it rotates.
There's more to the design than just someone being creative on a computer.
The most controversial point was that the tire doesn't make traction by contacting the snow/ice. It makes traction by collecting snow/ice in it's sipes, then uses that material to bond with the snow/ice on the road surface and that's when the traction happens. It needs to be designed to throw that material off with each revolution and pick up a new bite when it contacts the surface again. If you watch a well designed tire driving thru snow at a slow pace (10 mph or so) you'll see it clean itself as it rotates.
There's more to the design than just someone being creative on a computer.
k0ua
Epic Contributor
James, remember the huge discussion we had here on TBN about sipes and snow tires last Winter??? I'm talking over 100 posts!!!! Some very strong opinions were expressed.
The most controversial point was that the tire doesn't make traction by contacting the snow/ice. It makes traction by collecting snow/ice in it's sipes, then uses that material to bond with the snow/ice on the road surface and that's when the traction happens. It needs to be designed to throw that material off with each revolution and pick up a new bite when it contacts the surface again. If you watch a well designed tire driving thru snow at a slow pace (10 mph or so) you'll see it clean itself as it rotates.
There's more to the design than just someone being creative on a computer.
It will be interesting to see how the snow tires do this winter on the van. The Michelin's "all seasons" that were on it were pretty lousy in the snow. In fact down right useless. I can tell you one thing, the dry traction is much better with the Blizzaks also. I have a terrible gravel hill in my driveway that you always needed to have some speed for the van to make it up without the tires spinning and the traction control system engaging. Well now I can crawl up the hill, even stop and start on it, and it never spins a tire. I suspect the soft rubber compound and all the sipes are making a difference. Of course these snow tires will wear out much sooner than the Michelin's.
TSO
Elite Member
I run Hankook winter i-pike tires on my vehicles. Excellent snow/ice traction.