Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Cutting / Groving / Siping R-4 for snow

dickfoster · Dec 6, 2016

npalen said:
I finally replaced the original 29 year old Bridgestone turfs on my Kubota B9200 recently with these Firestone turfs. The local dealer had them as new old stock and let me have them for $100 ea. (13.6-16 size) My only concern is that the tread pitch is much coarser than the old tires. May "get" to run them in snow this week but wondering if they need to be grooved to get more bite.

Edit: The old Bridgestones had excellent traction in snow and ice.

I imagine those large voids would not pack with snow well.

npalen · Dec 7, 2016

dickfoster said:
I imagine those large voids would not pack with snow well.

They look more like R4 industrial tread than turf. Maybe I should just consider them industrial tread.

Glrret · Dec 7, 2016

I would be inclined to groove them with a 1/4 inch pattern like this:

npalen · Dec 7, 2016

Thanks for your feedback illustration. I wasn't sure about what kind of groove configuration to use. That looks very simple to do.
Anyone have a used grooving tool and willing to sell it?

dickfoster · Dec 9, 2016

npalen said:
Thanks for your feedback illustration. I wasn't sure about what kind of groove configuration to use. That looks very simple to do.
Anyone have a used grooving tool and willing to sell it?

They don't cost that much and the fewer heads you get the cheaper they are. I got a kit with three width options but you could probably get away with just the 1/4" or #4 head. Probably something like 70 bucks. Just search for "Ideal Tire Grooving Iron" on the web and you'll get lots of hits including eBay and Amazon.

Bronco82 · Jan 4, 2017

For those who grooved their tires years ago, and still have the same tractor, do you still have those tires, and if so, how are they holding out? Browsing tire grooving irons now.

kennyd · Jan 4, 2017

Bronco82 said:
For those who grooved their tires years ago, and still have the same tractor, do you still have those tires, and if so, how are they holding out? Browsing tire grooving irons now.

Yes, perfect! I would do it again if I got new tires.