Groovy tires

[LouNY]

Just a thought for you guys grooving your tires,
on my old groover you could install the blade upside down and use it for cutting sipes in a tire.
Sipping used to be used commonly on tires for a winter traction aid,
as well as a way to increase the flexing and decrease the heat buildup in truck and trailer tires.
Also some tire shops had a device that looked similar to a whole bunch of fish hooks on rollers and they would condition the tread face of tires for ice traction.

 

[Smokeydog]

Agree grooving in hot weather makes it easier. Takes physical strength to groove.

Sipping helps with slick and ice conditions and probably ok for lawns. It’s all about the edges. Worry about chunking out rubber in mud and rocks in farm use. If I had enough snow to plow or blow would consider.

R4 rubber is pretty tough. What works good for a B-series might not help a M-series as much.

 

[coolconnection]

Nothing especially new here, but wanted to share. I grooved my rear tires and siped the fronts. My goal is a bit better forward traction, but mostly better steering when plowing snow. Once I drop the HLA 1800 snow pusher in float, there's a lot less weight on the fronts, so turning on slippery surfaces is not always that effective!

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I grooved my front and rear tires like you did your rear tires but has anyone noticed how much the front grooved tires in this picture that are grooved look very much like the R14 tires except for the center groove?
If that center groove would have been at an angle like the rest it would have been very much like a R14 tire.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I made a little stop test on snowy roads with my grooved R4 tires.

 

[The Fred]

I wouldn't put R4s on my mother in laws tractor. Never again!!!!!!! They are thee most dangerous tires on any hill.

I always ***** about them but almost every new tractor I see being sold in these parts have R4s, just sad.

 

[pmsmechanic]

I wouldn't put R4s on my mother in laws tractor. Never again!!!!!!! They are thee most dangerous tires on any hill.

I always ***** about them but almost every new tractor I see being sold in these parts have R4s, just sad.

I'm with you and they ride so rough too. I don't get why the dealers push them so much. They are an ideal tire for front end loader work with lots of rough rock that chews up tires. The rest of the time there are tires that are a far better choice.

 

[lilranch2001]

I have never had the first issue with them, but then I live in Indiana

 

[Smokeydog]

Owned several tractors and construction equipment with R1 and R4 tires. Both have their pros and cons. The FELs on the TLBs are higher capacities than ag tractor counterparts benefit from the tougher R4. Grooving R4 tires helps with traction on the hillsides. Like most things if I can’t buy what I want, I’ll try to make something that will work. It’s always a compromise.

 

[Stan B]

We finally got a bit of snow, so I wanted to update everyone with how the grooving worked. Regarding conditions, there is a bit of ice under the snow that fell. It started as rain, then switched to snow, so definitely slippery conditions. The ground was also not frozen, so the snow had to "work" to freeze the ground. As far as how slipery it is, I would categorize the asphalt and concrete as uncomfortable to walk on after plowing. (Virtually all the plowing I do is on either asphalt or concrete.)

My main goal was to improve steering when the snow pusher was on the ground in float, so very little weight left on the front tires. I have to say, my simulated R14 pattern nailed it. I can now turn much better, even considering the slick conditions under the snow. I did not need to engage 4wd to get the benefit either. I call it a win. As far as improved traction in the rear, I don't see that much improvement there (see pattern photos in first post). I had to engage 4wd to back up even on the slightest slope. My tires are not filled though, and I've only got a light duty 6' rear blade, so very little weight on the rear. Maybe next summer I'll add some cross groves on the rear tires.

Anyway, I'd say well worth it overall.

 

[coolconnection]

We got 7 inches of snow overnight for a white Christmas but after lunch I had to go out and plow the driveway. This is the first winter me having this of tractor so I have to learn how to use the plow on it. I took a short video but wish I would have shown it plowing down and up my driveway. I had grooved my tires over the summer because I used to plow my driveway with turf tires on my old tractor and I really did not want to give up any traction going from one tire type to another. I am so glad I grooved them, they worked awesome in the ice and snow. It was 10 degrees out when I filmed this and I think these tires have more traction than the turf tires I had and way more when turning around or driving in the snow. I don稚 use tire chains since I am on asphalt and concrete.