I plowed for 11 winters with turfs and hesitated to settle for R-4s when trading in, with the dealer saying "that's how they come anymore" explaining the '6-ply' carcass vs '4-ply' of R-1s or R-3s. I plowed 4", 6" and 12"+ snows this year and wouldn't have known the difference between my old and new virtually twin tractors with supposedly the 'best' and 'worst' winter options. Would have siped the R-4s in a minute if it had come to that.
My driveway is 550' long and after our recent tree trimming ice storm, a two day thaw, and temps returning to the teens & 20,s mine and the neighbor's drives (120' plus a large turnaround) are veritable ice rinks that make foot traffic all but impossible without a dusting of crunchy powder on top. The 12'+ snowfall was removed
after this condition evolved, more piling than pushing this time but with never a thought to any unrealized 'slippage', or doubt that my rubber was up to the task.
I suspect that reports are often specific to anecdotal and extreme experiences that IMO may lead to over-interpreting the differences of the 3 common types, esp in winter conditions. I'm sure that having only pancake-flat surfaces and using ballast renders my comparison invalid vs others with hills & slopes, tho' 4wd is often needed to maneuver our trucks quite in contrast to the tractor doing so well even in 2wd. M&S road vs turf vs R-3 tires doesn't seem to matter enough to draw any conclusions in these conditions. btw: No clutching on the AT-equipped trucks or HST tractors. Whether that matters much is unclear, but one reason I stopped driving 'sticks' otr was poor winter driving o'all.
What I haven't learned yet is whether tire differences are as obvious as as I had expected in the various seasonal conditions. The R-4s are kind to my soft lawn, tho' it's sandy and well drained. No conclusion. I did have a few drips of RimGuard from a rear fill stem when plowing at 13^ F and wondered if the stuff might have been at the threshold of freezing up. I'll look for further leakage in warmer temps (not there above 15^ F). Still, there will be times when chains are called for and IMO no tire will obviate that necessity.
Traction, lawn damage, etc seem to be mostly subjective, as is appraisal (YMMV), but I no longer believe that choice of rubber can ever matter as much as 2wd vs 4wd use whether with truck or tractor. Either way, I feel well-prepared for winter whenever it arrives & can't imagine I'd be much happier with turfs or R-1s at his point. btw: tractors I pitched in to get 'unstuck' earlier this winter ('04 JD 60+hp, Kubo MX5100 &
not using my little NH) were up to their axles in soft ground and got there wearing R-1s all around, so to me it's all 'relative'.
Whether this post is the least bit helpful, or if seasonal tire rotation (summer to 'snows' as of yore) was worth the expense and effort, more of us would be doing so and posting about the cleverness or merit of going back to the old ways.
