Michelin "Tweels" on JD mower

   / Michelin "Tweels" on JD mower #1  

plowhog

Elite Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2015
Messages
3,405
Location
North. NV, North. CA
Tractor
Massey 1710 / 1758, Ventrac 4500Y / TD9
What are the pros and cons of the JD mower owners that use Tweels? Is JD the only manufacturer offering them as standard equipment on some models?

Another thread here discussed functional features, and the "vanity" of operating a tweel-equipped mower. What are the pros and cons about functionality? I saw a lot of back-and-forth at the lawnsite forum. Some users there believe the tweels ride smoother, others believe rougher? I can't comment about "vanity" but saw these comments about functionality on the other forum:

These things might be worth what their asking at construction sites where there are a lot of things that like to stick in tires.

I wonder how smoothly they actually ride. If they rode as great as claimed, then a cheaper seat instead of a suspension seat may be worth the trade off in price.

I really don't see these catching on very well in our industry unless they get the price down very close to pneumatic tire/rim combos.

Probably a big add-on feature for dealers to make a nice profit like deluxe suspension seats.

I've done a lot of research on the investment and most posts on this thread are right that the additional cost is just not worth it but for us it is. We put 600 to 800 hours a year on our units with a lot of pavement time so the tread life for us is important also. No tire flat down time ...

Was curious about the ride height.....will the ride height be equivalent to that of 12psi? If not then might have to make some deck adjustments to keep the rake at 1/4".

I also wonder after a few hundred hrs if the spokes could crack or get weak with all of the flexing after millions of revolutions Also does the flex change when its 100ー out or 28ー ?

My business has two Z930r 60 one with tweels and one without. Here is my take.... Traction- Tweels have better traction but also rip up the turf much easier. Ride- Tweels ride rougher for sure. They soften up over time but still ride much rougher than the pneumatic. This softening up over time also messes with the pitch of the blade/deck and that really pisses me off.

I was hoping the tweels would make the JD I tested at the Gie ride better but thought the mower still rode harsh. They had great traction in the mud and look cool but I am not surprised they are harder on the turf.

I've got tweels on mine and I bought it for the traction I get on some steep slopes we have. Does not like mud, will sling rocks if you have to cross over a parking area with lots of loose rocks, does not like loose sand.

My take on the above is that there is obvious benefit at construction sites or places where you could get a lot of flat tires, since tweels wont (or shouldn't) be affected by that. Beyond that, lots of questions ....
 
   / Michelin "Tweels" on JD mower #2  

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

28013 (A50322)
28013 (A50322)
2023 GMC 3500 Bed (A51573)
2023 GMC 3500 Bed...
2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 4x4 SUV (A51694)
2015 Jeep Wrangler...
20ft Utility Cargo Trailer (A51572)
20ft Utility Cargo...
2013 CATERPILLAR 320EL EXCAVATOR (A51246)
2013 CATERPILLAR...
2025 JOHN DEERE 408R LOT NUMBER 10 (A53084)
2025 JOHN DEERE...
 
Top