Tires New R4's

[LouNY]

Calcium level above the top of the rim doesn't rust, steel is below the calcium level. Then as long as there are no leaks that allow the calcium to bleed onto the outside of the rim, no rust.
I'm not sticking up for calcium, but it doesn't deserve the bad rap from incorrect use either.

But the trouble is that it takes very little road speed to uncover the rim on a tractor as the tire will carry a lot of fluid up and around.
It is noticeable on a large tire as it gets to speed while road hauling.

 

[LouNY]

But what is the reason to stick with an old inferior product when there are new and improved products available?

Much more expensive and calcium isn't used much anymore except for topping off tires after repairs that already had it in them, per the tractor tire repair men that I know.

 

[jyoutz]

Much more expensive and calcium isn't used much anymore except for topping off tires after repairs that already had it in them, per the tractor tire repair men that I know.

It truly is more expensive for the newer ballast products. But new wheels aren’t cheap either. I think the bio-ballast that my dealer used in my tires is cheaper than the rim guard and less messy. It also is supposed to condition the tire rubber to keep them from cracking. We’ll see.

 

[jd670]

I ended up going with windshield washer fluid. I got two 55 gallon drums from O'Rielly's for around $250. Since I already had the pump and valve fitting, I figured what the heck. Took about 2 1/2 hours to do both tires. Only real question is how much air to put back in tires. My operators manual says 20 pounds maximum 12 pounds minimum for the 43-16-20 tires. I went with 20 pounds. Didn't want to pop bead. I've also heard of filling to maximum air pressure. Which tire says 34 pounds. I think that's too much. Curious to what you guys think. I have 2 acres of brush hogging to do today. I'll see how they do.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I ended up going with windshield washer fluid. I got two 55 gallon drums from O'Rielly's for around $250. Since I already had the pump and valve fitting, I figured what the heck. Took about 2 1/2 hours to do both tires. Only real question is how much air to put back in tires. My operators manual says 20 pounds maximum 12 pounds minimum for the 43-16-20 tires. I went with 20 pounds. Didn't want to pop bead. I've also heard of filling to maximum air pressure. Which tire says 34 pounds. I think that's too much. Curious to what you guys think. I have 2 acres of brush hogging to do today. I'll see how they do.

I went with WWF as well, with Multi Seal's Hydro 1500 tire seal mixed in, which is compatible with WWF. I ended up at 34psi since that's in the range for my smaller R14T tires (max 41) and 20psi was prone to leakage around the rim. Your mileage may vary on the tougher and thicker R4's, but ride around and see what the ride is like. 12 to 20 is only a 8psi difference but dropping by 2-3 psi might give a ride improvement.

My older, bigger, Ford w/ R4's I kept at 12psi with filled tires and they didn't leak around the beads.. though they did tend to weep through the rusting rims