cobracnvt
Bronze Member
I put new tires on my 1997 John Deere 345 this summer and I want to recommend them. They are 4 Ply Terra Trac Tires by Kenda K502 23x10.5-12. I bought them on Ebay for a decent price. The tractor had the original Turf Tires on it. I thought they were good enough, and used chains on them in the winter to snow blow.
My John Deere 345 is a 18HP V-Twin liquid cooled with a hydrostatic transmission. It is rear wheel drive with no rear differential lock, so one wheel drive.
The sidewalls of the Kenda are much stiffer than the old turf tires. I installed them myself and they were a bear to get the bead to seat on the rim.
I could immediately feel a difference on the first time out on them. The difference in traction with the new tires is simply amazing. I can go up grassy hills that I couldn't with the turf tires without spinning the tires, and it feels like the capabilities of the tractor have improved a lot. I mowed several times with them and the tire tread didn't seem to bother the grass at all. The turf tires would spin once in a while and rip the grass up in areas that these new tires do not. The only negative point with the tires is that the tractor bounces around more. The stiff sidewalls let me know of every bump in my yard.
I waited to write this post until I had a chance to try the tires in the snow. I snow blowed the first storm of the year without putting the chains and didn't have any traction issues. They are even better with chains on. The best part is how well these tires self clear the snow from between the treads.
Here are a couple of pictures:
Old tire on Left, new tire on right:
Tire Profile
Tire print in snow, no snow stayed in the tire tread.
My John Deere 345 is a 18HP V-Twin liquid cooled with a hydrostatic transmission. It is rear wheel drive with no rear differential lock, so one wheel drive.
The sidewalls of the Kenda are much stiffer than the old turf tires. I installed them myself and they were a bear to get the bead to seat on the rim.
I could immediately feel a difference on the first time out on them. The difference in traction with the new tires is simply amazing. I can go up grassy hills that I couldn't with the turf tires without spinning the tires, and it feels like the capabilities of the tractor have improved a lot. I mowed several times with them and the tire tread didn't seem to bother the grass at all. The turf tires would spin once in a while and rip the grass up in areas that these new tires do not. The only negative point with the tires is that the tractor bounces around more. The stiff sidewalls let me know of every bump in my yard.
I waited to write this post until I had a chance to try the tires in the snow. I snow blowed the first storm of the year without putting the chains and didn't have any traction issues. They are even better with chains on. The best part is how well these tires self clear the snow from between the treads.
Here are a couple of pictures:
Old tire on Left, new tire on right:
Tire Profile
Tire print in snow, no snow stayed in the tire tread.
