Now That R14 Tires Have Been Out For A While

[RalphVa]

A tad more traction on the R14s vs. R4s. Toughness remains to be proven. Had gobs of troubles with front R3s in 9 years and absolutely NO problems in 8 years with R4s. R4s have very little side bite.

 

[Creamer]

I put the AT-101s on my mower which is a front mount zero turn.

 

[hornett22]

Just got a new tractor for the wife and let the dealer talk me into R14s, must admit they looked good on the tractor. Always had R4s which works 99% of the time for the work that she does with the tractors. Only time R4s did not work was in snow and deep mud which I do not experience very often, only one snow over an inch in 12 years.

Back to the R14, after 15 hours of mowing and moving dirt, I wish I had the R4s mounted. The R14s may have marginally more traction on grass but tear it up more and can dirt a hole quicker in the dirt, but the one thing I cannot seem to fix is the bouncy feeling on sloped or rough ground. I had rears loaded and aired up to the OM pressures (around 30 psi) but wow, they look rounded and very little tread touches the ground. I lowered the pressure down to 25 psi for a week which really did not improve anything and finally down to 20 psi this week. At the lower pressure they feel even more bouncy but they do look better and have a better contact patch. I may try 15 psi just round out the experiment.

The R4s always felt rock solid, really did not tear up the grass, and worked well enough in the chert dirt I have around my property. I will give the R14s the summer but will likely look for a set of rims and get R4 mounted as even the wife says the tractor feels unstable mowing our sloped property and has stated flatly that she will not be doing much mowing if it does not get fixed .

I run 10-12 psi in my loaded rear tires.

 

[oosik]

I have a Kubota M6040. It weighs 10,100 pounds and has RimGuard loaded rear tires. I run the rears at 14 psi and the fronts at 40 psi. 14 psi gives the rear tires a solid chevron pattern all the way across the tread. I have never thought of "ride comfort" and my Kubota in the same thought. I do not mow anything with Kubota and I do not rototill food plots. I run R-1's all the way around. Ride comfort never entered the equation when I decided to purchase the Kubota.

I maintain my mile long gravel driveway - summer/winter - move large chunks of pine tree trunks and large rocks. Plus all the other chores required to maintain my 80 acres. I definitely need the traction that R-1's provide.

 

[Cahaba Valley Farm]

I have never thought of "ride comfort" and my Kubota in the same thought. I do not mow anything with Kubota and I do not rototill food plots. I run R-1's all the way around. Ride comfort never entered the equation when I decided to purchase the Kubota.

That's what makes these machines so versatile yet challenging to understand for the uninitiated. They are set up based on the environment they will be worked in.

 

[ActiveWV]

My Deere dealer didn't even know what R14 tires were

Same. They can’t even get a product number after I asked for an upgrade …

 

[Whitbread]

For anyone considering tire options, I can't say enough good things about the Yokomaha alliance 550s. For the life of me I cannot understand why r4s are the default all purpose tire.

I switched from galaxy r4s to them and after 40 hours, I'm blown away by their performance. They don't tear up grass with anything but a full lock turn with some speed either. Dragging logs, I'll stall the 40hp tractor before spinning tires. With the r4's, I'd spin and barely bog down.

 

[dieselscout80]

What sizes are your Yokomaha alliance 550s?

Do they ride better?

 

[CADplans]

For the life of me I cannot understand why r4s are the default all purpose tire.

I switched from galaxy r4s to them and after 40 hours, I'm blown away by their performance.

I can easily explain why R4 tires are default,,,, $,$$$.

The customer prices tractor "A",, then finds tractor "B" for $2,000 less,,
the customer buys tractor "B".

That is the simple fact of marketing.
Beyond tires,,
why not include with the tractor:
*toothed cutting edge for the loader bucket
*fluid for the tires
*3 point attachments such as a wood splitter, rock rake, and grader box
*auxiliary lights
*transport trailer
*chain saw
*chains and cables for pulling logs
*snow blower (up "North")

Tractor "B" has none of this, and is half the price of tractor "A", the choice of the customer is then guided by price.

We read it all the time,, "I saved XXX dollars by buying the "other" tractor"

So FEW people would EVER consider tire type over basic when buying a new tractor, tires beyond R4 are not considered.

I agree radial tires are the best way to go,, our cars and trucks are proof of that.
I put a set of radial tires on a 2WD garden tractor,, that machine was unstoppable,, even going backward, up a hill.

So, I agree,, but, it boils down to $$.

 

[Whitbread]

What sizes are your Yokomaha alliance 550s?

Do they ride better?

Can't say exactly how much different they ride as the r4s were not filled and these are, so it's not exactly a fair comparison. It still rides like a tractor with no suspension off road if you hit a big rut you didn't see, but is very smooth at full speed going down the road.

Sizes im running are 265/70-16.5 and 460/70-24.