Putting the R1 vs R4 debate to rest?

[newbury]

C'mon guys, 10 more posts to make this a respectable thread.
Should we throw in Turfs?

 

[Hay Dude]

Yeah, I don't get it either. It's like cutting the tractor's performance in something like 20 or 25%, and I'm being conservative.

Even if the reason was to drive over the lawn, I can easily do it with the R1's and not cause any damage whatsoever.

Very true.
Although R4s have their place (skid steers, backhoes and loader tractors run on multi-surfaces) a landscape, farm or logging tractor will give far better performance with R1’s. Traction will increase in nearly every off road scenario and your hard earned money will pull harder, putting that horsepower to work and getting more work done faster.

 

[milkman636]

My previous tractors had R1 tires, and I was always impressed by the mud I could churn through. They were still slippery in icy conditions though. My current tractors have R4 and turfs. The switch to R4s for me came after I moved to a property that was higher and much drier than my previous place. And I went with R4 because that’s what was on the tractor at the dealers lot. There is only one spot that stays wet for any time on my property and it’s at the very back. So I can stay away from it and I’m not worried about mud very often. The turfs are honestly my first choice in snow. Having R4s on the front has been great for running around with a full loader. I’ve even roaded full buckets of dirt in high range without concern. They are much sturdier than my previous R1s. But the R4s on the rear don’t provide any advantage that I can see. I miss the traction that I used to get in two wheel drive with my previous tractors. With R4s I’m engaging the FWA a lot more often than I did previously. So I’m finding that increases the tire wear enough that I’m probably not gonna get as much extra life out of my front R4s as I expected. My perfect tire setup would be R1 in the back with an R4 style front tire. But that would take a lot of math to get right, and tires are too expensive to get it wrong. So I stick with the what I have and make it work. Tire chains are a pain, so I add as much ballast weight as I can in the winter for snow, and that helps the R4s work better. But, that is not an approach I would recommend for muddy conditions. For mud, or wet ground that’s hiding mud, I recommend staying out of it completely with R4 tires. So if you operate in mud, don’t get R4s, period, full-stop. For any other conditions you can use an R4 tires. If I ever buy another new tractor I’ll probably go back to R1 because there are still times that I miss having them, but if I buy used again I’ll take what’s on it and adjust.

 

[pmsmechanic]

C'mon guys, 10 more posts to make this a respectable thread.
Should we throw in Turfs?

Well I bought my 4410 with turfs. The salesman tried to talk me into R-4's and I'm so glad I stuck to what I wanted. My biggest issue with R-4's is that they ride considerably rougher than the other tires. For 95% of what I do with my tractor traction is not an issue. For the remaining 5% I'll adjust.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I've got a word or two for you with R4 and snow traction problems? Groove your tires, it will improve snow traction 200%. I bought an Ideal heated groove knife from Amazon.

 

[arrow]

My previous tractors had R1 tires, and I was always impressed by the mud I could churn through. They were still slippery in icy conditions though. My current tractors have R4 and turfs. The switch to R4s for me came after I moved to a property that was higher and much drier than my previous place. And I went with R4 because that’s what was on the tractor at the dealers lot. There is only one spot that stays wet for any time on my property and it’s at the very back. So I can stay away from it and I’m not worried about mud very often. The turfs are honestly my first choice in snow. Having R4s on the front has been great for running around with a full loader. I’ve even roaded full buckets of dirt in high range without concern. They are much sturdier than my previous R1s. But the R1s on the rear don’t provide any advantage that I can see. I miss the traction that I used to get in two wheel drive with my previous tractors. With R4s I’m engaging the FWA a lot more often than I did previously. So I’m finding that increases the tire wear enough that I’m probably not gonna get as much extra life out of my front R4s as I expected. My perfect tire setup would be R1 in the back with an R4 style front tire. But that would take a lot of math to get right, and tires are too expensive to get it wrong. So I stick with the what I have and make it work. Tire chains are a pain, so I add as much ballast weight as I can in the winter for snow, and that helps the R4s work better. But, that is not an approach I would recommend for muddy conditions. For mud, or wet ground that’s hiding mud, I recommend staying out of it completely with R4 tires. So if you operate in mud, don’t get R4s, period, full-stop. For any other conditions you can use an R4 tires. If I ever buy another new tractor I’ll probably go back to R1 because there are still times that I miss having them, but if I buy used again I’ll take what’s on it and adjust.

This is why it is so important to scope out the use , tractor size and weight, land and driver habit before recommending a tire.
Everyone knows R4's will work on a given set of circumstances and R1's have their place as well.

I have R1's on a 4000 lb tractor. I use it for logging and snow removal. I put 4 link ladder chains on the rears.
I wish i had radial R1's for the tractor because when i do drive on the lawn, it's rather destructive with the regular R1's so I do not do that. I once saw on a video where a guy on a tractor my size, made a pin point turn on grass with radial R1's and he could just about tell where he was.

For me, I often contemplate having gotten a 6 ply turf tire and chain up all 4 tires for winter and logging.
Driving on the lawn issues would be mitigated.
Where I do appreciate the R1's beyond their tractive capabilities, is the added ground clearance they afford when working the woods.

 

[deezler]

R1s and R4s both suck!

R2s are the only way to go, clearly. Hard to get across my rice paddy with your wimpy american tire options.

 

[jyoutz]

I have had cuts with r1 r3 r4 tires and I can honestly say that I hate r4 tires. They are completely useless most of the time. No reason at this point in time that better tires haven't been developed for this market. I have seen some impressive off road truck tires that I feel would be ideal for my tractor. Often thought about machining some adapters or modify wheels to try some. My honest opinion about the r4 tire trend on cuts was based off of looks rather than function. I wish a company would offer a better more universal tire. I understand that some people like the r4 tires for their uses, but I do not. I think a real hybrid tire would easily eliminate the r4 market. Keep in mind this is just my opinion and I am in no way trying to bash any r4 fans.

That hybrid is available. They are called R14

 

[Hay Dude]

I notice on many of the posts defending the traction abilities of R4's the author of the post will say "so far my R4's are great,,,, as long as I avoid the muddy spots"

I mean, yeah if we are talking about traction, wouldn't you want to be able to drive through the muddy spots? LOL

 

[dnw64]

Somehow I'm getting the idea that this is not putting the R1 VS R4 debate to rest.

If it hasn't been said on this thread, it's certainly been said elsewhere on this site: there is no one answer-to-everything for any question.

And even if you narrow the category down, you are unlikely to get a clear winner. If you could, that would mean that the opposition would soon be out of business.