tire traction?

[wolc123]

Most of the tire confusion comes from tractor salesman. Most CUT's are delivered with R4 tires and they pass them off to customers as some kind of magic that will not damage your lawn and provides traction in dirt equal to R1's. There really is not any magic, and the reduced lawn damage comes completely at the expence of traction. Many have been dissappointed at the performance of R4 tires, questioning why their tractor will not perform on a certain sized plow even though it has XX hp, etc.. R4's were designed for industrial applications such as a backhoe and for this they have no equal. People who need to do lawn work and field work would be much better off with a set of turfs and a set of R1's, or better yet, seperate tractors with each. Compromise almost always leads to dissapointment when you get too far either way off center. Think of a moldboard plow as one extreme and a moist lawn as the other. R4's will get you by (with mild dissapointment) in the middle but on either edge you had better have R1's or Turfs or your dissapointment will be severe.

 

[LBrown59]

People who need to do lawn work and field work would be much better off with a set of turfs and a set of R1's, or better yet,
seperate tractors with each.

I just bought a BX1500 with AGs for grading and tilling
and a second BX1500 with turfs for mowing.
Looks like
I got this covered.

 

[SPYDERLK]

Many people on this forum have been disapointed in the traction provided by R4 tires. They are ok on dry firm ground but severely limited in loose ground, mud or snow. In these conditions an equal weight 2wd with R1's will almost always perform equal to or better than a 4wd with R4's when performing drawbar work. In many cases the 4wd is able to offset the traction deficiencies of R4 tires, but if you really need traction to get your job done then a 4wd with R1's is what you will want. If you try to use the same machine for cutting your lawn and doing feild work you will be making some sacrifices in either lawn damage or traction, that is the cost of compromise that is associated with the R4 tire. Anyone who thinks R4 tires can match the off-road traction of R1's is very badly misguided.

I don't think anybody here is saying that. I think what they're saying is that R-4's on a 4x4 can out-traction R-1's on a 4x2 in a lot more situations.

I do think a 4x2 w/ R-1's could do as well or maybe better than a 4x4 with R-4's pulling a bottom plow on loose ground because the plow puts a lot of traction on the rear axle and helps to lessen the effectiveness of the front axle on a 4x4.

My R-4 equipped 4x4's are by no means severly limited in mud. I work in mud constantly and having 4x4 makes all the difference in the world. Plowing snow seems to be a piece of cake, too. Otherwise the 4x4 backhoe with R-4's and a snowpusher box wouldn't be the equipment of choice for big time snow removal.

You can always fill the tires on the R-4's or add wheel weights if you want more traction.

Looking at the advantages of R-4's, you get better tire wear, less damage on grass, pavement, concrete, etc.

Unless pulling a bottom plow is all you do, I'd still take the 4x4 over the 4x2.

Those are about it in a nutshell. No way I can see to compare 4x4 vs 4x2 for overall traction in the tire combination youve stated. R-4s can often, wheel for wheel, give better traction on unpackable material like gravel or sand and some snows, and also on hardpack, but in the majority of real world farming situations the R-1s win easily on a wheel for wheel traction basis. As stated in quotes the 4x2 R1 will need most of its weight on the rears and fairly flat land to compete. The closest you can get to "overall" is 4x4 R1s.

larry​

 

[EastTnFarmboy]

Which set-up will give me better overall traction with any given tractor:
1. 2 wheel drive with Ag tires, or
2. 4 wheel drive with R4 tires

If you must know a tractor model, use the 990 for comparison purposes.

All of us have made legitimate points or shared our experiences. For any shortcomings R4s may have, his question was between the above 2 choices for "overall" traction with "any given" tractor. Personally, I think that "Overall" the 4x4 R4 will win more often than not between these 2 choices. I will concede that when you are doing ground engaging work R1s might be better because of the afor stated point regarding weight transfer. I guess it all depends on what you will be using it for "overall".

 

[JerryG]

Another thing to take into consideration when deciding between those two types of tires is the wheel design. You can adjust Ag R-1 wheels to several different widths. This gives you the option of setting the wheels to a width that will make the tractor more stable on slopes. Some R-4 wheels have two positions but most don't.

Which set-up will give me better overall traction with any given tractor:
1. 2 wheel drive with Ag tires, or
2. 4 wheel drive with R4 tires

If you must know a tractor model, use the 990 for comparison purposes.

 

[ddivinia]

There is not a simple answer to this question. One big aspect is tractor weight. I had a 2210 with Turfs - it sucked. I got it stuck all the time. 4wd or not - it was so easy to bury it.

My 4720 (4wd) with R4s - it does pretty good across the board. in Mud - it is not that great. Combo plate of less traction and the R4s don't clean themselves very well.

My 5525 (4wd or 2wd) with R1s will always outpull my 4720 with R4s. The R1s have way more traction. The 5525 weigh a lot more also. If doing plowing, etc - I bet the R1 in 2wd will work pretty well. Doing FEL work - the R4s might be better.

More info is required. What ya doing?

D.

 

[Builder]

If 4x2's w/ R-1's got so much better traction than 4x4's w/ R-4's, then why wouldn't everyone buy 4x2's with R-1's and save 5-10 grand on their tractor purchases?

 

[SPYDERLK]

If 4x2's w/ R-1's got so much better traction than 4x4's w/ R-4's, then why wouldn't everyone buy 4x2's with R-1's and save 5-10 grand on their tractor purchases?

You wrote a really good post a few back. Now you seem to be getting fixated. 4x4 gives real value for the extra money, especially when you can turn it off when not needed - or even detrimental. R1s have great traction on a wide variety of surfaces, but a 4x2 is limited. If theyre not touching the ground like in loader work or backing up a hill the 4x2 is dead on any tire.
larry

 

[Nuru]

Agree with 4 x 4, tire selection does depend on the job, and consistent usage.

 

[Builder]

You wrote a really good post a few back. Now you seem to be getting fixated. 4x4 gives real value for the extra money, especially when you can turn it off when not needed - or even detrimental. R1s have great traction on a wide variety of surfaces, but a 4x2 is limited. If theyre not touching the ground like in loader work or backing up a hill the 4x2 is dead on any tire.
larry

Because i needed to respond to this:

"My 5525 (4wd or 2wd) with R1s will always outpull my 4720 with R4s'"