Comparison Tires, R-1 versus R-4

[sanmigmike]

Okay, for us the turf tires are out of the question. After talking to the dealers they tell me that while you do lose a little traction with the R-4s they last longer and are a lot stronger, tougher... /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif Also on the L3130 at least (we saw one with each type of tire) the R-4 is a lot wider and might be a little more stable on hills?

What considerations should we take into for tire choice? Looks muddy in places right now, but not a real slick like clay. A lot of loose soil around where the logging has been done.

 

[Evasive1]

I think the first question will be what do you plan on doing with the tractor? This will make a big difference in your tire choice. Will it be used on lawns or just in fields. If you tell the fine people on TBN what you have in mind they can guide you in the right direction.

I have R4's on my 45 HP tractor and so far am very happy with them. My tractor gets a lot of loader time but have used it for quite a bit of rotary cutting and pulling a 7' disc to plant a 2 acre feed plot too. They are easy on the grass and have a good amount of traction, but in heavy thick mud, they will gum up.

 

[Boondox]

Have you tried doing a search on this topic? It's probably the most talked about choice among new tractor buyers and has been covered extensively before.

Pete

 

[Freds]

I bought an L3130 this year and went with the R4s again. I didn't plan on doing any lawn mowing with it, but I drive it on my grass a lot and wanted a less aggressive tread pattern. I got it stuck in the back field where I have a lot of clumpy pasture and standing water. I was able to get unstuck without any help, but *at that time* I wished I had opted for the R1s. With all the rain we had and the possibility of the old drains being clogged I was thinking about trenching in some new drains and almost went to the dealer to see if I could switch to the R1s instead. I was also thinking about getting a backhoe /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

After talking with more experienced people I was informed that a small excavator with tracks would be the right machine for the job. No matter what tires I had on a tractor, I would still get stuck in that area.

As far as the R4s lasting longer, I believe that's only a concern if you do a lot of road driving.

The R4s certainly add to the overall look of the tractor. It appears much wider and "beefier", so I think it might add to stability, but that's just a guess.

My neighbor has a MF 2WD and uses chains on his R1s to plow snow. I had R4s on my old B7500 and plowed the same amount of snow using 4WD.

Hope I've added to the confusion /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif and given you some other things to think about.

 

[jrepp]

R-1 = Maximum Traction, but also maximum damage to lawn.
R-4 = Less Traction, but less damage to lawn.

It's a trade off, you must decide if the extra traction is worth some turf damage (especially in four wheel drive).

 

[Soundguy]

By far.. r-1 will be the best traction. Soft/loose soil, mud/snow. They have a tendency to print manicured lawns.. but a horse/cow packed down pasture holds up fine. On paved roads, r-1 will provide a slightly noisy/bumpy ride.

R-4 is nearly the same style of tread.. though not as deep, and a tad wider. Slightly less road vibration and noise, and some loss of traction in deep loose/wet soil.

I have nice big turf tires on my NAA, and with a 5' box blade, I can break traction and spin when pushing up my maneuer pile in my pasture. I've had r-4's spin in mud, but otherwise do fine on anything else, and so far.. I've not gotten an r-1 to spin on my other tractors.

Soundguy

 

[keeney]

R1 = maximum traction = maximum digging - if you get stuck, its generally because the tractor dug itself down into a hole.

With a given maximum ground pressure to prevent traction failure, the only way to get more pushing force is to increase the contact surface area. In other words, a bunch of square inches pushing on the ground at a low pressure can still add up to a large total pushing ability.

What does this mean: The larger the contact patch, the better traction will be. Tracked machines take this to the extreme, but its also the reason tractors have such large wheels and tires.

So for maximum traction, you want the biggest wheels/tires your tractor can take.

- Rick

 

[eee]

I have a new set of R-1's loaded on the front of my JD 4400 and the other day I was in mud up to my front axle and spinning and I was bringing up dry dirt from the bottom. Thats digging pretty good.

 

[sanmigmike]

Went down the hill where they have been skidding logs and marveled at the ruts. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Think that might mean R-1's for us. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[stuart]

I went with the R-1's because I drive on my lawn even though I do not cut grass with the 4300. In the field or woods when I get stuck I use the 4 WD and the differential lock to escape. So far so good. Seems like the best of both worlds for me.