Where do you buy tires? What brands to avoid.

[WinterDeere]

If you are so inclined, next time I buy tires for either of my M9's, YOU can come and mount them. I'd like to see that actually. Gonna be buying another set this fall btw.

I'm afraid to even ask the size.

 

[N80]

I've tried to find out where Carlisle tires are made. They have facilities in the US and China. One source said their Ag tires were made in the U.S. and most of the tires from their China facility were trailer tires. But that's all the info I could find.

In regard to mounting them myself, well, I can try and fail and then take them to the tire shop that has put tubes in them before. I have helped my brother-in-law mount large rears on his farm tractors just using hand tools. Now, they were the proper tools but it was still a good bit of work for two men. I would assume these small fronts would be easier and I can use his tools. I don't mind trying and I don't mind giving up when I know I'm beat either. ;-)

I'll do a little more research on the Carlisle brand but if I can't confirm anything I'll go with the BKTs which are about the same price as the Carlisles.

 

[repete]

On my Kubota L2550DT I have different brands but same size tires, 12.4 x 24. One is about 3" taller than the other. This causes my bucket to not sit level. I can live with it as I seldom do any real leveling with it.

My greatest question is with the gear ratio. If the tires are not matched in radius then the ratio front to rear can be off. Only use 4WD when necessary but still there.

Is there an industry standard for tractor tire dimensions?

 

[sixdogs]

It's not that I'm disappointed with lesser brands but I try to buy Firestone when income is at stake. Radials for serious income work and bias for daily service. I've had no problems with BK and I have some Sampson trailer tires that are fine. Zero issues.
I think Titans are probably OK and I'm confused on Goodyear. I think Titan owns them but not sure and haven't had any Goodyears for a while. I used to really like them. What I don't want is an obscure brand from China off the net. I want something my tire shop has had experience with,

I mounted one tractor tire and it took forever. It's worth it to either take to the shop or have the service truck do it in the yard. They're done in minutes and it's a perfect job.

What matters is the dealer that sells the tire. I have a good one and when a low hour, expensive radial got a flat spot out of warranty, he made them partly warranty it. They did some, he did some and I did some. That's why I buy tires only from him. Sometimes they cost more but not it total since he does great work and is my advocate if needed.

 

[WinterDeere]

My greatest question is with the gear ratio. If the tires are not matched in radius then the ratio front to rear can be off. Only use 4WD when necessary but still there.

Tractor OEM's rarely get the ratios perfect, in fact usually favoring slight faster travel on the front axle, to keep the machine running straight in deep mud or snow. Getting travel rates exactly matched to the gear ratio would be nearly impossible, as running circumference changes so dramatically with changes in tire inflation, and everyone is running different inflation according to machine weight and conditions.

Get them close, the actual running circumference, not the unloaded diameter. Favor slightly faster travel on the front axle, when multiplying by front/rear gear ratio, and call it done.

 

[5030]

I'm afraid to even ask the size.

My rears are as tall as I am (6 feet) and the front's aren't much smaller

 

[sixdogs]

My rears are as tall as I am (6 feet) and the front's aren't much smaller

What is amazing is that you don't realize the size when you work with larger equipment in open fields. I had to take two smaller front tires/wheels in to the tire guy and sort of thought of loading in a pickup. Ha, they wouldn't fit and even looked large on a trailer.

 

[sixdogs]

On my Kubota L2550DT I have different brands but same size tires, 12.4 x 24. One is about 3" taller than the other. This causes my bucket to not sit level. I can live with it as I seldom do any real leveling with it.

My greatest question is with the gear ratio. If the tires are not matched in radius then the ratio front to rear can be off. Only use 4WD when necessary but still there.

Is there an industry standard for tractor tire dimensions?

There are competitive industry actions that cause each company to stick pretty close to an accepted norm. Something is not right to have one tire that's the same size as another and be 3" taller.

This needs to be figured out PDQ and the correct size put on. The price of a tire is likely chump change compared with front axle gears and hubs.

I have written a number of posts and threads on TBN and there are other discussions about the "front end ratio" and relationship of front tire size to rear tire size. Just search for them.

 

[WinterDeere]

What is amazing is that you don't realize the size when you work with lager equipment in open fields. I had to take two smaller front tires/wheels in to the tire guy and sort of thought of loading in a pickup. Ha, they wouldn't fit and even looked large on a trailer.

I used to have the same problem with Christmas trees, before I started carrying a tape measure to the tree farm with me.

 

[N80]

It is my understanding that the fronts on my tractor are slightly overdriven as mentioned above. But, the diameter of these fronts is quite different from what it was when they were new due to wear; so I agree that while getting the right size is important in general it is probably not critical down to the centimeter. I suspect that might be different if you spent all your time on pavement. I am rarely on pavement and when I am I take it out of 4wd.

When I assisted changing large rear tires they were also probably 6 feet or more tall. The pry bars were about that long too. These were for 150 hp JD farm tractors.