Radial tires

[greenacresnorth]

When I first posted about radial tires, the response was like it was 1988 and we were discussing carburetor vs fuel injection. God forbid we do something other than the three choices.

Ive been on different forums off and on for the past 10 years, there is a 90-10 noise to signal ratio pretty consistently.

 

[BAP]

You won’t regret going with radials. Once you use them, you will wonder why you waited so long to switch over.

 

[tinman4240]

I was able to get my 4240 shod with Michelin Crossgrips to help my snow removal hobbie. Had to buy new 16x8 front wheels to replace the oem 16.5 wheels. 250/80R16 fronts and 460/70R24 rears. I had @ 9" of snow to deal with from WS Orlena and using the Crossgrips for the first time, OMG, Shut the front door!! I was impressed ! I just finished grooving my half warn R4's slicks which did improve traction. The Crossgrips, however, are like using invisible tire chains on all 4 tires. Vibration free road travel, smooth steering as you maneuver and ultra traction with no beet juice or extra hanging weight. Yeah, tractor tire replacement is pricey , but you get what you pay for. I feel like the Crossgrips were the correct choice for my application., plus they look awesome.. Ill post some pic from my phone.

 

[tinman4240]

New Michelin Crossgrips

 

[je1279]

New Michelin Crossgrips

They look like big 'ol truck tires.

 

[tinman4240]

First storm using those big "ol truck tires was amazing.

 

[Botabart]

I was able to get my 4240 shod with Michelin Crossgrips to help my snow removal hobbie. Had to buy new 16x8 front wheels to replace the oem 16.5 wheels. 250/80R16 fronts and 460/70R24 rears. I had @ 9" of snow to deal with from WS Orlena and using the Crossgrips for the first time, OMG, Shut the front door!! I was impressed ! I just finished grooving my half warn R4's slicks which did improve traction. The Crossgrips, however, are like using invisible tire chains on all 4 tires. Vibration free road travel, smooth steering as you maneuver and ultra traction with no beet juice or extra hanging weight. Yeah, tractor tire replacement is pricey , but you get what you pay for. I feel like the Crossgrips were the correct choice for my application., plus they look awesome.. Ill post some pic from my phone.

Did the tire shop or dealer help you figure out what sizes you needed?

 

[tinman4240]

Hi Botabart, Actually I learned quite a bit @ tractor tires and why choosing the correct tire size for a MFWD tractor is so important. As it worked out, the metric size equivalent was the same as the eom sae size. i.e. a 16.9-24 Titan is a 460/70R24. Had to purchase new 16x8 Kubota wheels for the 250/80R16 fronts but they too matched the 10-16.5 SS/loader front oem Titans . I did all the math to insure that I had a positive % lead, which was ( .77% ). I was hoping for a 1.5 to 2% lead but your choices for that type of tire are quite limited. I was thankfully impressed with the performance of the Michelins on my first outing as I layed out some serious cash. I'm gonna play with the TP in the rears. You can run much lower psi with the radial Crossgrips as the 4240 is not a high speed tractor. I observed 15 mph at 2200 rpm ( HH ) which I considered a sweet spot on pavement and the cruise full forward. I'm hoping these tires will treat me right.

 

[Botabart]

Hi Botabart, Actually I learned quite a bit @ tractor tires and why choosing the correct tire size for a MFWD tractor is so important. As it worked out, the metric size equivalent was the same as the eom sae size. i.e. a 16.9-24 Titan is a 460/70R24. Had to purchase new 16x8 Kubota wheels for the 250/80R16 fronts but they too matched the 10-16.5 SS/loader front oem Titans . I did all the math to insure that I had a positive % lead, which was ( .77% ). I was hoping for a 1.5 to 2% lead but your choices for that type of tire are quite limited. I was thankfully impressed with the performance of the Michelins on my first outing as I layed out some serious cash. I'm gonna play with the TP in the rears. You can run much lower psi with the radial Crossgrips as the 4240 is not a high speed tractor. I observed 15 mph at 2200 rpm ( HH ) which I considered a sweet spot on pavement and the cruise full forward. I'm hoping these tires will treat me right.

I tried to get the differential/inter axle ratio for the L3560 from Kubota and the response was 1.57. That number didn't make sense in lead lag calculations but coincidentally if I divided the rolling circumference of the oe rears by the fronts I got 1.57. When I go to do this, I'll just try to match the rc of the original r4's as close as possible.

 

[tinman4240]

Botabart There are a few ways to calculate the % lead . All use the RC and the IAR. The easiest way is using Titans website lead calculator. Do the math by hand if you prefer, then maybe check yourself on Titans lead/lag app. Don't quite understand why Kubota is so reluctant on posting the IAR in their model specifications. What's the big wiggle? They list every other spec. Probably legal responsibility issues. I guess not all their customers are as good a thinker as you. Kubota and Michelin should hook up and offer a snow package like JD and Nokian. If you are doing snow removal like so many Kubota owners are, and can swing the expense of tire replacement, go for it. I was needlessly struggling in the snow with the R4's compared to the last storm with CrossGrips. I will lower the TP in the rears and they will even work better.

 

[Botabart]

Botabart There are a few ways to calculate the % lead . All use the RC and the IAR. The easiest way is using Titans website lead calculator. Do the math by hand if you prefer, then maybe check yourself on Titans lead/lag app. Don't quite understand why Kubota is so reluctant on posting the IAR in their model specifications. What's the big wiggle? They list every other spec. Probably legal responsibility issues. I guess not all their customers are as good a thinker as you. Kubota and Michelin should hook up and offer a snow package like JD and Nokian. If you are doing snow removal like so many Kubota owners are, and can swing the expense of tire replacement, go for it. I was needlessly struggling in the snow with the R4's compared to the last storm with CrossGrips. I will lower the TP in the rears and they will even work better.

I see that Massey Ferguson also offers a Nokian option. Think it added almost 3 grand. I finally got a price on Crossgrips yesterday. 390 for the 250/80r16 and 1100 for the 400/80r24. Not installed. Probably 100 more than the Alliance 550's for the front and 500 more for the rears. Each. Will have to dig deeper when I order the tractor. Hopefully the dealer will be some help. Had to laugh at a Facebook post yesterday. A guy had a newly paved driveway and couldn't make it up the hill with his R4's. All the responses were straight out of the 1970's. Add weight and chains. Poor guy. I stayed out of it.

 

[tinman4240]

They are forecasting a 3-5" quick mover in CT Sunday which is ok. That will give me more time to bond with my CrossGrips. ( stupid guy thing ) Botabart, if you can swing it for the radials, go for it. You won't be thinking about the money when you aren't spinning, making a mess, burning less fuel and using up your machine. You'll be saying money well spent. Good luck

 

[BeechRidge]

I am trying to get my L4760 set up with snows..Nokian TRI-2 (17.5x24 rear)=460/70R24

Fronts are my trouble 10x16.5 , Galaxy makes the Mighty Trac snow use radial..
My questions:

Are the wheels on the machine ( running R-4 Titan) going to accept the radials?

Can I change the front wheels to accept a different tire size all while maintaining the "circumfrence" and other restraints??

Thanks for the help!