60 hours and front tires are shot.

[Firedog]

L2501 60 hours. I had my first experience with a blowout tire. Sad part was I didn’t know it had lost pressure and I was in low gear rolling slowly and until I turned it was then I noticed the tire almost off or the rim. I went to Kubota and found I needed to buy a tire and rim combo. Well no surprise there because I destroyed the rim driving 40 yds. They wanted 500 bucks. I left and searched on line for one and I found a new R4 tire 27x8.5x15 and rim combo for 340. 8 ply tire.
Then I remembered that it’s a 4x4 so my question is do I need to buy a second tire ?
I should have bought the 2nd one with an almost 50 dollar discount when you buy the pair. So I’m asking the experts on this and also I have the hybrid tire that has the 60 hours and it looks fairly shot on the outside. A lot of cuts in the tread and I also wanted to know if the R4 tire would mount on the hybrid rim. I’ll add the photos of the rim for laughs and the tire design for the mounting question. And the one I purchased on Amazon.
thank you
JY

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I think the original tires are 'R14', the new one looks like 'R4'.
You should have bought 2.....my 'Noah' principle.
It's cheaper to buy tire and rim from Kubota, as 'whole goods' for some silly reason.
FYI....I'm on my 3rd set for my BX23S, 6 years old as I have to drive on pavement to get to neighbours to have fun.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

L2501 60 hours. I had my first experience with a blowout tire. Sad part was I didn’t know it had lost pressure and I was in low gear rolling slowly and until I turned it was then I noticed the tire almost off or the rim. I went to Kubota and found I needed to buy a tire and rim combo. Well no surprise there because I destroyed the rim driving 40 yds. They wanted 500 bucks. I left and searched on line for one and I found a new R4 tire 27x8.5x15 and rim combo for 340. 8 ply tire.
Then I remembered that it’s a 4x4 so my question is do I need to buy a second tire ?
I should have bought the 2nd one with an almost 50 dollar discount when you buy the pair. So I’m asking the experts on this and also I have the hybrid tire that has the 60 hours and it looks fairly shot on the outside. A lot of cuts in the tread and I also wanted to know if the R4 tire would mount on the hybrid rim. I’ll add the photos of the rim for laughs and the tire design for the mounting question. And the one I purchased on Amazon.
thank you
JY

Yes an R4 will work on the same rim as an R14

 

[je1279]

For future reference, always make sure to check your tire pressure on a monthly basis at minimum. I know this suggestion isn't very helpful after the fact, but hopefully, it will prevent future blowouts. Also, I am approaching 200 hours on my stock R14's and they look nearly new. Please take this as advice, rather than criticism.

 

[Firedog]

Yes an R4 will work on the same rim as an R14

Best news I heard today, I just pulled the trigger on an R4 tire only. So I don’t need to worry about running mismatched tread depth on a 4x4 tractor. Also can you add some insight on tire pressure and the R4 is a flatter tire compared to my more rounded tire the tractor came with. Should I adjust the tire angle or leave it alone. They always looked out of line. I’m assuming it’s designed that way to compensate for a full bucket. Thanks

 

[Firedog]

For future reference, always make sure to check your tire pressure on a monthly basis at minimum. I know this suggestion isn't very helpful after the fact, but hopefully, it will prevent future blowouts. Also, I am approaching 200 hours on my stock R14's and they look nearly new. Please take this as advice, rather than criticism.

View attachment 146972

Thank you for the advice. I’m new to this tractor stuff. I am an expert on RZR’s and Maverick UTV’s. Tire pressure is always important on where you ride. I should have asked the question before this expensive lesson. I always thought that they over inflated but they were at the max pressure and I thought that was the best. It’s not the best idea to run max pressure with off road riding in rocky terrain. Thank you.

 

[Firedog]

For future reference, always make sure to check your tire pressure on a monthly basis at minimum. I know this suggestion isn't very helpful after the fact, but hopefully, it will prevent future blowouts. Also, I am approaching 200 hours on my stock R14's and they look nearly new. Please take this as advice, rather than criticism.

View attachment 146972

Another question is involving the tire angle. Yours looks toed in like mine. Do you need to adjust it to run a flatter R4 ?

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Another question is involving the tire angle. Yours looks toed in like mine. Do you need to adjust it to run a flatter R4 ?

No you do not need to or should change the alinement.
I can't tell you if the RC of your original tires will match the RC of the new tires.
You will need to check that yourself.
Get the WSM and check the alignment.
You can get it off Kubotabooks.com

 

[je1279]

Another question is involving the tire angle. Yours looks toed in like mine. Do you need to adjust it to run a flatter R4 ?

Said picture is likely due to either camera angle or poor parking skills on my behalf. However, you should have as near 0° toe as possible with both front tires facing forward.

 

[bbxlr8]

Soo, lots of experience here

I have a black cloud hovering over one of my front front R14s on L2501, I walked it off the rim doing loader work early on... Then multiple issues involving nails going up to last week. I pounded the rim back into form then used a tube (try justtubes.com 27X8.50-15). threads in the archives...

Repaired multiple times due to stupidity and bad luck (don't ask )
Will work.

edit - hope you kept the original and can return the R4...

 

[BAP]

That rim can be pounded back into shape with time, effort and patience. The tire looks like you drive around all the time in 4wd on dry pavement.

 

[Yotekiller]

Wow that's crazy! I have 120 hours on my 2502 with R14
s and they still look brand new! Do you road your tractor a lot?

 

[Firedog]

For future reference, always make sure to check your tire pressure on a monthly basis at minimum. I know this suggestion isn't very helpful after the fact, but hopefully, it will prevent future blowouts. Also, I am approaching 200 hours on my stock R14's and they look nearly new. Please take this as advice, rather than criticism.

View attachment 146972

Do you run max air pressure in the front ? My max is 60 psi and I started the R4 out at 50 but I’d like your opinion. Thanks

 

[je1279]

Do you run max air pressure in the front ? My max is 60 psi and I started the R4 out at 50 but I’d like your opinion. Thanks

I run mine at max (34psi) if I'm doing any work with the bucket or grapple. If I'm just mowing or plowing snow I run them ~80% of max for the smoother ride and better traction. I would check your manual to see what it recommends, but I think you should be good around 30psi when not doing loader work.

 

[chim]

Approaching 1,600 hours on my L4240 and the tires are still OK. The outer edges wore enough to justify re-grooving them. Three pix show the right front tire on January 1, 2019 (the day I first grooved the tires on this tractor). The other two show a front tire on January 24, 2024 before and after re-grooving. That's 5 years and somewhere between 400 and 500 hours of use. Still a lot of tire left after the re-grooving.

These tractors are delivered with much positive camber that the outer edges on the fronts wear much more quickly that the rest of the tire. Although some claim that there's nothing wrong with running in 4WD all the time, mine is only in 4WD when the conditions require it. My belief is that running in 4WD (especially on dry pavement) accelerates wear on the mechanical components as well as the tires.