Does tire grooving really work?

Thunder chicken

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M7060
Dec 29, 2019
295
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43
Northern ontario
Driveway is solid ice, so I made a few passes up and down chewing up the ice with the rear chains.
Pushed off excess snow in a few spots I missed yesterday
All in 2WD with no steering issues at all.
Another vote for groovin':)

glad to hear you had success grooving your R1's! would you be able to post a picture when you have time? we understand that plowing just got a lot funner, and you may not have much time now :)
 

D2Cat

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L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
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Question to folks who recently purchased a tire groover. Which one did you purchase, where did you purchase it, what tip did you use. Post a link if you can, please.

I'm going to buy one but will probably only use it one time that I can foresee. Need to set up some kind of rental agreement with forum members like done on other forums.
 

fruitcakesa

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M 6040
Oct 26, 2010
856
270
63
Cavendish Vermont
Question to folks who recently purchased a tire groover. Which one did you purchase, where did you purchase it, what tip did you use. Post a link if you can, please.

I'm going to buy one but will probably only use it one time that I can foresee. Need to set up some kind of rental agreement with forum members like done on other forums.
I bought this kit on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/270665174651
I used the included #4 blade.
I likely won't need to use it again for a long time [tractor will need new tires someday]
I like the forum rental idea, if the details can be worked
 
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D2Cat

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There are round blades and square blades for the groovers. They are the same width of cut, one just has a square bottom and one rounded. What is the purpose of one or the other? What is the preference for big lugged R4's?
 

dfixit1

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L4240HSTC-3
May 17, 2019
143
17
18
United States
Question to folks who recently purchased a tire groover. Which one did you purchase, where did you purchase it, what tip did you use. Post a link if you can, please.

I'm going to buy one but will probably only use it one time that I can foresee. Need to set up some kind of rental agreement with forum members like done on other forums.
I purchased mine on amazon from TS Warehouse, currently $84
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004AW7XYU
 

fast*st

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M7040, L2900, F550 ford, Yanmar vio70 excavator, Case 580, JD 350 dozer, JD 644E
Jun 26, 2012
172
4
18
Northern Mass
I have the heavy duty tire groover, came with a handful of blades in different sizes as well as a siping head that holds three grooving blades upsidedown to make 6 sipe cuts per pass. On my plow truck, siping the rear tires increased breakaway torque by 2x at least, much happier when plowing.
 

NHSleddog

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B2650
Dec 19, 2019
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Southern, NH
I can say the grooving on the R4's also increases traction in dirt as well. You just need to look at all the stuff stuck in the grooves to see the proof.
 

D2Cat

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A couple of weeks ago I was waiting for a delivery truck so I waited by grooving the front tires. I left about 3/4" on the outside to possibly help save chunking on gravel roads. I only got the front finished. These are older tires have have considerable wear, but fine for what I use the tractor for.

The day after grooving I needed to go 1/4 mile on asphalt road to get some fencing supplies. The difference in sound was like street tires on a PU as compared to aggressive mud grips. Can't say about traction, it didn't matter!:D
 

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NHSleddog

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B2650
Dec 19, 2019
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Southern, NH
A couple of weeks ago I was waiting for a delivery truck so I waited by grooving the front tires. I left about 3/4" on the outside to possibly help save chunking on gravel roads. I only got the front finished. These are older tires have have considerable wear, but fine for what I use the tractor for.

The day after grooving I needed to go 1/4 mile on asphalt road to get some fencing supplies. The difference in sound was like street tires on a PU as compared to aggressive mud grips. Can't say about traction, it didn't matter!:D
Nice Job! D2
 

D2Cat

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L305DT, B7100HST, TG1860, TG1860D, L4240
Mar 27, 2014
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40 miles south of Kansas City
It's really a pretty easy process. I got the groover in the winter, but decided to wait until warmer weather to use. The groover depth is adjustable, but the tip the cutting knife is clamped to needs to set down on the tire to heat it as much as possible. The speed the groover is pushed determines the ease of the cut. Slower means more heat, less pressure to push.

I'll get to the rears before too long!
 

tinman4240

Member

Equipment
Kubota L4240 HSTC FEL BH-92 hoe Pronovost P-720 SB HLA 1500 6' pusher/backdrag
Feb 1, 2015
30
13
8
74
South Windsor, CT
So grooving R4's work. Great idea. Nice job you guys did. Another problem with R4"s is they are a directional tire. I'm frequently in reverse using my 3pt SB and snow pusher with a backdrag edge. The R4's are just not cutting it in the snow. I'm clearing 30 driveways a storm so i can't afford traction issues. The rears are filled, too. There are better options. grooving might be one. Another is new tires. Michelin has the CROSSGRIP that are becoming quite popular with the Canadian boys running L6060"s to clear snow. The Michelin CROSSGRIP"s are a bidirectional radial that give excellent grip forward or reverse as well as a smoother ride on pavement. Certainly an all season rugged tire. Big bucks for new shoes. Kubota Corp should hook with Michelin and offer a snow package for the Grand L and M series like jd does with their 4 series and Nokian Tires.
 

GreensvilleJay

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BX23-S,57 A-C D-14,58 A-C D-14, 57 A-C D-14,tiller,cults,Millcreek 25G spreader,
Apr 2, 2019
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Greensville,Ontario,Canada
tinman. spend the time and flip the rears around,assuming you spend more time going backwards. I did that with the D-14/blade unit and it made a world of difference.