R4 Tire Grooving for added traction - How to video

[Toneloc]

Hey Guys:

Just wanted to post up a little video I did on grooving R4 tires on my BX25D.

I was surprised how easy this was to do and get very good results.



Full Disclaimer....I learned about doing this from a posting on Tractorbynet.

Despite the posts there, I wasn't able to find out much general information on tire grooving or how it worked, so I thought I do a video and share what I learned.

Any questions, let me know.

Thanks.
Tony

 

[coachgeo]

Looks great. Look forward to hearing about performance. One of the complaints I read somewhere on tires like these in snow was that there was little to prevent side sliding. If you don't find your grooving helped much with that try some grooves that slice the long tread blocks into two or three sections with one additional section being right at the outside edge say creating a 1.0 to 1.5" wide block as the final anti slide block?

Then again using the blade in your video upside down (use two ends as thin cutter/sipper instead of the hooped end to groove) set at low depth cuts across your tread blocks might work just as well and not take as much meat out of the tread blocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YTW3-GQMVc

 

[Toneloc]

Cool, thanks for the link on the "siping". One of extra brass heads for the groover is already setup for "siping".......so if I'm still slipping and sliding around in the snow and ice, I might give that a try.

Will keep you guys updated on the performance once I get some time on them here in the next few months.

Thanks for checking out the video.

Tony

 

[armylifer]

Where does one get a sipper like this? I would like to try this with my turf tires on my BX1860. I would bet that traction would nearly double after sipping the tires.

 

[NEPA Guy]

I've read that its more because of the rubber.

"All-season tires are built to handle a variety of road conditions - dry roads, wet roads, and in many cases, light snow. Winter tires are built specifically to perform in winter conditions like low temperatures, ice, slush, and snow. The tread compound of all-season tires can harden in low temperatures, so there's less traction between the road and your tires. But winter tires use special rubber compounds that stay pliable in the cold, giving them better grip and improved braking, even in extreme conditions."

I had my first winter last year using the snowblower and R-4's. It was a mild winter, but I had no issues at all with traction and I was going up and down a steep drive.

Since I got to roll the dice again getting the 2650, I opted for the turfs, partly because of the "more surface area" theory and users claims that it performs better in the snow. I have the chains on standby for ice. I'm still feeling it out myself.

I would be curious to hear your results. Best of luck.

 

[Toneloc]

Armylifer....You can get this tool on Amazon, Ebay, Summit, etc. Just search "ideal tire groover"


No doubt the rubber compound is probably a factor. Surprisingly this R4 rubber seems fairly soft/ pliable....at garage temps anyhow.

Honestly it's going to be tough for me to provide comparison feedback because this is my first winter with this setup, so I don't have anything to compare to.

We have some pretty tough winters in my neck of the woods, with 100" not uncommon....we'll see what this year brings though.

I also have chains ready for the rears if needed. Going to start out with out the chains on the rears and put them on if I need it. I mostly wanted to add some traction to the fronts since most don't recommend front chains.

I was lucky that my grandfather left me this tool....it was fun project / experiment and I'm only out the time it took to do it.



Thanks.
Tony

 

[skeets]

J C Whittney use to sell them too

 

[Mike9]

I grooved my R4's and sipped the Tru-Powers. Tractor performed very well in the snow we had a couple of weeks ago.