Tires Question and opinions

[geoff]

I was hoping that the new bar tires I had put on, would be somewhat gentler on my lawn when I made a turn. But they aren't. No matter how slowly I make the turn, the wheel that is pivoting makes a divot in the lawn... I was thinking about buying regular turf tires but the OE ones are really expensive... in the neighborhood of $100 + each if I recall correctly. I have seen some 20X10X8 turf tires by some other manufacturers that cost more in the area of $50 each but wasn't sure if anyone had any experience with what is good, or bad...very interested in the opinions of other users...lastly ( for now anyway) when it comes time to unmount and mount tires, does everyone take theirs to a commercial place or do it themselves? I was told regular machines for tires won't work and you have to use bars to remove them. I have no experience with doing that but would like to know if its something I can do myself.... and how

Thanks

Geoff

 

[Jinzo Ningen]

Geoff -

Here's some info from another post I made a while back:

I found these tires at tires-easydotcom for $75.40 ea., shipping is $10/tire. They offer the same size as the stock GH bar tread tires, so fitment should not be a problem.

These Carlisle All-Trails are the same ones I put on back of my Deere GT235. They have excellent traction and I'm thinking they won't tear up the lawn doing the zero turns as much as the stock bar treads do.

As far as tire-changing at home... with the proper tools it can be done but it depends on how easily those old skins will come off. If they're the original tires then they will likely be a royal bear to get off the rims. The good thing about doing it at home is that they don't need to be balanced. Once switched out, just dump in some Tire-Slime and inflate and they should be good to go. I know the Carlisle All-Trails have very good traction and since I have such positive experience with them on my Deere I'm going to try and pick up some used rims and mount a pair for my 'Hopper, too. Then I can run Carlisle-mounted wheels in the summer for mowing and simply swap back to the bar treads in winter for snow removal.

 

[reynoldston]

The tire slime does work good and I have used it myself in a pinch. But boy does it make a mess if you ever need tire work down the line. Some places charge extra to change tires if they have slime in them. I find for myself that if I have a leak problem I put a tube in them.

 

[Jinzo Ningen]

Agreed. Tire Slime is a messy product, but it works well. If you think there may be problems with changing in the future or you simply don't want to deal with the mess of Slime, you can also try a product called Ride-On. You can Google the product name for various reviews and YouTube demos.

Here's their homepage: Ride-On

I use it in all of my motorcycle tires. Same principal but with far less mess. It also acts as a balancer - but obviously that's of no benefit for mowers. More expensive than Tire Slime, but it works very well.

 

[BKBrown]

These are very similar to the HD Field Trax (both Carlisle) :thumbsup: that are on the Ventrac - Good Traction and don't tear things up on the Ventrac.

Geoff -

Here's some info from another post I made a while back:

I found these tires at tires-easydotcom for $75.40 ea., shipping is $10/tire. They offer the same size as the stock GH bar tread tires, so fitment should not be a problem.

These Carlisle All-Trails are the same ones I put on back of my Deere GT235. They have excellent traction and I'm thinking they won't tear up the lawn doing the zero turns as much as the stock bar treads do.

As far as tire-changing at home... with the proper tools it can be done but it depends on how easily those old skins will come off. If they're the original tires then they will likely be a royal bear to get off the rims. The good thing about doing it at home is that they don't need to be balanced. Once switched out, just dump in some Tire-Slime and inflate and they should be good to go. I know the Carlisle All-Trails have very good traction and since I have such positive experience with them on my Deere I'm going to try and pick up some used rims and mount a pair for my 'Hopper, too. Then I can run Carlisle-mounted wheels in the summer for mowing and simply swap back to the bar treads in winter for snow removal.

 

[KennyV]

Turf tires are milder on turns... but with heavier ZTR's you actually need to try Not pivoting on a turn...If your slow enough that you will pivot, try slightly overshooting your turn and reverse the side you would normally pivot with, you turn quicker & the tire is not stopped where it will dig up the turf... Takes a little more practice until it feels natural, but you will get to where you'll be able to turn on wet ground without leaving marks... it will take a lot of practice...
Lighter ZTR's will not have much trouble with burring the pivot spot... also articulating machienes like BKBrown has will never rip the turf... :smile:KennyV

 

[geoff]

In your opinion, Kenny, do you think that turf tires would be a bad choice for me regardless of whether or when I master the type of turn you are suggesting? I didn't realize how many divots I had created until I walked around my property over the weekend... there are lots of them... say.. at every turn!!! If I understand your suggestion correctly, you would recommend reversing the direction of the tire that would otherwise be pivoting at the same time moving the other wheel in the opposite direction, effecting a very quick turn that would be LESS LIKELY to cause a divot? Just want to be sure I have it right...

Geoff

 

[Black Bart]

Kenny is right tires is not your problem it is the operator.
I have a 725 Grasshopper and when I first got it I had the same problem.
Once I learned how to drive it all was good.

This spring I bought a new JD Z Trak and no problems but I already have 25 years of experience with a zero turn mower.:biggrin:

I see posts about buying tires they need to save their money and focus on how to drive it.

Both wheels MUST keep turning at all times if it stops it will rip up the sod
Slow inside tire on a Turn until it is turning real slow if that is not enough either speed up the outside tire or reverse the inside.

 

[KennyV]

Bart has covered the important stuff... tires have to keep rolling, if you simply pivot it will divot out a footprint of sod...
Be careful when reversing a wheel, you have a lot of torque and it will spin a big chunk of grass out...
The technique will take some deliberate concentration at first, but quickly becomes natural.
The very light ZTR's will never have this problem... but the heavier you get, the bigger & deeper the pivot points get. My ZTR with a cab is around 2000 pounds, I can put big spots down if I pivot, and I have Big Rounded Shoulder turf tires, like Bart said it's technique, not the tire... & just like your divots in golf you should patch/repair them... get a bag of potting soil at your garden center. :smile:KennyV