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Trying to minimize turf damage with my Husqvarna MTZ 52 doing slow turns and y turns but still get a bald spot now and then, manual says 15lbs in rear tires, would less be better to help with this?

Dave1954 said:

Trying to minimize turf damage with my Husqvarna MTZ 52 doing slow turns and y turns but still get a bald spot now and then, manual says 15lbs in rear tires, would less be better to help with this?

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I really don't see where tire air pressure would made a different.

Dave1954 said:

Trying to minimize turf damage with my Husqvarna MTZ 52 doing slow turns and y turns but still get a bald spot now and then, manual says 15lbs in rear tires, would less be better to help with this?

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Many times a zero turn will break traction turning sharp and leave spots on a lawn. Many times I run back over those spots with the deck and it helps hide them.

Square shoulders tend to tear the lawn.
So have a good look at the corner profile of your tyres.

Soft tres tend to grab better and tear more
Hard tyres tend to leave grooves.
Oher than that it is up to the driver.
Coming to a full stop the doing F + R turn slowly will do the lest damage as there is the least tendency for a wheel to slip
Otherwise you need to get the different wheel speeds exactly right or one wheel will slip

Dave1954 said:

Trying to minimize turf damage with my Husqvarna MTZ 52 doing slow turns and y turns but still get a bald spot now and then, manual says 15lbs in rear tires, would less be better to help with this?

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Gotta slow down more. Get to the end of your pass stop, slowly iniate turn one tire going forward one backwards. Both tires need to be moving and fluid with your turn. Tires spinning in wrong direction or not at all create bald spots. More air in the tire also helps by minimizing surface area and lessen traction. Just dont spin the tired

i would go with what your manual says. The manufacture has already done the experimentation and research for you and know what works best with their equipment. I'm running a Hustler Super Z HD and the recommended tire pressure for both front and rear tires is between 8 lbs to 12 lbs. I run 10 lbs in mine. I mow average turf, if it was rough I would go down to to 8 lbs and if really smooth up to 12 lbs.

& FWIW: changing the tire pressures also changes deck height etc.

I was running 15lbs in back, Toro book says 12 lbs, so I corrected the psi in my rear tires, I then chose to make a minimal adjustment to deck slope, to keep it where I like it at 1/8" lower in front.

PS: Big improvement in ride @ 12 psi too, front tires call for 22 psi.

Plus weight of the operator on the machine does make a difference in actual cut height as well.

How about tire pressures for hill mowing. My Raptor SD says between 12-8psi also. Would going down to 8 help with traction on mowing steep hills.

Yes a softer (lower psi) tire will have a bigger contact area. (as was previously posted.)

I just got a new SDX the rears are 12 and the fronts are 15 is that about right?

The best tire pressure is that which keeps the tire from breaking off of the rim and rolling the mower on you when you go beyond the recommended slope angle of your mower.

I run 8 PSI front and rear for smoother ride.

Thanks guys
I am also going to be adding flex forks as well.

I ordered one of these low pressure tire gauges recently just for the mower tires. Makes a difference with correct pressure in each tire. Gauges 2-20 psi http://www.miltonindustries.com/gauges/pencil-pressure/low-pressure-tire-gage.html

If you're getting scuffs it's usually because you're spinning around on the inside tire. Like someone else mentioned you need to rotate one tire forward and one tire backwards. Basically as soon as the inside tire stalls you need to get it rotating backwards by pulling the stick on that side backwards. I know this may sound silly, but pretend you're pushing a heavy shopping cart where you have to pull back on one side and push on the other to turn.

deck~dragger said:

I ordered one of these low pressure tire gauges recently just for the mower tires. Makes a difference with correct pressure in each tire. Gauges 2-20 psi http://www.miltonindustries.com/gauges/pencil-pressure/low-pressure-tire-gage.html

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YES, they are great , have used them for years, I like that when un-doing them it wont realease any air pressure.
this is the one I use
https://www.amazon.com/Progressive-...r=1-6&keywords=motorcycle+air+pump+for+shocks

Tire pressure can have an impact on riding comfort and engine stress but I doubt if changing pressure within an acceptable range will have a meaningful impact on pulling grass. My suggestion is to take a holistic approach by avoiding damp/wet conditions and finding a pattern that minimizes turns. One thought on patterns is to mow in circles rather than parallel lines. Another is to swing wide in your turns (going over already mowed areas) rather than making tight turns even though your mower is capable of making them.

When you have as many tires as I do those fun little guessing games get old quick.
Like when I'm miles away from home and a tire is suddenly low on air, how much psi goes in it again?
Maybe I should keep charts everywhere listing what the truck takes, the trailer, the motorcycle, the car, the tow dolly, the ztr's, the walk-behinds too?
I wouldn't want to forget how tire pressure affects wear and tear and comfort and handling and all of that because it's never a simple equation.
So how much air goes in what tire again?
There's always the rear-tine tiller and the wheelbarrow and the boat trailer, too.
Says it right on the sidewall of the tire: whatever the max.psi.
Simple and done.

True, Max Tire pressure is printed on tire sidewalls. But running max is not recommended, like on my truck, tires say 45 psi Max, but inside drivers door is a decal stating my tires run at 35 psi Cold checking.

Once tires get hotter tire pressures increase, so running max cold, leaves no room for heat-expansion.

My Cycle tires run 36 psi cold.

My Zero 12 psi rear, 22 F

Etc, etc. IMO, whatever the Max psi says on tire sidewall, I would go less than that by about 10% or your best judgement.

7394 said:

True, Max Tire pressure is printed on tire sidewalls. But running max is not recommended, like on my truck, tires say 45 psi Max, but inside drivers door is a decal stating my tires run at 35 psi Cold checking.

Once tires get hotter tire pressures increase, so running max cold, leaves no room for heat-expansion.

My Cycle tires run 36 psi cold.

My Zero 12 psi rear, 22 F

Etc, etc. IMO, whatever the Max psi says on tire sidewall, I would go less than that by about 10% or your best judgement.

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What I was getting at, not sure how it could have been missed but...
Max.psi sidewall is for those people who don't have time for playing games.

sidemouse said:

What I was getting at, not sure how it could have been missed but...
Max.psi sidewall is for those people who don't have time for playing games.

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Or they enjoy a ride that jars their teeth loose.