Does tire grooving really work?

[jyoutz]

The tires in the top picture are not r14, they are the new r4 tires.

I do like the looks of the new grooved R4 tires. They look substantially better for traction than the older R4s.

 

[imarobot]

I do like the looks of the new grooved R4 tires. They look substantially better for traction than the older R4s.

Do you mean the R14's? They look like a big improvements over the R4, but some say they wear quicker.

 

[jyoutz]

Do you mean the R14's? They look like a big improvements over the R4, but some say they wear quicker.

No I mean the newer style grooved R4s that Kubota is using on new machines. Like was shown in a previous post by McMXi.

 

[Dustball]

I bought a tire groover last spring, and over the summer, it got lost in the garage. If you see it, please let me know where it is. I need to groove my tires so I can move more snow more easily.

Buy another one. After you use it, you'll find the first one you already had.

 

[skeets]

All I know is the R4s on the B suck!

 

[dirtydeed]

I used the bucket (with edge tamers on) to knock an initial hole in the snow then followed up with rear blade. I had no real trouble (14-16" snow) pushing/pulling with R-4's. I was in high range most of the time since it seemed to work better with momentum. I was not on any real hills though.

 

[Blue2Orange]

JMHO. Sipes work differently for water v. snow. Water it allows the tire to shed allowing more rubber on surface contact. On snow it allows it to pack into the grooves allowing more snow on snow contact. Anyone that has alpine ski/snowboard or nordic ski knows the effect of too soft a wax or too much structure in the base allowing snow to adhere.

Gravel driveway. Chains on the rears more or less work. No steering control using the bucket as a "snow pusher" downhill is an issue. Thinking about studded V bar 2 link ladders chains for the front. So far, the twist chain 2 link ladder rears haven't caused any damage to the garage concrete surface. Hope is the v bars will not. Guessing as long as you don't spin the wheels it should be ok.

Sipes would be nice if traction on ice and snow is similar to chains. Once on. Done. Lower cost. One less think to maintain. Do sipes reduce the tire life span if running on gravel and dirt?

 

[Kennyd4110]

JMHO. Sipes work differently for water v. snow. Water it allows the tire to shed allowing more rubber on surface contact. On snow it allows it to pack into the grooves allowing more snow on snow contact. Anyone that has alpine ski/snowboard or nordic ski knows the effect of too soft a wax or too much structure in the base allowing snow to adhere.

Gravel driveway. Chains on the rears more or less work. No steering control using the bucket as a "snow pusher" downhill is an issue. Thinking about studded V bar 2 link ladders chains for the front. So far, the twist chain 2 link ladder rears haven't caused any damage to the garage concrete surface. Hope is the v bars will not. Guessing as long as you don't spin the wheels it should be ok.

Sipes would be nice if traction on ice and snow is similar to chains. Once on. Done. Lower cost. One less think to maintain. Do sipes reduce the tire life span if running on gravel and dirt?

We are 'grooving', not 'siping'. Sipes are small thin slits, vs much larger grooves!

No noticeable increase in wear across two machine for me.

 

[chris142]

That is called sipping in the tire world. It may work short term but causes the tread to tear off in chunks. Especially if used in rocky areas.
If you don't mind replacing tires much more often have at it.

 

[Kennyd4110]

That is called sipping in the tire world. It may work short term but causes the tread to tear off in chunks. Especially if used in rocky areas.
If you don't mind replacing tires much more often have at it.

I've had two tractors with grooved R4 tires. NEVER and 'chunking'. I call fake news on that-in the tractor world anyway. All negative posts on GTT and TBN cite the same thing about grooving, of course from guys that have never done it though. Find me a picture of a chunked up R4 tire from grooving.


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Grooving and siping are tire modification techniques used to enhance traction, but they differ in action and purpose: grooving removes rubber to create channels for debris and heat dissipation, while siping involves making razor-thin slits to increase flexibility, generate heat, and improve grip on slick surfaces. Grooving cuts deep channels, whereas sipes are shallow cuts typically no deeper than half the tread block.
This video explains the difference between grooving and siping tires: