Radial tires

Botabart

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L2501
Jan 1, 2021
22
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3
NW Pennsylvania
Has anyone tried radial tires on their tractor? I'm looking at Alliance 550's or Michelin crossgrip. Gonna be ordering a new L3560 rops and my dealer said he can order it without tires and order the rims through parts.
 

85Hokie

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Two wheel drive or 4 wheel drive? I would assume 4wd.

And why do you want to do this?
 

Roadworthy

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L2501 HST
Aug 17, 2019
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Radials would be great for your high speed cornering due to the increased sidewall flexibility. I think the downside is reduced sidewall strength and load carrying capability. I'd dig a bit deeper.
 

Botabart

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L2501
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NW Pennsylvania
Radials would be great for your high speed cornering due to the increased sidewall flexibility. I think the downside is reduced sidewall strength and load carrying capability. I'd dig a bit deeper.
Not concerned with speed. I need snow traction . The contact patch and tread pattern of these tires should give me what I need. Its all about application.
 

85Hokie

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Not concerned with speed. I need snow traction . The contact patch and tread pattern of these tires should give me what I need. Its all about application.

Many people use turfs and swear by them on snow .......

Personally I like the ol R4's and chain em when I have to. I would not go the radial route personally.
 

Botabart

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L2501
Jan 1, 2021
22
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NW Pennsylvania
Not concerned with speed. I need snow traction . The contact patch and tread pattern of these tires should give me what I need. Its all about application.
Also, as far as load capacity, the provided r4's on a l3560 are rated for 3500 lbs. and the Alliance 550 radials are rated at 4180. Both for the front.
 

Thunder chicken

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M7060
Dec 29, 2019
294
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Northern ontario
My R1’s are Radials, can’t compare to anything else for ya but they ride ok at speed on the road. They are ok in snow, suck on packed snow/ice as expected.
I wish I could afford a set of Nokian Hakkapelitta TRI’s, but I’d think any of the ones you mention would be comparable and a better option in snow to R4’s or R1’s. My neighbour has a similar tire on a wheel loader and does some snow removal along with all the normal gravel pit abuse the rest of the year and they seem to be holding up great for him.
 

je1279

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LX2610 w/ 60" MMM, LP 72" Snow Plow, EA Wicked 55" Grapple, and Woods 60" BB
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I know Deere offers radials at least on thier larger frame 2 series. They claim greater ride comfort and increased traction due to how the tread and sidewall react differently on a radial tire vs. a bias tire. They charge a substantial premium for the radials however. On the Kubota side I've heard that ordering wheels and tires through parts is significantly more expensive than adding them through sales (wholegoods).
 
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cmorningstar01

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B7500HST LA302 FEL 5'Finish Mower B5100E 46" Snow Plow 22 ton splitter
Mar 27, 2011
341
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28
Pemberton NJ USA
When I replaced the rear tires on my B7500HST I priced the Good Year clover tread turf tires that were originally on it, They were 33 x 12.50 x 15, I replaced them with a set of no name brand 33 x 12.50 x 15 M&S radial LT tires, That was a number of years ago and I have never had a problem with them, the tread pattern is more aggressive than the original clover leaf pattern turfs but no so aggressive that it tears my yard up, They are filled with windshield washer antifreeze and have plenty of traction in the snow and ice when moving snow off my paved driveway.
 
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200mph

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L4740-3 Cab, FEL, Fnt Snow Blower L2185, LP Finish Mower, LP Rotary Mower
Mar 3, 2017
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PA
The alliance 550's look interesting. What sizes do you need for the L3560?
 

Botabart

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L2501
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22
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3
NW Pennsylvania
The alliance 550's look interesting. What sizes do you need for the L3560?
Need to do a little more research, but looks like 265/70r16.5 front and maybe 420/65r24 rear. Don't know how precise matching the rolling circumference is, but those are very close.
 

200mph

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L4740-3 Cab, FEL, Fnt Snow Blower L2185, LP Finish Mower, LP Rotary Mower
Mar 3, 2017
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PA
Did a bit of price checking and it seems the advertised price is all over the place for the Alliance 550's, did the dealer give you a quote for the tires and wheels?

I'm anxious to see the tractor with these and learn how they perform in the future.
 

greenacresnorth

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L2501,BH77
Feb 18, 2018
175
28
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Morganton,NC
speaking from personal experience running equipment in Antarctica, the Michelin Cross Grip is amazing on hard pack snow and ice, We ran them on pretty much every rubber tired machine down there and they would push snow as hard as a rubber tracked machine. We ran a Case Steiger 450 with Cross Grips next to a 450 Quad Track pushing 26' push blades and the rubber tired machine would push just as hard and ride way better than the quad track.

also any Radial tire will last longer and for the most part pull harder than a bias in most situations pulling in a field.... now for snow and Ice, I would think a Radial R-1 vs a Bias R-1 would be a night and day difference because of the contact patch.
 

Botabart

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L2501
Jan 1, 2021
22
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3
NW Pennsylvania
Did a bit of price checking and it seems the advertised price is all over the place for the Alliance 550's, did the dealer give you a quote for the tires and wheels?

I'm anxious to see the tractor with these and learn how they perform in the future.
Found a local tire dealer that will do 375 each for the front and 725 each for the rear. Not cheap but I think that they are that important and will make a huge difference. Think rims will be close to 1500 through parts. When I go to do this, I'll look at getting the tractor with tires, and then strip and sell them.
 

Botabart

New member

Equipment
L2501
Jan 1, 2021
22
12
3
NW Pennsylvania
speaking from personal experience running equipment in Antarctica, the Michelin Cross Grip is amazing on hard pack snow and ice, We ran them on pretty much every rubber tired machine down there and they would push snow as hard as a rubber tracked machine. We ran a Case Steiger 450 with Cross Grips next to a 450 Quad Track pushing 26' push blades and the rubber tired machine would push just as hard and ride way better than the quad track.

also any Radial tire will last longer and for the most part pull harder than a bias in most situations pulling in a field.... now for snow and Ice, I would think a Radial R-1 vs a Bias R-1 would be a night and day difference because of the contact patch.
From the tire shops that I've talked to, Michelin is in a really bad place right now with the pandemic. I like the crossgrip the most, but I got "we can't even get them " from one shop to "I can get them " from an Ohio distributor, but he can't even get me a price.
 

greenacresnorth

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L2501,BH77
Feb 18, 2018
175
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Morganton,NC
From the tire shops that I've talked to, Michelin is in a really bad place right now with the pandemic. I like the crossgrip the most, but I got "we can't even get them " from one shop to "I can get them " from an Ohio distributor, but he can't even get me a price.
if you can get a close match with the Alliance I would do it in a heart beat..... I dont care what anyone says, a radial snow pattern tire will rock a chevron patterned ag tires world in traction and life. they just suck at mud traction and general draw bar pull in agriculture applications.
 
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tinman4240

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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
I have a Michelin CrossGrip radial tire package lined up for my 4240 hstc for snow removal. I'm getting an education on tractor tires. There's a lot to consider when choosing the correct tire and size. You must know your main purpose, the mfwd inter axle ratio, rim width, rolling circumference in order to maintain the proper % lead. Your choices are not great. Nokian TRI 2 are good with decent sizes, but not siped. The Hakkapaliita's are arguably the best and most expensive, but are not available in 16", smallest rim size is !8". Yokahama/Alliance 550 have a good looking tread design and was a consideration for me. But I went with the CrossGrips. They are a true bidirectional radial. With a 3pt rear mounted Pronovost P720 I need traction in reverse more often than forward. I had to get new 16" wheels as the oem's were R4 Titan 16.5 loader/SS in the fronts. The rears, 460/70R-24, matched up much better. Michelin has an issue producing and delivering their advertised 250/80R-16 CrossGrip for smaller compact tractors. No liquid ballast is recommended as tire pressure is very important with radials. Make sense to me. I'll do wheel weights or hanging weights if needed. The half worn R4 Titans are like slicks in the snow. So , c'mom Michelin Man, get me them tars!! Then maybe some snow. I will enjoy posting a tire review.
 

BAP

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Dec 31, 2012
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Michelin makes great tractor radial tires. When I farmed full time, we had a combination of Firestone 23 degree radial tires on songs tractors and Michelin Agribids on others. Those Agribids were great traction tires and road the best over the road with less bounce than the Firstones.
 

Botabart

New member

Equipment
L2501
Jan 1, 2021
22
12
3
NW Pennsylvania
I have a Michelin CrossGrip radial tire package lined up for my 4240 hstc for snow removal. I'm getting an education on tractor tires. There's a lot to consider when choosing the correct tire and size. You must know your main purpose, the mfwd inter axle ratio, rim width, rolling circumference in order to maintain the proper % lead. Your choices are not great. Nokian TRI 2 are good with decent sizes, but not siped. The Hakkapaliita's are arguably the best and most expensive, but are not available in 16", smallest rim size is !8". Yokahama/Alliance 550 have a good looking tread design and was a consideration for me. But I went with the CrossGrips. They are a true bidirectional radial. With a 3pt rear mounted Pronovost P720 I need traction in reverse more often than forward. I had to get new 16" wheels as the oem's were R4 Titan 16.5 loader/SS in the fronts. The rears, 460/70R-24, matched up much better. Michelin has an issue producing and delivering their advertised 250/80R-16 CrossGrip for smaller compact tractors. No liquid ballast is recommended as tire pressure is very important with radials. Make sense to me. I'll do wheel weights or hanging weights if needed. The half worn R4 Titans are like slicks in the snow. So , c'mom Michelin Man, get me them tars!! Then maybe some snow. I will enjoy posting a tire review.
If michelin gets their shot together, I will definitely go with the crossgrips. Otherwise it's the 550's. Nokians seem a little out of my price range. BTW, I'm glad you guys came along. When I first posted about radial tires, the response was like it was 1988 and we were discussing carburetor vs fuel injection. God forbid we do something other than the three choices.