Tires - post your recommendations

I am not a happy tire guy. I am kind of limited to what the Coop gets in, but I need to be thinking about some new tires. Sorry, I don't know sizes off the top of my head, but we are talking field size.

The front FWA tires on the 7800 are really bald. I need a good tire that rarely sees the FWA torque but can handle heavy loads (I lift seed bulk bags with the loader during planting. It is the planting tractor). They are just ag bar. They are the only tires that are really needing replaced due to age. All of the others are bad construction issues - and these are machines that sit inside and aren't the heavy field pullers.

The 4440 has unloaded tubeless rear duals on it that are Galaxy brand. They were supposed to be great. They are only four years old or so but are separating right along the center line and splitting open (lugs first, then core follows). It only pulls the sprayer and moco and they aren't overinflated. Major disappointed.

The 886 has loaded tubed rear tires that are like new and about five years old. It has splits about an inch long all over each tire - mainly on the carcass part but there are bars that aren't faring well, either. There are a couple of sidewall splits but mainly the contact surface. I have watched these slowly appear so I know it wasn't damage. They appear as though I drove over 492,000 razor blades. The splits are like sharp slices. They are Mitas brand.

I'm looking at probably eight new ag tires and that doesn't count the 8430 where all eight are about bald.

What brand(s) should I be having the tire shop get? They will order in what I want if they have access to it.

If your happy with them, why not go with the tires that are bald but not splitting?

I have found you can never go wrong with Firestones.

I'll second the Firestones. That is what I have bought for years. You can find cheaper ones though. Bob

Another thought, I know you are around Topeka vicinity. There is a tire place this side of Olathe that advertises in Grass and Grain that always has a very good price on tires. I can't think of the name off hand but maybe you know of them. They also carry tons of blems and used tires. You can always buy the tires somewhere else and have the coop put them on. Again, just a thought. Bob

Tire Town is the name. One near Shawnee and one near Leavenworth.

I'm not a big Firestone fan. I bought some SAT II's for a little 2510 a few years ago. They seem to be wearing ok but are undersized and if let sitting for more than a couple days they get flat spots. Go down the road in road gear and you feel like you're on a carnival ride till they round up. Last spring I put new Firestone Super All Trac 23's on my 4430. Haven't put enough hours on them to see how they'll wear. They also are undersized. The lugs are not very thick but they tried to make up for it by putting more lugs on the tire. Not a big deal on this but I have never had a set of tires smell like these. The tractor sits in an open sided shed and all last year they stunk that shed up. Almost turned my stomach trying to check the oil or be around them very long. Just out there this morning and they still have some odor to them. So I have no real recommendations they all seem to be cheaply made. Let us know how it turns out.

I'm using a neighbor's 851 Ford with a set of 24.4x28 BKT radials, and even though they are only 4 years old and have seen very little use, are already showing weather checks.

My tire guy recommends Firestones.

I don't think you could do better than Dunlap bias tires. I put them on my Jeep in 1998 and I'm still driving on them.

We have had various brand tires on the farm, which include B.F. Goodrich, Firestone, Goodyear, Titan, and most recently, Michelins. These have all been radial tires. My tire dealer has indicated that Firestone has the best support after the sale, when it comes to road/field hazards. I do like the 23 degree bar on their radial tires and they seem to push the issue with their tires having more lug on the ground than their competitors. I also think their tire is tough to beat in the field, however I have been disappointed with these tires on tractors that see a lot of road use. Every tire dealer I have talked with has said the same thing to me. The flatter the lug angle, the faster the wear on the road. We had Goodyear Dyna Torque II radials on another tractor used on the road and those tires wore very well. Those same tire dealers I talked with about the particular brand and model of tire to place on tractors which will see heavy road use all recommended Michelin (I think) Agri-bib radials. The tractor we put these tires on is not sitting close by for me to confirm the model/style. They have a very deep lug and the bar angle is something like 41 degrees. This tractor hauls a lot of grain on hard surface roads. I have only had them on for 1 year, but I do like what I see so far. I put the Goodyear Dyna-Torque II radials on a high horsepower mfwd tractor just 3 years ago simply because I only had to replace 4 of the 6 tires; two in the front and two in the back. I was told that Goodyear does not provide the customer support like Firestone does. We'll see how this set of tires lasts, too.

I have heard a few times over the last twenty years about the Galaxie's tendency to split. I have bought mostly Firestones and never had any construction problems with them.

I would go with Firestone tires. DO NOT buy the 23 all traction II tires for your loader application. Get the regular all traction 23 degree tires. The All traction II tires are a price fighter/economy tire that has fewer lugs that are narrower than the regular All traction tires.

I would stay away from the BKT tires on the fronts as they do not hold up well on a Larger MFWD tractors.

I have found you get what you pay for in tires. Meaning cheaper tires usually do not last long. Either they wear out fast or split from Cheap components.

I needed a new set of skins on my 6400 a couple of years ago to replace a set of AWD's. Local guy wanted about $1200 a pop on them. I talked with another dealer near York and told him about the price, and he asked if I wanted to try a pair of BKT's. They weren't the ten ply- just eight- like the AWD's, but they only cost $900 mounted for the pair, so I figured they might be worth a try. They shove a lot of manure around, and handle a lot of hay- round bales and 2 at a time. They've been on for two years and have been good for service. They are 45's vs. the 23's, but seem to be OK so far on traction, and seem to be wearing well. I'd likely put on another set, especially for the price....

I have Firestone 23* on one tractor and they appear to be wearing faster than the Titan's they replaced plus they are shorter in height.
The Michelin Agri-Rib radials on another tractor ride good and don't seem to be wearing very fast, but maintaining proper air pressure is important or the side walls will split, tire dealer loaded the tire and said 18 psi was enough, a year later we had 4 flats in three weeks from side wall cracks, we are now running unloaded with radial tubes at 25 psi hoping the side walls hold up till the thread wears out.
My nephew has B F Goodrich radials on most of his tractors and said they ride good wear well on roads, my brother has a set of BFG's bias on one of his tractors, they appear to be wearing well and provide good traction.
My next set will be BFG's but hopefully not soon.