Front tires

[Ritter107]

I have a question about front tires on a Cub Cadet. Specifically, why do people put bar tires on the front of their tractors? I imagine it aids in steering but i never really took the time to get an answer about it. Does it reduce steering effort, or is it jsut to make believe you have MFWD?

[gitractorman]

There is some thought that it aids in steering when in muddy conditions. I imagine that it does hold the front end in place and maybe prevent sliding. I also read that the treads should be reversed, to aid in traction in the front, because ag tires are meant to be pulling rather than rolling, but I cannot imagine that it makes that much difference.
Personally, I like the old Carlisle, smoothe rib tires. That is what all my cadets ever had on them, and I kinda like the original look.

[Leadfoot]

Don't knock it 'till you try it, there gitractorman!

Ritter....it's not to 'make believe' anything....... Ags on the front, turned backwards DO help steering in snow, soft dirt, loose stone, etc.

Most guys run the AGs on the wide front wheels, because up until recently 'tri-ribs' were not available for the wider wheels. On the narrow front wheels a lot of guys do run 'tri-ribs'.

The smooth rib tires are OK on a restored tractor, but on a worker, they are aggervating. In snow they want to 'slide', and it takes forever to turn, wet/damp grass is the same thing....and loose dirt or stone isn't much better. (BTW, The 'original' smooth ribs were made by Goodyear...and are no longer available in that brand. Carlisle makes a version very close (appearance wise) to the Goodyears.)

Put the front AGs on like this

I'll have to say they work great...of course that is a first hand opinion, based on real life experience........................

Check out this pic of the 1450 before I got the AG's on the front of it.

You can see that the front tires didn't even leave any kind of tread marks in the snow....Now, what do you think is going to get more traction in the snow....the AGs, or the 'slicks'?

[Fordlords]

We had a little Sears rider mower when I was growing up that had the smooth rib front tires which were most common of that time in the late 70's early 80's. A kid being a stupid kid, one of my favorite stunts was to get tooling along fast in wet grass, then quickly turn the steering one way or another and the front wheels would just slide along with the tractor still going straight. Once they caught and gripped something, the back end would often go into a slide and swing around. My dad wondered why the front end parts of his precious LT10/36 wore out so fast, he just attributed it to cheapness

A highly recommended place for L/G tractor tires: http://www.tiresunlimited.com

-Fordlords-

[Ritter107]

Good information to know. THe front tires on my one tractor are jsut beat up after years of work. Sidewalls have cracks on them that look like the grand canyon. How well do the reversed bar tires perform on grass while mowing? Often times when i'm pulling the lawn vac in the fall the front end wants to skid some in the leaves and damp grass(can't help it when leaves are down). This is of great interest to me as part of the lawn is sloped and turning the tractor with the vac without sliding would be wonderful. In addition... not sliding in snow when i turn the front wheels? WOW!!! I think i may have to try this.

[Ritter107]

Oh yeah... in regards to mowing... being that the bar tires grab better... am i going to have to put a pipe wrench on the steering wheel to turn it? I got to thinking of that last night after i hit the hay.

[gitractorman]

Didn't mean to PO anyone, just my thoughts. If y'all like the ag tires on the front, that is great, and I may have to try it sometime. I just never had a big problem in the snow or mud, so didn't really see the reason.

As for steering hard, I could not imagine that the bar tires make it that hard to steer. Remember, keep it rolling and it should not make much of a difference. That is what you have to do with the snow blower mounted, because of all the weight on the front. May be a little bouncier on hard surfaces.

[Leadfoot]

Ritter: The front AGs are fine for mowing too...you can run them either direction then.

They were 'forward' last summer on my 1250:



If you run a full set of AGs you will probably notice...there is almost not 'tire marks' in the grass....unlike turfs, you won't be able to see EVERY time you drove across the yard.

And before you ask...LOL....no, they do not tear up the grass when you turn...(a lot of people think front AGs 'might' destroy the yard...they -do not-).if you are running as fast as the tractor will go, and try to rip a 90 degree turn, they might, but not during normal/behaved use.

Regarding 'do they make the tractor turn/steer hard'....answer is no, if anything it is slightly easier to turn. There is less tire touching the ground, therefore there is less friction while attempting to change direction, basically.

If/when you decide to get a set of front AGs, try your local tire store.

I get all of my AGs in town from a 'little guy' tire store. He is about $5 a piece higher than internet prices, but there is no shipping charges, he has them the next day, and he dismounts the old tires, puts in new valve stems, and mounts the new tires...FREE.

[Fordlords]

Now you are making me wish I put the AG's on my 682 rather than the turf tires Leadfoot! I got my new Carlisle's off the internet, and let me tell everyone that having someone else (a pro) mount L/G tires is priceless. It was an all-weekend project trying to get the tire beads to snap on my new rims- dangerous too, it took nearly 80 PSI to get the fronts that run at 28 PSI max to snap in. I don't have a lot of people knowledgeable about L/G tractors in my locale, so many times I have to wing things on my own. The AG tires look to be a bit less pricey than good turf tires, just that thier looks probably make it hard to convince people that they don't tear the yard up, but Leadfoot's pictures convinced me.

-Fordlords-

[lonnyb]

Fordlord and others,

To get the bead to seat on any tire easyer, what I do is use dish soap.
Smear a handfull around each side of the tire on the bead, this helps the bead to slide over the rim and it also helps detect any small leaks you might have around the bead.

[Ritter107]

You know... somebody's gonna end up running a driveshaft to the front end of a Cub Cadet before this topic is said and done....

[R Bedell]

Ritter:

How about this one..???

It is a 1964 Model 100

I think this is neat.

[img][img]http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b244/rbedell/CCFWD1.jpg[/img][/img]

And NO, it is not mine.....but I wish....LOL

[Ritter107]

My God.... How the heck would you get power to it anyways?

[beaconlight]

And the winner is!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill