Tire pressure

[cdahl383]

What tire pressure are you guys running in your Cubs (front and rear)?

My fronts only had about 16lbs in them which seemed fine before I put the blade on, but after I mounted the blade they looked a little low. I pumped them up to 25lbs. That seemed better, but not sure what others run in the front with and without implements.

My rears have about 15lbs in them right now and seem okay.

[NJ Farmer]

28 psi in the front tires and 12 psi in the rear tires……From the Farmall Cub Ops Manual.

NJ Farmer

[cdahl383]

Oh wow, so my fronts were way too low to begin with. I'll have to air them up a little more then. I'll check the rears again too. Thought they were around 15psi.

[Barnyard]

Straight from the manual.

[NJ Farmer]

Interesting Barnyard your link is for 2ply front tires but my manual is for 4ply front tires and it says 28psi.

I guess check the number of ply’s on your tires……I can only assume most “modern” tires are 4 ply…..

NJ Farmer

[Jim Becker]

I don't think you will find 2-ply front or rear tires any more. I think they proved to not be durable enough. Likewise, I don't think your will find 3:00-12 front tires any more either.

Tires pressure is limited by the design of the tire but should be set according to the load. As I recall, typical "4-ply" front tires are limited to 32. A modern "load range B" (replacement labeling for "2-ply - 4 ply rated") is limited to 35. You may find any of these markings on a front tire. In most current tires, a maximum pressure is directly labeled on the sidewall.

Increasing tire pressure will reduce the tire's footprint. In rears, this will also reduce squirm. We would add a couple extra pounds to the rears when we were going to be on pavement a lot. This would reduce road wear.

As usual, following the manual is a good guideline. I usually start with 25 front, 12 rear as a base then add for mounted implements and conditions. I aim for about 28/15 for plowing snow on a hard surface. 14 seems about right for use with most Fast-Hitch implements.

Some implement manuals may give specific pressure recommendations. (I thought I'd find an example in the 1000 loader manual, couldn't find it.)

[cdahl383]

Ok, so maybe 25psi in the front normally, and maybe a little higher with the blade on the front? Sounds like 25-28psi should be a good range though. Either way, it shouldn't be 15psi which is where it was before.

Last time I checked the rears I thought they were around 14-15psi. I'll have to double check them next time I get the tractor out. I might mess with it a little bit over the Thanksgiving break. I have some time off, so I can goof off a little bit in the garage haha!

I know tire pressure makes a big difference when drag racing. I run 32psi in my street tires on my car. But when I put the drag radials I run them at 25psi to get to the track and then 20-22psi when racing. The fronts I run at 42psi to reduce rolling resistance. I've tried lowering the tires down to 16psi in the past thinking that would help traction, but it didn't really help and all it did was make the last half of the track scary as the rear end of the car was squirming all over. That's going about 120mph or so though. With the Cub, going about 2-3mph, it's a little safer haha!

Regardless, I'm going to get some new front tires next year. The ones on there now are cracked really bad all over. Sidewalls, tread, etc. They hold air, but who knows for how long. I'm thinking I'll just get some implement tires rather than the ribbed tires as that won't tear up my grass in the back when I drive it around. The rears should be good for a while still.

[Glen]

Hi,
The info in the table above is in the 1949 Cub owner's manual. Notice it says "When wheel weights are used, or implements are carried on the tractor, inflation pressure must be increased." The blade is heavy, and on the front, I would think you need more air pressure in the front tires than the 20 psi it says.
IH put more info in the newer Cub operator's manuals.
Below is info from the 1965 Cub operator's manual.
The first page has a table with inflation pressures for 4 ply front tires, at the lower right of the page.
https://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.cle ... age-49.jpg

To use the higher pressures, you probably need tires that are in good condition.
Tires that have surface cracking, and not deep cracking, may not be bad. But it's hard to know without seeing them.
Below is the page with rear tire pressures. It has the modern tire sizes, like are sold today.
https://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.cle ... age-50.jpg

The info in the manual is right at least for newer Cubs, for people reading this that have 1965 and newer Cubs. I would think this info updates what was in the older manuals, but you can decide.
Maybe Jim B. will say.

[KETCHAM]

25 psi with blade....throwing a lot of out front weight....better have rear weights.....hold the rear down....ENJOY!!!!! if its gonna be cold...SNOW!!!!!!!!!

[cdahl383]

Yes my tractor has rear wheel weights on it. It seems to be fine, I don't notice the rear feeling light or anything.

[Peter S]

25 psi with blade....throwing a lot of out front weight....better have rear weights.....hold the rear down....ENJOY!!!!! if its gonna be cold...SNOW!!!!!!!!!

The 25 psi is referring to the tire pressure, not the weight of the blade.