Tire Size / Type Questions

[71_Bronco 1,072]

As you all know by now, this winter I am redoing a 71 Wheel Horse Bronco.

I was thinking about replacing the tires on it. Right now, they have what I believe to be the original Wheel Horse tires. They have the wheel horse name embossed on the side-wall, and are the "turf-saver" style tires.

Part of me wants to go with a more traditional style tire, like the Carlisle "Straight Rib" up front:

And run the Carlisle "Tru Power" in the back:

The issue I see with this though, is that the tractor is going to be used mostly for lawn mowing, and some gravel-driveway grading with a mid-mount blade. I am worried that the more aggressive "agricultural" tires will hurt the grass. Will this be an issue?

So the question remains, should I get Turf? Or should I get the old-school looking lug & ribs?

The tires that are on there now still hold air fine, and I always have the option of running an inner tube. They are cracked here and there, both on the side-walls and on the tread, but not bad. Just hairline cracks.

Also, according to the manual I have, the front tires are listed as "16-5.50-8", but all I can find are "16-6.50-8". Will the 6.50's work fine? Or am I S.O.L. and need to find some 5.50's?

Thanks allot in advance for any help.

[SousaKerry 503]

In my opinion as long as you keep the tire pressure low and you arn't mowing when the ground is too wet the tru-powers won't do much damage at all

of coarse you could always pick up an extra set of rims and swap them out for the tough jobs

[Don1977 605]

I don't think you will see much difference between the 5.50 and the 6.50.

[can whlvr 994]

i have the front tires that you show and are called straight rib,they live on my parts tractors so i can move them around,i dont like them at all,they have poor traction at the best of times,they are not the tri ribs that guys use which are rumored to be good,the straight ribs are what my 1986-308-8 came with and it was an economy machine(no bells or whistles and these tires werent impressive at all,jmo,i would go tri ribs or turfs or ags but not those unless looks is all you want

[71_Bronco 1,072]

i have the front tires that you show and are called straight rib,they live on my parts tractors so i can move them around,i dont like them at all,they have poor traction at the best of times,they are not the tri ribs that guys use which are rumored to be good,the straight ribs are what my 1986-308-8 came with and it was an economy machine(no bells or whistles and these tires werent impressive at all,jmo,i would go tri ribs or turfs or ags but not those unless looks is all you want

Thanks for the info, I was hoping someone would have these tires and chime in. The reason I chose the "Straight Rib" tires was because I cannot get the "Tri-Rib" style tires in the correct size. I would have to buy a new set of front wheels in order to run the thinner "Tri-rib" ones.

I think I am going to leave the originals on for now, and when next summer rolls around, I'll order a new set of the "Turf-Saver" tires. I don't think the body style of the tractor would look right with the old-school "lug" and "rib" style tires.

[C-Series14 15]

I run Ag's on all of my tractors and have no problems with hurting the grass...

[jay in nc 210]

the strait rib tires are junk when grass is wet or pulling a heavy load or mowing a side hill, you will compound that problem with the traction of ag tires. a 3 rib tractor tire is a much better choice. :woohoo:

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Just out of curiosity, what would work well with the Ag's on the back? Would Turf tires be okay with the "Tru Power" Tires on the back?

BTW, The rear tires on the Bronco are 23-8.50-12's. I also checked out what actually was on the tractor for front tires, and it has 16-6.50-8's on it right now, so the 6.50s obviously will work lol.

[sorekiwi 761]

As far as I know, the only 16-6.50 x 8 tri-rib that is available is the Firestone, available from Miller Tire.

[littleredrider 409]

I have ag's on most of my tractors. My ranger has the baby ags, 18x8.5s and stud type up front. It's my mower, and does great. Only time the ags spin is usually backing up, while trying to go uphill on an angle. Little weight to the side fixes that.

Turning radius sucks so never tears while turning.

I was looking into what type of fronts to get too, for my 520. Didn't want the tri-ribs cause they can tear up the lawn, also since this tractor will get a loader, any weight up front can sink the tires on soft ground. I got a set of Vredestein in 16x6.5x8. I did a search for them on the net, many very positive results. The tri-ribs do look cool, but need something function for this one.

[Sparky-(Admin) 23,256]

I personally prefer 2 ply (not 4 ply) turfs all around. I love the Titan Turf Trac RS but of course all the good stuff ever made is discontinued, as were the Titan Turf Tracs.

Mike.......

[71_Bronco 1,072]

So from what I gather, the smooth ribs I posted originally are out, due to lack of grip on any surface. Ags in the back are okay, as long as I don't mow in mushy grass. It also sounds like the Tri-Ribs would be good to run up front, although may do some harm to the grass from what I am reading.

So I guess the best combo would be Ags in the back, with a set of turfs up front. Will give me plenty of traction should I ever need to pull anything, will give me good turning traction on grass for mowing, but wont hurt the lawn, and will give me a "tractor" look, versus a "lawn mower" look.

Does my logic sound reasonable at all?

[Forest Road 594]

I wanted more traction all the way around. I don't really cut any grass so tearing it up wasn't a concern. I priced tri ribs and said he** NO! I went with ags all the way around. Looks cool. But I imagine the fronts would do some damage. I haven't noticed any marking yet. Nor have I been paying much attention.

Here's a link with the redone toy.

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.php?showtopic=30093

[71_Bronco 1,072]

I wanted more traction all the way around. I don't really cut any grass so tearing it up wasn't a concern. I priced tri ribs and said he** NO! I went with ags all the way around. Looks cool. But I imagine the fronts would do some damage. I haven't noticed any marking yet. Nor have I been paying much attention.

Here's a link with the redone toy.

http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/index.php?showtopic=30093

It's funny you posted that, as I was thinking to myself "I wonder what it would look like with ags on all 4 corners"

Would ags all the way around be better then ags on the back and turfs up front?

BTW, Nice set-up :woohoo:

[Trouty56 567]

Got my Carlisle ags for 167 a pair...and tri-ribs for only 75 a pair with tubes. Looks freakin' great.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Ag's on the back, with Turfs up front.

The best part about this idea, is that I can mount up the backs first, with the stock front tires. If I like the look, then I order front Turfs, if I don't like the look, then I order the Firestone Tri-Ribs.

I think the Ag's & Turfs will give me the best blend of turning traction, pulling traction, and overall look.

EDIT: I just talked to a co-worker who is also a Wheel Horse user / lover, and he said that the Turfs and Ag's would be best for my application. Looks like I have a winning combo.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Does anybody have any experience with a company called "Deestone Tires"? I found them for about 1/2 the price of the Carlisle's, and they make both Turf tires in the correct size for the fronts, and Ag's for the rear.

I am kinda anal about keeping brands the same when I can, so I would like to try to avoid Carlisle tires on the front and Deestone tires on the rear etc

[Trouty56 567]

I was going to buy Deestone ags, made in Thailand or some other Asian country, but with the shipping added I could get the Carlisle ags locally for about 20 bucks more for the set. From what I have read the Deestone ags are a bit smaller than the Carlisle ags width-wise and height-wise.

I don't know much about the turfs....however I think they look like what is on my Monkey Wards lawn tractor.

Ag Comparison from a website.....

[71_Bronco 1,072]

I was going to buy Deestone ags, made in Thailand or some other Asian country, but with the shipping added I could get the Carlisle ags locally for about 20 bucks more for the set. From what I have read the Deestone ags are a bit smaller than the Carlisle ags width-wise and height-wise.

I don't know much about the turfs....however I think they look like what is on my Monkey Wards lawn tractor.

Ag Comparison from a website.....

Thanks, I found a set of new Deestone ags for the back, for like 95 bucks on ebay, from some warehouse. Cheapest I found the Carlisle ags so far has been like 175 plus shipping.

I think I will have to check out local places to see what they run.

As for the turfs, I would only be saving roughly 5 to 10 bucks on the pair vs the Carlisles.

[littleredrider 409]

I got set of Ags at Tractor Supply. They are Hi-run, did a search on them, and tho they are made in New Zealand (better than China!!) somewhere there was a reference to Carlisle. I have them on my 520, they measured about the same as the tires I took off.

[can whlvr 994]

of coarse its totally your call and tractor but ags at all 4 corners is sure a statement,and good traction too