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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply

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curt1256

12-13-2004 14:04:14




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I ruined a tire and found out that new ones are worth gold. I have found a new replacement (20.8R38)- their are no used ones locally - and was wondering if 18.4's would be a reasonable replacement. It seems that I can buy two new 18.4's with tubes for the price of a single 20.8 radial tubleless. The 18.4'a are not radials; does that make any difference? I use the tractor for moving hay and mowing - may use it in the future to disk. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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captaink

12-14-2004 07:17:37




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to curt1256, 12-13-2004 14:04:14  
Radials will give you more traction. I have had bias and radials on my 966 and preferred the radials because of their extra traction especially in snow (had loader and a snow blower on it). My thought is it depends on how mush tillage you are going to do and how much traction you need for bailing etc. If you are only doing a little bit of tillage, and traction is not a problem, I would go with the bias tire. As far as width is concerned, again depends. A narrower tire will have more pounds per square inch of ground contact. A wider tire will have less, thus carrying over soft soils easier. As far as pulling, the wider tire will have the potential to put more horsepower to the ground IF you have enough weight to hold the traction. If you’re farming full time, or using the tractor daily, the radials probably not worth the expense in your situation, but if not, save your money and but the bias tires.

Just my 2 cents.

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Jonboy

12-13-2004 20:07:17




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to curt1256, 12-13-2004 14:04:14  
Bias tires are quite a bit less expensive than radials, but if you want deep treads, you will have to go with radials. I think bias tires would be fine for what you want to do except for disking in wet soil with a good sized disk. If your land is wet then radials are the way to go, but then on the other hand, running rice and cane type tires in a hayfield tends to cut up the hayfield alittle, but depending upon your soil, they may mean the difference between getting stuck and accomplishing nothing and getting the job done. A wider tire is better in soft conditions, as flotation is very important (you don't want to sink), but will actually hurt performance on a hard surface because the tractors weight will be distributed over a greater area due to more tire contact surface and allow easier slippage.
Hope this helps,

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Harold H

12-14-2004 08:37:30




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to Jonboy, 12-13-2004 20:07:17  
R-2 Rice & Cane tires are available in bias as well as radial.

Harold H



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Nebraska Cowman

12-13-2004 16:03:13




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to curt1256, 12-13-2004 14:04:14  
i don't know how big your tractor is or how hard you pull it but I replaced 15.5 bias tires on the ole Hydro with 16.9 radios an I ain't never goin' back!



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CBL

12-13-2004 15:11:12




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to curt1256, 12-13-2004 14:04:14  
Don't know where you are at but I am in Iowa and have a couple of used 20.8x38 10 ply that could perhaps work if distance isnt a factor.



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Harold H

12-13-2004 14:25:17




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to curt1256, 12-13-2004 14:04:14  
From what I understand, the supposed advantage of the radial rear tires is, the sidewalls are less rigid and this allows the tire to flex and allow more of the tread to be in contact with the ground and thus give slightly more traction per horsepower in most normal conditions. On bias tires the sidewalls and crossection is much more rigid which supposidely has more rolling resistance and less traction in some conditions. In rough conditions, new ground, logging, rice fields, etc, the bias tire is a more rugged tire. On older tractors the bias looks more "right" and except for extreme high hp tractors I don't think you will really notice a difference in pulling power. Personally I prefer a bias type rear tire for most applications. I think bias tires will be fine for your application. You might want to check prices on 20.8 x 38 bias tires as well as the 18.4 x 38 bias. IMHO.

Harold H

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Allan in NE

12-13-2004 14:11:01




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 Re: 20.8 vs 18.4 and radial tires vs. ply in reply to curt1256, 12-13-2004 14:04:14  
Kurt,

What tractor?

FWITW, I ran into the exact same situation last summer. Used radials wayyyyy yyy higher than the new bias tires.

I put that pair of new tires on and by golly that old tractor hasn't whimpered a bit.

Heck, for what you are doing, I'd go with the bias tires.

Allan



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