tire size thoughts?

[Anonymous-0]

I hear on here all the time about tire size and the advantage or disadvantage, while at a pull a guy asked the promoter if he could run a 42" tall tire on his m farmall and he said no the 38" was as tall as allowed. He politily asked how it is fair to allow a utility tractor or wd or anything that came out with a 26",34" ,30" tire to go up and out on there size but not the same for the larger tractors. To me all the talk of advantage and disadvantage seems he may have a point , so what are some thoughts on this?

 

[WTW]

He does have a point! That’s why speed limits are so important. The dumbest and poorest antique pulling rules are common tire sizes with no speed limit or worse yet a low gear rule. If the same tractor that ran stock 24" tires were allowed to run 38" tires and no speed limit or a low gear rule against you with stock size 38" tires, in the same gear you are getting screwed! The tire size/speed advantage will always be there if there is not a speed limit . Got to have a speed limit not a gear limit to level the playing field in a antique tractor pull. Otherwise it’s all about cubic dollar and speed! On the flip side if you both run the same weight, hitch, tire, and speed limits and have the ability/power to maintain the limit and not be allowed to exceed the limit the winner will be a “true” tractor puller! Because he is the guy that knows how to read a track, weight his tractor, sharpen his tires (if allowed) and adjust his hitch better than his competitors. Very common the winner is not the guy with the most horse power but the one with enough power and knows how to use it. MHO, DW

 

[johndeereman]

i agree with wtw my question would be what if the tractor came factory with 42 inch tires we had a guy in our club that had a jd a with those tires tractr came from florida had some kind of sprocket on the axle inside the wheel for a planter or something and the club let him pull because it came factory that way he still didnt do very well

 

[massey 333]

I will have to disagree on the true tractor puller term.Still the cubic dollar,a Div.4 or 5 built tractor running in Div.1-2-3 at half throttle in third or forth gear will win 9 out of 10 times,but make that same man run at full throttle at 3-3 1/2 mph and he will lose 9 out of 10 times.That is the big reason so many new pullers QUIT after 1 or 2 pulls,still the sad thing is $$$$$$$$ rule.

 

[The Dukester]

Yeah, especially if you're new to pulling and haven't been to many pulls, to watch or participate. In the lower division you expect to pull against tractors of the same type that compared with your tractor when it was in use. Instead you find your class littered with "custom looking jobs" that look like nothing you've ever seen before...in the field or at shows or parades. You find out that pulling tractors are mostly a "breed of their own" and you say to yourself "To he-- with it, I don't want to have a doctored up morphadyke looking thing just to win a 5 buck trophy".

 

[IH282Puller]

Up in New England it's not uncommon to see stock and enhanced for each weight class. The idea is to make it worthwhile for both types of pullers to come out and play. Yeah some people probably push the "stock" thing a little and enhanced can be a little "Wild West" but I think it's the best thing short of speed limits.

As far as enforcement goes, we pretty much know what we all run and I'd say almost all of us value the respect of each other more than the trophy. Besides, cheaters end up in the cold around here.

When it comes to tire size, I say go for it. If speed is a problem for enough people then have speed limits and be done with it.

 

[north puller]

I say either go with a stock tire and rim size, stock rim diameter, or no tire restrictions at all. A specific size (ie 15.5 38) keeps one guy at stock size while an allis, for example can go WAAAY bigger than stock. A speed limit keeps it close to fair regardless of tire size. Our club has a "no cut tire" rule for stock, which keeps out most tractors that are too hot and don't belong. This way we don't have to limit tire size and it still works.

 

[Mike Bock]

if all tractors had "same" tire size 15.5 18.4 then everybodt would have "same " chance at winning

 

[VicS]

I disagree,that the high hp tractor will win 9 out of 10 times pulling in a 3 or 4 mph class. You let somebody like the Smith bros from the midwest, weight and drive your tractor and it will win also, you are forgetting us old farts have been paying attention for 40 plus years. No one can expect to show up, 3 or 4 times a year and win place or show every time. A good example is at a pull last year, a young guy's tractor went out of bounds, and I said to him later, that he leaned the wrong way and made it worse, then jabed the brake. He just looked at me like, MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS. Every Class should have a maximum tire size. I don't care what came on it from the factory. Just a little rant Vic

 

[VicS]

Mike, I found those guys at Red Bud,Il. Their name is Evans, and they have everything Allis. And know how to mix and match. You were right North Side Salvage. 618 282 2477

 

[WTW]

Vic,
I was not going to re-post on this one until I seen your comments, I just want to tell you that I agree 100% and respect your comment. You have seen and spoke to me at the USAP Princeton pulls in years past and have seen and pulled against our tractors. Last time we pulled against you, you beat us. No disrespect to anybody but when someone like you or us that pulls and are always the underdog can go out and place amongst many larger and newer tractors, I too can say speed limits work. If you cannot place in a speed limit class there is one of two possibilities that is the problem. One possibility is they do not have a division III tractor that is capable of physically competing. Second possibility is exactly what you hit on and that is they do not know how to get the potential out of their own tractor. I don’t remember if you were at Princeton the year that my son took three first places, won the 3500, 4000, and 4500 4 mph classes with a unstyled B John Deere! There was M Farmalls and 88 Olivers to name a few in the classes. Classes numbers were between 10 and 20 in the classes. I wish I had the listings of that day as I told my son the listing/placing sheet of all the tractors and footages would mean more to me than all the plastic trophies we ever brought home, and we do have allot of those too. Let me be the first to tell everybody we do not win all the pulls we attend and it was not the most horse power or wheel speed that won them that day. It was enough power and the ability to hold the speed and knowledge to know how to put it to the ground. And yes, a little luck was in the equation too. Thanks Vic for your support, as you too have earned your respect. Dave Wickman

 

[Anonymous-0]

the only thing i can say is dont forget the foot print of the tire 13.6 38 is going to be larger than that of a 13.6 28, of course the tractor set up hitch weight power and driver are all things to consider but where do you stop with tire size rules speed limit is about the easiest way to police it