Got new tires!

blazerbrad · 05-28-2013, 04:09 PM

Okay, so they are just lawnmower tires but like a typical gearhead geek I am excited about them. My parent's gave me their "extra" Snapper 42" zero turn mower when we moved into our new place and now had an acre yard to mow. It's a nice machine but traction is horrible with the stock rounded profile turf tires even with only 8 psi in them. You could get it to just sit there and spin on flat dry grass when trying to reverse and turn it at the same time. Anything resembling a slope or ditch was just a nightmare.

I figured since the mower was free I could justify spending $80 for a new set of tires. Stock tires were 18x8.50-8 so I shopped around and ordered a set of 18x9.50-8 knobby flat profile ATV tires. They arrived this weekend and I got them mounted up (huge PITA to get the beads seated because of how deformed they were from shipping...should have taken a picture).

Even though both the old and new were supposed to be the same height the new ones are quite a bit bigger. Granted, in the picture the new ones are mounted with 24 psi in them and the old ones are not mounted, but there is quite the size difference. Once the new tires break in I will start lowering the pressure down.

Huge increase in traction even with the high pressure and the ditches are not a problem now. Even on flat ground it is much more responsive to turning as the tires don't slide all over the place.

05-28-2013, 04:09 PM	#1
blazerbrad - CORE Member - Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 831 Images: 6	Got new tires! Okay, so they are just lawnmower tires but like a typical gearhead geek I am excited about them. My parent's gave me their "extra" Snapper 42" zero turn mower when we moved into our new place and now had an acre yard to mow. It's a nice machine but traction is horrible with the stock rounded profile turf tires even with only 8 psi in them. You could get it to just sit there and spin on flat dry grass when trying to reverse and turn it at the same time. Anything resembling a slope or ditch was just a nightmare. I figured since the mower was free I could justify spending $80 for a new set of tires. Stock tires were 18x8.50-8 so I shopped around and ordered a set of 18x9.50-8 knobby flat profile ATV tires. They arrived this weekend and I got them mounted up (huge PITA to get the beads seated because of how deformed they were from shipping...should have taken a picture). Even though both the old and new were supposed to be the same height the new ones are quite a bit bigger. Granted, in the picture the new ones are mounted with 24 psi in them and the old ones are not mounted, but there is quite the size difference. Once the new tires break in I will start lowering the pressure down. Huge increase in traction even with the high pressure and the ditches are not a problem now. Even on flat ground it is much more responsive to turning as the tires don't slide all over the place.