QUINCY, Ill.—Titan International Inc. has developed a Goodyear-brand "crossover" farm tire for compact tractors that it says combines the best attributes of an R-1 agricultural tire with those of an R-4 industrial tire.
Dubbed the R14, the tire combines the traction and cleaning features of an R-1 ag tire with the wear and ride features of an R-4 industrial tire, thus providing performance on surfaces ranging from hard concrete to softer soils.
"The combined elements of the two tread styles result in one less decision a grower is forced to make when purchasing a compact tractor," Scott Sloan, agricultural product manager for Titan and Goodyear Farm Tires, said.
"Compact tractors, by nature, are designed to be versatile enough to work in any weather or conditions, including soil, snow or turf, but there's never been a tire designed to work equally as well in each of those applications."
Titan debuted the R14 at the recent National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky.
The tire's versatility has the potential to save growers significant time and money over the life of the tire, Titan claims. Previously, if growers wanted to switch machines between a farming, industrial or turf application, they'd have to change both wheels and tires—at nearly $4,000 per conversion.
The tire's continuous arc bar angle shape is inspired by the Goodyear OptitracR-1W line, while the tire's center element— derived from Titan's MXL E3/L3—provides wear and performance characteristics. The R14 also has a high lug-to-void ratio, optimal for hard surface applications, while the lug is designed for cleaning and traction in softer soils.
The line is available in Titan's proprietary Low Sidewall Technology and conventional sizes, including: LSW340/70R28, LSW460/75R38, 340/85R24 and 460/85R34.
Titan also offers 28-inch deep drop-rim wheels to match the LSW sizes for the R14. This rim profile is the smallest of its kind in the industry and is an adjustable waffle wheel design that brings all the benefits of LSW to smaller compact tractors for the first time.