Tri rib tires
 

I am thinking of putting a set of tri rib front tires on the front of my 125. I was wondering if they provide a noticable reduction in steering effort over turf tires? These would be the 16x6.50-8 size.

YES--I think that you will notice a big reduction in the effort on steering. I had the wider front tires on my 123 and this past summer I put a set of narrower tri-ribs on and was very impressed!!! Not to mention, it looks cooler and if you are mowing, the narrower tri-ribs will not smash down the grass before your blades get to it, which was often a problem that I encountered--resulting in an uneven cut.

Cub Cadet 123

The steering is a lot better with tri ribs. I have the narrow ones, on my 100 and the steering is effortless. If you turn too sharp, they will leave tracks in your turf.

I can't say about the wide tri ribs, but I know my tractors steer a lot easier with narrow tires...

I know, not what you asked, but it's all I got!

I also can't comment on the 16.5" tri-ribs. Most people I know refuse to pay the $140 for them. The closest thing I've seen to 16.5" tri-ribs, are the vredestein v-61 in 16.5 size. I know they loved them, but I don't know if they steering any easier. I think I would first go and remove the spindles and give them a good cleaning. You would be suprised at what a difference that can make.

AJ

I also have the narrow tri-ribs on my 149. I can add that they provide MUCH more stability for the front-end when plowing snow vs. the turfs. Makes plowing snow even more fun!

I'm going to disagree. I'm not sure if it's just because I have to much weight on the rear of my 100 compared to the front, but on snow and ice, my tri ribs don't direct the tractor, AT ALL. If you hit a slick spot, you're going straight, no matter which way you steer.

On ice, it's not going to matter what tire you have...you won't be able to steer unless you have steering brakes. I have decent turf tires on the front of my 782 that usually work great, even in the snow, but when there's ice...I steer with the brakes.

Then you should be REALLY glad you don't have the old aviation style multi-ribbed balloon type tires on it then. You can barely steer those in the dry grass!

Sorry, just stating my experience for the op. I can't turn the tractor on slick spots with either. When plowing head on, the narrow tri ribs hold the tractor from moving side to side much better than the wide 16 x 6.5 x 8 (or whatever) turfs.... stability, as I originally stated it above. YMMV

I have miss matched fronts, and hard steering. Lots of worn out parts! Mine is a 124.

I have purchased a Kit on E-Bay that replaces the large nut on the steering arm with a smaller nut and a bearing. Seems like it made it worse!

So my next project will probably be to break down the front end and replace the axle pin (bought new one.) Also re-drill the left spindle where the bolt goes through to put a larger bolt. It is worn and the hole is wallered out. This causes lots of slack in the steering and limits how far the wheels turn.

Right now my fronts are 16x6.50x8 and one is a turf grip and the other is a smooth rib. While I have it apart I will change the tires.

Problem is all of the tires I have found in that size are expensive. I thought about changing out the rims to something narrower, but have not found any alternatives locally.

Poor old cub needs lots of work to get it back right. The good news is that I dont have to worry about snow like most of you guys hehehehe.

-Dave

GTSDave-

You won't really see an improvement with the thrust bearing unless the rest of the steering column is in good shape.

Don't use a bolt in the LH spindle...it won't last, and will eventually make the problem worse. What some people have done is get a tapered reamer from McMaster-Carr and ream the hole for a tapered pin, which is a much better repair.

I would go through the steering column too. They're fairly simple to fix and it makes a huge difference.

One last thing...make sure the front wheels still have camber...years of abuse, i.e. wheelies, usually bend the spindles a bit and make it really hard to steer. This is easy to fix by heating the spindle's bend with a torch and re-bending it to the right angle.

If you do all of these things, leave the thrust bearing addon on there, and replace your tie rod ends, you'll be able to steer that tractor with two fingers.

I have another column. May go through it then just swap them out. First thing will be the axle pin. It is so worn that when I turn the wheel I can see the axle move front to back hehehehe. Replaced a couple of the tie rod ends a while back, but the loose steering arm/bolt on the left spindle seems to be the biggest problem for now.

VERY hard to steer it as it is, could be spindles rusting up in the axle as well. I will take it all apart and clean / de rust everything I can.

I will also look into a pin in stead of the bolt, but seems to me with the correct bolt it should not move. Once I get it apart I will know better which way to go.

-Dave

The LH spindle was designed with a 5/16" roll pin, and was never meant for a bolt. Putting a bolt in helps for a bit, then tears up the interface even worse. There is no 'correct' bolt.

As for the axle pin...I doubt it's worn. The C-channel in the frame has spread apart over time, and all you have to do is squeeze it back together again and it'll be like new.

I am currently looking to put tri ribs on my 122, which has 16 x 6.50 x 8. For those of you talking about narrower ones, what size are you referring to? And would this require getting different rims?

Jeff,

The tire size is 4.00-8. You'll need different rims. Here's what the narrow tri ribs look like. Hope this helps. :beerchug:

http://i487.photobucket.com/albums/r..._0694Small.jpg

They look great. Any particular reason why you went for the narrow ones? I notice only two dimensions for the tires. Also, that's exactly what I want to do with my exaust.

Jeff,

Thanks! The tires were already on the tractor, before I got it. They steer great. The stack was already on the tractor, as well. :ThumbsUp:

Thanks for the info. Hopefully I'll make some changes this Spring.