Big wheels for the 644

[Eugen]

I've already said my 644 tires are not digging in too well and I was wondering if there's a good solution. Member sdunt on the other side put Carlisle 7-16 tires on 16 inch rims and they fit fine plus he could use the combine weights. Well, those tires are $$$ here in Canada.

Got this crazy idea that the Ag tires from the 644 might just fit so after a best effort to measure, inconclusive as it ended up being, I just had to try.

There's about half inch clearance to the foot rest and fenders. Hm...

[Timj]

Looks good Eugen, put the other one on and give it a try. Just won't be able to run chains.

We replaced the 24" wheels with 28" on our Ford 555 backhoe and it gave it more push and got around better in the sand.
Tim

[DavidBarkey]

The biggest problem I see you having is with the increased diameter will come increased gear ratio giving you higher ground speed but a drop in torque to move the extra weight . That is why the factory went with smaller diameter tires as the rest is mostly 400 series motor and gears . That is the one major problem I encounter with Frankie . He never comes out of low gear . He needs a set of 600 series rear boots .
Dave

[Eugen]

Looks good Eugen, put the other one on and give it a try. Just won't be able to run chains.

We replaced the 24" wheels with 28" on our Ford 555 backhoe and it gave it more push and got around better in the sand.
Tim

Tim, I got chains on the 446 turf tires, which do winter duty just fine.

The real reason I wanted to put the big lugs on the 644 was for garden duty: plow, tiller. It would be easier to put front weight on the 644 too, just throw weight on the bucket, which would help with the plow and tiller (no more wheelies ). But maybe the 14hp Kohler is not strong enough for the garden? :/ Btw for just pushing the bucket and digging into a pile of dirt the original 644 tires seemed just fine, with sufficient weight on the rear weight box.

Tim, so did you experience a significant difference in ground speed? Did you need a seat belt with the bigger wheels?

[Gordy]

Looks good Eugen, put the other one on and give it a try. Just won't be able to run chains.

We replaced the 24" wheels with 28" on our Ford 555 backhoe and it gave it more push and got around better in the sand.
Tim

Tim, I got chains on the 446 turf tires, which do winter duty just fine.

The real reason I wanted to put the big lugs on the 644 was for garden duty: plow, tiller. It would be easier to put front weight on the 644 too, just throw weight on the bucket, which would help with the plow and tiller (no more wheelies ). But maybe the 14hp Kohler is not strong enough for the garden? :/ Btw for just pushing the bucket and digging into a pile of dirt the original 644 tires seemed just fine, with sufficient weight on the rear weight box.

Tim, so did you experience a significant difference in ground speed? Did you need a seat belt with the bigger wheels?

The 14hp will do fine with a tiller, at least my 224 does. Dad had a Ford 12hp hydro tractor that he used to plow with at plow days.


Gordy

[Eugen]

The biggest problem I see you having is with the increased diameter will come increased gear ratio giving you higher ground speed but a drop in torque to move the extra weight . That is why the factory went with smaller diameter tires as the rest is mostly 400 series motor and gears . That is the one major problem I encounter with Frankie . He never comes out of low gear . He needs a set of 600 series rear boots .
Dave

Argh! This could be a problem, because I don't want to take fast corners with a full bucket I quite enjoy the very slow speed I got now on the 644. Since I already mounted one wheel, I may as well mount the other one and give it a try.

The bigger tire I measured at about 30 inches diameter, that's 15" radius. The original 644 tire measured at 27" diameter, so 13.5" radius. The length around the wheel would be 2*pi*radius, so one turn of the bigger wheel would a travel of 94.2 inches, and one turn of the original 644 wheel would be 84.8 inches. That's about 10 inches longer travel per wheel revolution. I see your point Dave, this is change one would feel in speed up.

[Eugen]

The 14hp will do fine with a tiller, at least my 224 does. Dad had a Ford 12hp hydro tractor that he used to plow with at plow days.


Gordy

It's good to know and this gives me hope that I can assign garden duty to the 644! Thanks Gordy!

I did plow my garden the first time with a 220 and it worked, but I had to go slow because I didn't have the plow configured right and it would go in the ground all the way, too deep. I keep forgetting that.

[Timj]

Looks good Eugen, put the other one on and give it a try. Just won't be able to run chains.

We replaced the 24" wheels with 28" on our Ford 555 backhoe and it gave it more push and got around better in the sand.
Tim

Tim, I got chains on the 446 turf tires, which do winter duty just fine.

The real reason I wanted to put the big lugs on the 644 was for garden duty: plow, tiller. It would be easier to put front weight on the 644 too, just throw weight on the bucket, which would help with the plow and tiller (no more wheelies ). But maybe the 14hp Kohler is not strong enough for the garden? :/ Btw for just pushing the bucket and digging into a pile of dirt the original 644 tires seemed just fine, with sufficient weight on the rear weight box.

Tim, so did you experience a significant difference in ground speed? Did you need a seat belt with the bigger wheels?

We didn't, but I'm sure it did as there is quite a height difference. With the 4 speed shuttle transmission with an excelorator pedal and just crawling around most of the time we didn't notice the speed difference. It made a huge difference in the sand, more power and didn't get stuck as easy.
We swapped the wheels with our old Ford 4500 backhoe. I'm sure road speed increased on the 555, but we don't drive on the road much. Funny thing even with the 24" on the 4500 it will still run away from the 555 on the road.
Tim

[Eugen]

The 446 got its original shoes back on.

I like the looks of the new ag tires on the 644!

A short drive and it seems not too fast. Will see how it goes with a load on.

[Eugen]

Rusty combine weights meet Krud Kutter.

The big decision now is, what colour to paint them. If only I could find some good bronze paint. I saw a Massey once with bronze painted engine and really liked it.