Export thread

Tire Pressure

#1

fsagames

fsagames

I've been reading lately in miscellaneous forums that folks are inflating their drive and front tires with pressures of 8-12 PSI. I have a Hustler X-ONE, and for all of these years I have been inflating my tires with the max pressure embossed on the side of the tire (20 PSI rear, 28 front). It never occurred to me that PSI made much of difference in how easy or hard it is to mow the lawn as well as impact the finished look. I'm also wondering would that diminish the scalping I've done when I turn the machine one way or another, and maybe keep me from getting stuck in the mud every so often? I've been using this machine for 12 years, and now I feel like a dope for not knowing this kind of stuff!


#2

R

Rivets

Just my way of doing it. On Z-turn units I always inflate the front tires to 20 psi and rear to 10 psi. According to the owners manual Hustler recommends 8-12 psi for both front and rear.


#3

H

hlw49

I Run 15 in the front and 8 to 10 in the rear. The less pressure you run in the rear the more tread you have on the ground and are less ap to spin. Also the less pressure the softer the ride. If you are tareing up the turf learn to make a three point turn. Seldom tare up the turf this way. The reason people tare up the turf is when they turn they stop the inside wheel and turn with the out side tire this just screws the inside tire in the ground. In a true zero turn you use both levers pull back on the inside tire lever and push forward on the outside tire lever.


#4

fsagames

fsagames

Rivets said:
Just my way of doing it. On Z-turn units I always inflate the front tires to 20 psi and rear to 10 psi. According to the owners manual Hustler recommends 8-12 psi for both front and rear.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I finally read that in the owners manual 12 years late.


#5

G

GearHead36

Rivets said:
On Z-turn units I always inflate the front tires to 20 psi and rear to 10 psi.
Click to expand...
This is how I do it. My ZTR has a steering wheel, and if the fronts are low, it becomes harder to turn the steering wheel. Mine isn't one of those new fancy ones with power steering. I got a steering wheel model for the slope holding capabilities, and 20 psi in the fronts gives me plenty of lateral grip for slopes.

10 psi in the rears (instead of 20) allows a slightly smoother ride, which translates into slightly faster mowing on bumpy ground. My max speed is determined by how much the ground beats me up.


#6

G

GrumpyCat

Tire pressure affects cut height.


#7

7394

7394

My Scag OM states 25 for fronts & 8 psi in rears.


#8

F

Fastrak1972

I was running 13 in all four but my ground was so lumpy I put all at 9 and notices a smoother ride.


#9

S

Skippydiesel

To get an even cut, make sure your pressures are the same across each axle ie the same pressure in both rear - can be diffrent pressure in front but must be same for both tyres. Note: front not usually as important as rear, for even cut.


#10

Tiger Small Engine

Tiger Small Engine

fsagames said:
I've been reading lately in miscellaneous forums that folks are inflating their drive and front tires with pressures of 8-12 PSI. I have a Hustler X-ONE, and for all of these years I have been inflating my tires with the max pressure embossed on the side of the tire (20 PSI rear, 28 front). It never occurred to me that PSI made much of difference in how easy or hard it is to mow the lawn as well as impact the finished look. I'm also wondering would that diminish the scalping I've done when I turn the machine one way or another, and maybe keep me from getting stuck in the mud every so often? I've been using this machine for 12 years, and now I feel like a dope for not knowing this kind of stuff!
Click to expand...
Do you run maximum tire pressure on your car tires? I hope not. It is the same for a mower. I usually put 14psi in front and 10 psi in back on riders, and 20 psi in front and 10-12 psi in rear on zero turns.


#11

S

SeniorCitizen

fsagames said:
I've been reading lately in miscellaneous forums that folks are inflating their drive and front tires with pressures of 8-12 PSI. I have a Hustler X-ONE, and for all of these years I have been inflating my tires with the max pressure embossed on the side of the tire (20 PSI rear, 28 front). It never occurred to me that PSI made much of difference in how easy or hard it is to mow the lawn as well as impact the finished look. I'm also wondering would that diminish the scalping I've done when I turn the machine one way or another, and maybe keep me from getting stuck in the mud every so often? I've been using this machine for 12 years, and now I feel like a dope for not knowing this kind of stuff!
Click to expand...
If you haven't , consider a chalk test to determine which way you like for air pressure ..


#12

S

Skippydiesel

The above video may assist in an initial tyre pressure setting & could work well for mower tyres BUT does not accommodate the inevitable heating (pressure rise) of the road vehicle tyre in work.
Further - most unladen (just driver & front passenger) vehicles will be heavier over the front axle (need higher pressure) than the back + lower pressure - this was not addressed.
A decent tyre supply store will be able to suggest an initial tyre inflation pressure. This should be followed up (as per video) with say monthly checks for wear using a gauge and tyre pressure adjusted accordingly.
A quick assessment of tyre pressure can be done when on a high speed (freeway) trip. When you pull over for fuel/comfort stop - place your hand on each tyre - they should be evenly warm (all same temperature). If too hot to keep hand on = pressure too low - Check pressure it will be high due to heating - add at least 10 psi to each tyre - make sure they all read the same (If a single tyre hot you have an air leak= change wheel). If tyres cold reduce pressure .

NOTE:
# Uneven tyre wear can also be caused by poorly aligned front wheels (camber, caster, toe in/out), worn shock absorbers, poor wheel balance
# Heavy loads and towing will require higher pressures in rear tyres - return to normal when no longer towing/carrying load.
# Fuel station air pressure gauges are notoriously inaccurate - carry your own gauge, for consistent pressure readings (I like the little electronic digital ones) and always check cold tyre pressure (hot is unreliable)


#13

G

GrumpyCat

Tiger Small Engine said:
Do you run maximum tire pressure on your car tires? I hope not. It is the same for a mower.
Click to expand...
Yes, actually. Tesla specs 42 PSI and the tire also says max inflation 42 PSI.

Same for my Yamaha street bike's rear tire. Front is under the tire's max.


#14

S

Skippydiesel

GrumpyCat said:
Yes, actually. Tesla specs 42 PSI and the tire also says max inflation 42 PSI.

Same for my Yamaha street bike's rear tire. Front is under the tire's max.
Click to expand...
Fair enough. However this is generally not the norm.
For the most part: Road vehicle tyres are run well under the manufactures Max pressure. Max pressure rating being the maximum safe inflation , usually for Max load situations.

Motorcycles and to some extent mowers & other off road equipment are not load carrying vehicles (ie the load does not vary with usage or equipment). In these cases the Max pressure can also be the recommended operating pressure. Some high performance sports cars also run their tires at Max pressure for the same reason - they do not generally carry much in the way of additional load.


#15

7394

7394

Book & under my seat are tire air specs.
25 F
8 R Works for me. Also changing tire air pressures does change blade height accordingly as well.


#16

S

Skippydiesel

7394 said:
Book & under my seat are tire air specs.
25 F
8 R Works for me. Also changing tire air pressures does change blade height accordingly as well.
Click to expand...
Forgive my ignorance - What is 25 F?? & 8 R ??



#17

kbowley

kbowley

I run 5 PSI in the rear and gives a MUCH better ride. fronts I put 8 PSI. This is on my Toro time cutter 50" fab deck.


#18

G

GearHead36

Re: chalking video... if you REALLY want to find the best tire pressures for your vehicle (I doubt this would work on mowers), get a tread depth gauge. Then check your tread depth every 1000 miles. Inside, middle, and outside in 3 places on each tire. 9 measurements per tire. If the middle is wearing faster than the outsides, your pressure is too high. If the middle is wearing slower than the outsides, your pressure is too low. If the outsides aren't wearing the same, you have an alignment problem. This takes much more effort, but it accounts for your vehicle, your driving, how & where you drive, etc. I've done this on one vehicle after I had a blowout on the interstate due to an alignment problem. After replacing tires and suspension pieces, I kept an eagle eye on the tires for a couple thousand miles.


#19

S

Skippydiesel

kbowley said:
I run 5 PSI in the rear and gives a MUCH better ride. fronts I put 8 PSI. This is on my Toro time cutter 50" fab deck.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply.
If not already done - Be sure to set your deck/blade cut height for the tyre pressures you are routinely using.
High pressure in the front tyres, may be changing the angle of cut, by lifting the front of the deck relative to the back.


#20

D

DK35vince

I run 8-9 psi front and rear on my zero turns.
Smoother ride IMO.


Footer Links 1

Top