Carlisle AT101 tires are a popular recommendation for improved traction on zero turns without excessive turf damage. For better downhill grip, some recommend mounting them “backwards” with the chevrons reversed.

What did you decide on? How did it work out?

Ken

 

The Kenda K502 Terra Trac are in my sitting in my cart, but I haven't purchased them yet. I like that they are cheaper and wider, but maybe I should be thinking like snow tires and the narrower width of the Versa Turf would be better.

I have seen the AT101 tires mentioned before. Unfortunately those are only available in 24x12-12, and I don't think my mower and rims have enough clearance for the extra width.

The AT101 appear to be rather unique with a relatively short bar/lug, with the bar being tapered or rounded at the edge. I have seen some knockoffs in sizes that my mower could accommodate, but the knockoffs all seem to have sharp corners at the ends of the bar and I am concerned those edges would cause too much damage.

 

I decided to try the Kenda K502 Terra Trac. Got them mounted up yesterday.

The mower deck will need some adjustment. With the deck height set at 3.5", the measurements were a little off:
Left Front = 3.5"
Left Rear = 3.875"
Right Front = 3.75"
Right Rear = 3.75"
Forgot to check side to side dimensions

I wish I would have taken measurements before the new tires. I would have been curious to know if I should have adjusted the deck even prior to the new tires.

I ran out of time (and patience) for anything that required finesse last night, but will hopefully get some time to work on the deck in the next couple of days. Before I get too carried away and start making changes to the deck, I want to take a step back and make sure all of the tire pressures are correct and that the mower frame is not pitched one side to the other.

Then I will be excited to give them a real world test and see if these help with traction on the hill.

 

Got the deck leveled earlier in the week after adding the taller tires. That was a bit of a frustrating experience.

The deck hanging system is pretty simple. The deck is hung from the frame by 4 chains, one in each corner of the deck. The owners manual has you cut wooden blocks to a specific dimension, set them on the ground in very specific locations on the deck, set the deck height to 3", lower the deck onto the blocks, loosen the bolts connecting the chain to the deck, let the weight of the deck rest on the blocks, then retighten the bolts. Pretty simple.

Before starting I checked the tire pressures, making sure the front casters and rear drives were equal with their counerpart. Also measured the floor to frame dimension on each corner to make sure it matched from side to side.

1st try - After completing the process, and raising and lowering the deck, the blocks would not not fit under the deck at all in the front, and were loose in the rear. Huh. Must have not pulled the chains tight when I tightened the bolts.

2nd try - Blocks now fit under the desk under all four corners. But when I measured the blade tips, the dimensions were all sorts of wonky. Huh. Lets try that again.

3rd try - Same thing. Blocks fit well, but the blade tip measurements are all over the place. Huh again. Started thinking about this. Blades seem straight. Frame to floor measurements are good side to side. Got a long straight edge out and looked at the flatness of the concrete. Rut roh, the concrete is not nearly as flat as I expected.

4th try - Moved the mover to a much flatter slab of concrete (although still not 100% perfectly flat). Repeated the same steps. Measured blade tips are about 1/8" off side to side, pitch from front to back is about 1/8" more on the left than the right. Figured at this point I was most likely wasting time trying to chase perfection, and was probably bumping up against tolerances between the blades, spindles, deck, and concrete. I'll have to live with 1/8" difference.

Mowed with the new tires yesterday. Worked so much better than the Super Turf tires that were on before. Significant increase in traction. In areas where I previously would have a semi-controlled slide down the hill, I actually had control and was even able to come to a stop on the hill. Big improvement.

I also noticed that the mower seems to ride a bit better. The bumps seem a bit softer. Nothing huge, but I did notice an improvement. Also, the mower seems to be striping better. I suspect my deck was out of level before and I never noticed it. I have never checked the deck since purchasing the mower a few years ago.

So all in all very happy with the Terra Trac tires. Its been rather hot and dry here, but we did get some very heavy rains earlier in the week. I will be keeping an eye on turf damage when I mow in more normal conditions.

 

I know this was a year ago, but how have the tires been doing? I'm looking at the same ones for the same reason (sliding), but am worried about how aggressive they are and how much damage they'll do to the lawn.