First I would check the air pressure, usually 8 to maybe 12 PSI and make sure the rears are the same. New tires may make it worse, It may be your turning. If you pull one handle back too far it cause the wheel to spin backwards or slide. IMO this is what tearing up your yard.

Thanks for the response. The tire pressures are maintained at 12 psi; I'm careful about this because tire pressure can have a big effect on cutting evenness. My mower has a joystick, not separate handles. An example of the problems I have is where I need to make a sharp right while on a downslope. I go as slowly as I can, but to turn with the joystick, the right wheel will need to at least slow down, and it is here that despite my best attempts, the right rear wheel skids. It's not always possible to reverse the pattern (from the bottom, make a hard left and go up the slope.

I'd like to get advice on what tires people have used to resolve traction problems such as this. When I purchase these tires, I'll also buy tubes and put some windshield washer fluid into them; from what I've read here, some have had good results doing this.

Thanks again.

If you are thinking that wider tires always mean more traction, you have been misled. Wider tires DO mean a wider contact patch for sure....but that does not always mean you will get more traction. Weight to press the tire firmly against (or into) the ground is where you get traction. Tread type and design are also factors. You are on the right path in considering liquid filled tires (more weight right where it's needed most). The main reasons you are seeing this "skidding" of the uphill wheel is due to weight shifting (change in center of gravity) in a hillside turn. The uphill wheel has less weight on it and the downhill wheel has more weight on it than when you are turning on level ground. It will be difficult for you to offset this using "body english". The other reason for the skidding has to do with an inherent characteristic of the zero turn concept. In the zero turn machines, there is not a "real differential" to allow the outside wheel to revolve at a higher RPM than the inside wheel when a turn is executed. In the case of zero turn mowers, YOU change the speed of the opposite wheels by manipulating the controls (handles or joystick) but unless you can get the two wheels turning at "just the right individual RPM", each wheel is still either "driven by", or it's "held tight by", hydraulic power........ and the lighter wheel is going to be the one to skid (or spin) if the traction surface is the same for both wheels. With vehicles that feature a gear type differential, there is less tendency to skid a drive wheel in a turn because the differential gears automatically allow the opposite wheels to find the perfect, balance of RPM needed by each wheel. Another thing you have to realize is just because you have a "zero turn" machine, you can't just "stop" one wheel and pivot on that wheel without tearing up the turf. When you do that, it is just like if you put a 6" diameter piece of concrete weighing over 100 Lb. on your lawn and then rotated it 180 degrees. I believe you will eventually be able to overcome this as you get more proficient with the joystick.

Thanks, mownie. You make good points, and I agree with all of them. I fully understand and agree that wider tires do not always equal greater traction; the perfect example are cars with wide, sticky tires the give high g-forces in turns, but can't get out of the driveway in the winter. I also agree that the joystick is not as simple to use as it appears; there is a significant learning curve to mastering their use. I have actually practiced different approaches to this one particular turn I described, and even going very slowly, traction is the issue.

I need to find a tire with better traction in the situation.

Thanks again.

keep it slow in the sharp turns.

I realize this thread is a year old or so... I wonder if the original poster ever found his tires? I have a older yard cruiser yz1333 and solved my traction problems by buying snappers high traction tire pkg at the time. That being said I gave up early on doing a smooth turns unless I round them a little or actually most of the time I make a slight turn , pause back up and then turn sharper to square the turn. This has solved any issues with tearing the grass on corners. Fyi I also repowered with a 19hp b&s engine that has worked out extrordinaly well.

I had that same problem when I got my ztr. Zero turn my butt. If you pivot on 1 tire you're going to tear turf. The best thing I found to do is make a 3 point turn.

The funny thing about me is I've been doing 3 point turns for 11 year with my hydro lawn tractor.

In my case I'm pushing 1400 lbs with the mower, 15 gal. of gas, and me.

Tire pressures make a big difference too. Lower is better.

Taking time to make an efficient turn is time saving, and the mowing job looks much better.

Here is a link that might be useful: 3 Point Turn

I thought I'd subscribed to this post... guess I hadn't, because I would have replied to mowntx and mssurveyor.

I ended up getting the Carlisle Multi-Trac G/S, 18x8.5-8NHS tires. These are a little wider than stock, which are 18x6.5-8. If there's a difference in traction between these and the 6.5's, it's very slight. The downside of the wider tires on this 33" mower is that the tires now hit against some of my stone landscape walls, making it necessary to make multiple passes at this section. I didn't foresee this, so overall, I should have stayed with the stock size. I'll look up the Snapper tires, although I can't justify replacing the Carlisle's at this point.

You both make excellent points about how to make turns on a zero turn, and more importantly, how not to make turns. Since I originally started this thread, I've learn to do this on my own. Here are two other things I've learned that have helped:
1) Overinflate the front tires. Snapper call for 12 psi front and rear, but the front tires can hold up to 30 psi. Maybe it will ride a little harder, but the less rolling resistance you get from the front tires, the easier it will be for the rear tires to swing the front around. The only thing you need to ensure is that the mower deck remains level with the increased air pressure (no deck adjustment was needed on my Snapper).
2) Make sure the front wheel bearings and caster pivot shafts are in good condition, and are clean and properly lubricated; again, the less rolling and turning resistance you get from the front end, the easier it will be for the rear tires to swing the front end around. I grease mine at least twice a season, but while greasing the front wheels about a month ago, I found a broken wheel bearing.

After the installation of new front tires inflated to 30 psi (the old ones were leaky) and new wheel bearings, the Snapper turns better than it ever has.