Authored by: Tractor tyre expert | 17 March 2023
Your main tractor is a central element of your activity. If you work as frequently in the farm courtyard as in the fields, it must be equipped with tyres that are suitable for multipurpose uses.
Certain tyres have been developed specifically for crop farming with exceptional performance characteristics in the fields whilst others are perfect for very hard, regular work in the farm courtyard. But what you’re looking for is a more general purpose tyre without moving into too high a budget category. A tyre that is resistant but supple, with a good traction capacity and great resistance to wear.
To guide you, here are the key points to prioritise in choosing the best cost-performance ratio.
Multipurpose equipment with an average purchase price could be considered to have satisfactory performance capacities if it produces good results in the following three activities:
A good tyre must have the following characteristics to optimise your productivity during work in the fields:
The choice of tyre is essential in improving your machine’s traction.
Its tread must contain optimised lugs to improve motricity.
These lugs must be designed to limit soil disturbance and to ensure the transmission of tractive force horizontally.
It must have a radial casing which provides the best motricity and ensures even pressure to the ground, spreading the load over its entire surface. This even distribution of load to the ground is important in limiting soil compaction.
It must have a casing that is supple but has been reinforced, allowing for greater flexion in the sidewalls. When working at reduced speed and with a low inflation pressure, the load will be evenly spread to the ground, thus preserving your plant root systems and improving yields.
Lastly, a tyre that works well in the fields must have good self-cleaning capacities.
This is generally the result of a lug that is specially designed to evacuate earth and a casing that is sufficiently supple to push the earth away during each rotation when it regains its initial form on leaving the ground.
To reduce the slip ratio, your tyre must be able to work at low pressure. If the contact patch with the ground increases when you reduce pressure, more lugs can grip the earth over their full length, which reduces slip.
Handling work generally involves transporting heavy loads, especially at the front of the tractor.
Your agricultural machine must have robust tyres to be able to withstand the different types of strain caused by farm work sites.
For handling, you should choose an agricultural tyre with a solid casing which minimises internal strain. Thanks to this reinforced casing, the tyres can carry an additional bonus load compared to a standard tyre.
The tyre must be able to cope with high inflation pressure. The tread belt and the sidewall areas must be reinforced with more plies than the average number of plies used in standard tyres.
If you use a front loader, your tyres will need a great deal of stability. The tread must include several layers of ply to guarantee this stability.
You should give priority to tyres designed for intensive use which provide better resistance to wear, better resistance to cyclic loads and greater adherence and stability.
The lugs of your tyres must be designed to resist contortion during aggressive manoeuvres on hard ground, in the farm courtyard for example.
The tyre must be made of a rubber compound that is resistant to wear to guarantee a longer lifespan.
Your tyres’ road handling behaviour will be important if a large part of your activity involves transport or frequent trips between fields, in which case you must pay close attention to the following points:
Your tyres must allow you to drive faster even with heavy loads when this is necessary.
Before buying your tyres, take the time to calculate the weight of your equipment with your different implements in order to choose the tyre that is best adapted to your specific use. Give priority to a tyre model with a higher load index and speed rating.
The speed rating is marked on the tyre’s sidewall, next to the load index, in the form of a letter followed by a number.
For example, for a 171 A8 tyre:
| SPEED RATING | SPEED | SPEED RATING | SPEED | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 5 km/h | B | 50 km/h | |
| A2 | 10 km/h | C | 60 km/h | |
| A3 | 15 km/h | D | 70 km/h | |
| A4 | 20 km/h | E | 80 km/h | |
| A5 | 25 km/h | F | 90 km/h | |
| A6 | 30 km/h | G | ||
| A7 | 35 km/h | etc. | ||
| A8 | 40 km/h |
Tractor tyres, by nature, are designed for work in the fields and not for prolonged use on the road.
For multipurpose use you should therefore prioritise tyre models produced using rubber compounds that offer better resistance to wear.
These are designed to adapt to all types of use, even for regular trips on the road, or more aggressive types of use.
The vibrations and noise that you are faced with in the tractor cab can cause problems and be harmful to your health over the years.
When you buy agricultural tyres, take account of the driving comfort that your equipment can offer as far as noise and vibrations are concerned.
Depending on the structure of its tread, the form and number of lugs, your tyre can offer you a more comfortable drive.
For more than a century now, Firestone has been innovating in the manufacture of its agricultural tyres to offer more efficient equipment.
The Performer range is a perfect example of tyres at an attractive price which combine resistance, performance and longevity.
At Firestone, the Performer tyre range has been designed using a multi-ply radial casing which offers excellent overall resistance. These tyres can cope with intensive work on hard ground: repeated on-the-spot manoeuvres with heavy loads, loading and unloading operations.
For handling activities with a front loader, Firestone has developed a unique range of tyre dimensions which are perfectly suitable for high load requirements.
Firestone’s “Extra Load” tyres offer better performance characteristics on the road and in the fields with a higher load capacity. Thanks to their reinforced casing, they can carry up to 20% more load than a standard tyre.
| Size | Performer Extra 70 Max. pressure 1.6 bar |
Performer Extra 70 XL Max. pressure 2.4 bars |
EXTRA LOAD CAPACITY |
|---|---|---|---|
| 480/70 R30 | 3,350 kg | 4,000 kg | + 19% |
| 480/70 R28 | 3,250 kg | 3,860 kg | + 19% |
| 420/70 R24 | 2,470 kg | 2,915 kg | + 18% |
Dual Angle lugs have a design comprising two leading lug edges conceived and developed by Firestone’s engineers to optimise tyre efficiency.
Dual Angle technology guarantees better motricity and limits soil disturbance during the rotation of the tyres. There is less slip and a better self-cleaning capacity on heavy soil, which will save you both time and fuel.
Compared to standard agricultural tyre lugs, Firestone’s Performer lugs are designed to resist contortion during aggressive manoeuvres on hard ground.
Dual Angle lugs are effectively improved by adding a rubber compound that is resistant to wear to guarantee a longer lifespan.
Firestone’s Performer range is designed to avoid soil damage and prevent problems with crop development.
The supple, reinforced radial casing provides extensive flexion capacity in the sidewalls which can work at low pressure, reducing speed and carrying a heavier load than standard agricultural tyres.
The load is spread more evenly to the ground, thus reducing soil packing and compaction.
Performer range tyres have lugs with specific angles which lead to better self-cleaning and avoid the soil disturbance that you often see with classical tyres.
The V shaped lug noses are an efficient way of reducing slippage if you work at low pressure, even in wet conditions.
At Firestone, all our tyres contain a new “Extra” compound which improves resistant to wear by around +20%, as well as better resistance to cuts and perforation.
All the tyres from this range are produced using a complex blend of specific materials which guarantee them a maximum lifespan.
The PERFORMER tyre range has an excellent design balance making it a highly versatile tyre with a very reasonable cost price as well as a 10-year warranty which covers all unforeseen circumstances.
With Firestone, you have the guarantee of tractor tyres that deliver a real advantage, and that in choosing our brand, you can work worry-free.
Most people who read this article have also read some of the following articles:
