Continental has extended its range of its agricultural Combine Master tyres to bring very high flexion (VF) and cyclical field operation (CFO) technology to a wider variety of farm machinery, such as loaders, harvesters and tankers.

“The Combine Master name disguises the virtues of this tyre to other machines including loaders, tankers and other types of harvesting machines,” said Continental’s Tom Godwin.

"Originally developed to help combines perform more efficiently in arable crops, the Combine Master’s CFO and VF technology and unique hexagonal bead core has proved transformative to other agricultural applications."

Continental says that the Hexa-bead core was developed to help the tyre grip the rim at lower pressures.

Some tyres in the range also feature CFO, which it claims offers a 55% load carrying capacity when the tyre is being used in a cyclical condition and operating at or below 10mph.

Changing load

“Cyclical means that the load on the tyre is constantly changing, which is normal for a combine during harvest, but also applies to slurry tankers and other heavy load-carrying machinery,” adds Godwin.

Continental says the VF technology in some sizes of the Combine Master tyre enables machinery to run at 40% lower pressure than conventional tyres, which has the added benefit of reducing soil compaction.

“The 800/65 R32 tyre is now a popular size for large slurry tankers, including the twin- and triple-axle models with capacities of up to 20,000 gallons. Loaders like the Claas Torian can be fitted with 750/65 R26 VF tyres that enable it to carry 40% greater load at the same pressure as a conventional tyre. This additional capacity helps to reduce the time each task takes, which reduces fuel and labour costs,” he adds.

Load-carrying capacity has been extended for a variety of harvesting machinery including forage and sugar beet harvesters.

It says the 650/57 R32 tyre is suited to forage harvesters and the 900/60 R38 has been working well with sugar beet harvesters such as the Vervaet self-propelled machines.

Continental says the tyre works well with onboard air and tyre monitoring systems to help adjust tyre pressure to meet ground conditions and load capacities.