Mitas a.s. has started field tests in the Czech Republic with its PneuTrac concept ag tire, with the goal of launching the tire in two years.
During the tests, a 480/65 R28 PneuTrac was mounted on the front axle of a John Deere 610R tractor and a 600/65 R38 PneuTrac is mounted on the rear. Slippage and traction force is measured under several driving modes and results are calculated by evaluating traction force under the slippage. Measurements are calculated by the Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering, p.r.i.
Test results have shown the traction force of Mitas 600/65 R38 PneuTrac is approximately 25% higher than a standard tire and delivers approximately 15% better traction than an IF-rated tire, Mitas said. The 480/65 R28 PneuTrac has approximately 10% advantage in traction force over a standard tire and 7% compared to an IF tire.
“The footprint and traction force of Mitas PneuTrac and rubber tracks are superior to those of traditional pneumatic tires. The next step is to compare PneuTrac and rubber tracks and see how close they will come,” said Andrew Mabin, Mitas’ sales and marketing director.
Mitas has been developing the PneuTrac concept with its partner, Galileo Wheel Ltd. for four years and has presented the concept tire at trade shows around the world.