Post by kiwi@xtra.co.nz on May 24, 2002 11:43:56 GMT 1
So – Massey Fergusson got a World Record!
There are two ways of creating a record. One is to take a standard machine and put it through its paces.
Case IH did that ploughing with the quadtrak and Claas did it in California when it set a record for wilted silage chopping.
The other way is to work the system for all you can (a la Massey Fergusson). First find some really low draught soils. Sand will do nicely. Next you pre cultivate it to loosen it up even more because that is “normal” for the district. Have the soil fairly dry – easier pulling than tight damp soil. Why else did they have to modify the cab air filters to cope with the dust? Look at the photographs of the record. The soil had dried out by the time the plough had done a round of the field and this with the plough travelling around 13 km/hr. Fuel consumption per hectare was around 8 litres per hectare. A sure sign it didn’t need much pulling. Ploughing round and round a centre pivot was a master stroke. Full marks to MF on that one – even if they had to dismantle the towers first. Now modify the tractor. It is 225 HP right. But hang on doesn’t this motor puts out nearly 400 on a combine harvester. OK - blow the thing to 387 and say that’s fair because it does that in combines. The transmission will take it for at least a day if you never go below 13 km/Hr. Now go and set your record. The ground was turned over. But what does it mean?
Next you will have John Deere deciding that somewhere in the world a military tank or something actually puts out 800 HP from one of their motors and decide that that justifies screwing up the pump on a tractor and going for it in the sand of Sahara or somewhere. Or New Holland squirting nitro into a chopper motor and chopping silage in the rain so that it weighs real heavy and they can crank through 3000 tonnes in a day. They have a nice figure for the book and the loyal nutters that flame these pages will be real happy. But what does it tell me about the tractor, plough or chopper that I want to buy.
Kiwi
There are two ways of creating a record. One is to take a standard machine and put it through its paces.
Case IH did that ploughing with the quadtrak and Claas did it in California when it set a record for wilted silage chopping.
The other way is to work the system for all you can (a la Massey Fergusson). First find some really low draught soils. Sand will do nicely. Next you pre cultivate it to loosen it up even more because that is “normal” for the district. Have the soil fairly dry – easier pulling than tight damp soil. Why else did they have to modify the cab air filters to cope with the dust? Look at the photographs of the record. The soil had dried out by the time the plough had done a round of the field and this with the plough travelling around 13 km/hr. Fuel consumption per hectare was around 8 litres per hectare. A sure sign it didn’t need much pulling. Ploughing round and round a centre pivot was a master stroke. Full marks to MF on that one – even if they had to dismantle the towers first. Now modify the tractor. It is 225 HP right. But hang on doesn’t this motor puts out nearly 400 on a combine harvester. OK - blow the thing to 387 and say that’s fair because it does that in combines. The transmission will take it for at least a day if you never go below 13 km/Hr. Now go and set your record. The ground was turned over. But what does it mean?
Next you will have John Deere deciding that somewhere in the world a military tank or something actually puts out 800 HP from one of their motors and decide that that justifies screwing up the pump on a tractor and going for it in the sand of Sahara or somewhere. Or New Holland squirting nitro into a chopper motor and chopping silage in the rain so that it weighs real heavy and they can crank through 3000 tonnes in a day. They have a nice figure for the book and the loyal nutters that flame these pages will be real happy. But what does it tell me about the tractor, plough or chopper that I want to buy.
Kiwi
