A farm tire with a 1,400mm section width -- nearly 4.6 feet! -- was introduced at the 2016 Farm Progress Show, which opened on Aug. 30. Held in Boone, Iowa, the show will run through Sept. 1.
Titan International Inc. calls its new Goodyear Optitrac LSW1400/30R46 the largest farm tire in the world. It is the latest in the Goodyear Extreme Flotation tires with Low Sidewall Technology (LSW) lineup.
“We developed this tire to meet the growing demand for super-single flotation tires," says Scott Sloan, agricultural product manager for Titan and Goodyear farm tires. "Our customers -- both end users and OEMs -- are beginning to shift from the old mindset that standard dual configurations work well in every application. That’s simply not the case.
"If a grower isn’t running between rows post-emergence, there’s really no reason to be running a dual configuration on any of their tractors, whether it is a MFWD or a 4WD. In fact, they could be causing unnecessary soil compaction by doing so.
"We’ve seen a lot of success bringing this (LSW) concept into MFWD tractors and combines, but our customers wanted an option for 4WD tractors -- and that’s why we’re introducing the largest farm tire in the world, which will be coming available by the second quarter of 2017.”
Practical applications, real results
The LSW1400/30R46 is part of the Optitrac family -- Goodyear’s most popular R1W radial design. The new size is specially suited to high-horsepower 4WD tractors, such as John Deere 9000-series or Case Steigers, and is a perfect fit to reduce compaction in any application where dual 710/70R42s or 800/70R38s are currently being used.
Whereas these standard dual configurations commonly cause pinch row compaction and rutting between the tires, along with higher ground-bearing pressures under the tread, the Extreme Flotation design spreads ground-bearing pressure across a wide, singular footprint for less soil disturbance.
Featuring LSW technology, the tire also has a larger rim diameter than standard tires, a Goodyear-exclusive design that improves lateral stability, and drastically reduces occurrences of power hop in high draw bar applications, as well as road lope during high-speed transport.
LSW flotation on a roll
The introduction of the Optitrac LSW1400/30R46 comes on the heels of the recent announcement that John Deere, Case and New Holland are all now offering Goodyear LSW flotation options for select new equipment purchases. That includes the Goodyear LSW1250/35R46, which up until now was the world’s largest farm tire.
For more information on LSW, visit www.LSWadvantage.com.
Titan International, a holding company, owns subsidiaries that supply wheels, tires and assemblies for off-highway equipment used in agricultural, earthmoving/construction and consumer (including all-terrain vehicles) applications. Titan Tire Corp., one of North America’s largest manufacturers of off-highway tires, is one of those subsidiaries.
