Part 1 of our Agricultural Tyre feature in Commercial Tyre Business focuses on the latest offering from Michelin for the sector in the form of MICHELIN SPRAYBIB CFO tyres. The new low-pressure tyres, in a new size, VF 420/90 R 34 174D/170E are suitable for self-propelled sprayers and incorporates Michelin’s CFO (Cyclical Field Operation), which allows a VF tyre to increase cyclic loads by 13.5% when operating at speeds at 30 kilometres per hour.
MICHELIN SPRAYBIB CFO Tyres Offers Farmers and Contractors an Improved, Versatile Tyre
Michelin has focused the development of the tyre on three specific areas. In terms of productivity, the tyre can handle increased load capacities of close to 14%, compared to a non-CFO tyre. The casing design also allows for an added axel load of up to 1.3 tonnes, depending on tyre size. The tyre operates at lower pressures with an optimised footprint that includes heightened traction. The E speed index for selected tyre sizes means that operations can also be performed at speeds of up to 70 kilometres per hour.
Compared to the MICHELIN SPRAYBIB, the tyre maintains the advantages from the tyre’s technology while incorporating both robust and extended lugs than the standard offer.
As for soil protection, the tyre incorporates VF (Very High Flexion) technology to allow for a 40% increase in load capacity and CFO standards to ensure reduced soil compaction. Finally, when focused on driver comfort, with the combination of the VF casing design and the reduction of up to 0.7 bar for this newly developed tyre, the vibration levels are minimised for the driver, making for a smoother ride.
New Size Enhancing Offer for Users in the Field
The current VF 420/85 R 34 is most commonly fitted on small self-propelled sprayers and quickly reaches its limits in load capacity. With this new VF 420/90 R34 tyre size, now available in the MICHELIN SPRAYBIB CFO tyre range, operators will be able to either benefit from an increase of load capacity or a decrease of inflation pressure to protect the soil depending on their specific needs. This size will be available from April 2022.
Speaking about the new tyre range, Ludovic Labeaume, Agricultural Product Category Manager at Michelin said: “Manufacturers of self-propelled sprayers are developing models with increasingly large tank volumes of up to 10,000 litres, and boom widths that can exceed 50 metres. And as a result, the loads carried by the tyres are very high. In addition, the demands on the tyre are very high due to road speeds of over 50 kilometres per hour, depending on local legislation. The new MICHELIN SPRAYBIB CFO range will allow us to meet rapidly evolving user expectations”.
The new MICHELIN SPRAYBIB CFO range will be available in 12 sizes and will be gradually introduced from March to December 2022, depending on size and market requirements.
