Different types of tires have different benefits. Mitas is hoping to pair “the best of both worlds” with its new concept tire, which takes elements from both traditional tires and rubber tracks. Company officials say they have intensively tested the PneuTrac concept tire on an 18″ rim and have begun initial testing on a larger 38″ rim tire.
“PneuTrac raised huge interest among farmers and machinery manufacturers after being displayed in Europe,” says Andrew Mabin, Mitas sales and marketing director. “We are determined to bring the concept into commercial production.”
Mabin says demos have drawn interest in everything from the tire’s shape to its technical characteristics and features. For example, it has an “accordion-like” shape of the sidewall that is unique, he says. Live demonstrations, such as the one in the video below, also showcased the tire’s bigger footprint (53% larger than a comparable standard tire) plus improved lateral stability.
“We still have some way to go to bring the concept into a commercial product, but the initial results provided us with an argument that PneuTrac is a great piece of work with clear benefits for enhancing the performance of agricultural machinery,” Mabin says.
In addition to the concept tire, Mitas debuted its Very High Flexion tire product line for high-horsepower tractors for sales in August with VF 380/95R38 HC 2000 and VF 480/95R50 HC 2000. Later in 2014, Mitas will extend the range and introduce additional sizes of VF HC 2000, namely VF 600/70R30 and VF 710/70R42. In August Mitas also released VF 380/90R46 HC 1000 for sprayer applications.
The company also premiered its new IF 710/65R46 SFT for high-horsepower machines in August. The IF tire has a ‘D’ speed category, allowing speeds of up to 40 mph, along with a maximum load of 19,290 lbs. At 41 psi, Mitas’ Improved Flexion tire allows for loads 2,866 lbs heavier than a standard tire under the same tire pressure, but it uses the same rims as standard tires.