Ten Thousand Hours and Still Going

Firestone is beaming about the quality of its R7000 tyre after a recent visit to Suffolk farmer Ray Smith. Mr Smith made an enquiry about some new front tyres for his New Holland 8560 as the tread was low. Upon investigating the tyres, Terry Brown, Firestone area sales manager, found that the tyres were 11 years old. It was estimated that the tractor completed about 1000 hours a year, of which 40 per cent was roadwork.

“I’m going to replace them with another set of R7000’s” said Ray Smith, “the performance is only now starting to deteriorate – and that’s because the crown is becoming flat. There is minimal tyre wall damage and that is largely attributable to kerb or object impact. I have a fleet of five tractors and none have had tyres that have lasted this long, so I might as well go for a direct replacement.”

The majority of land that the tractor operates on is a mixed medium soil with little flint or stone, but according to the owner it does spend a fair amount of time on the road, particularly doing heavy trailer work. The R7000 is principally a field tyre yet Ray Smith claims that they are very comfortable on the road.

Terry Brown of Firestone added: “It’s understandable that Ray has had no problems with sidewall cracking as the tyre has a cut-resistant rubber compound. The flexible sidewalls produce a large contact patch maximising flotation and minimising soil compaction while the 45° lug angle and spacing ensure effective self-cleaning and excellent traction. As well as being a large contractor, Ray does a lot of testing for tractor manufacturers so he has a lot of yardsticks to compare with; feedback from Ray and other farmers is invaluable in making sure we develop products with performance characteristics that match users’ needs.”