Continental and New Holland Work 500 Hours Non-stop

Over 23 days an area equivalent to 1,200 football pitches was ploughed, using Continental agricultural tyres and a New Holland tractor, racking up a faultless performance in over 500 hours of continuous use.The ContiContract AC65 demonstrated its efficiency at the “TM Endurance Trial”, a long-running test initiated by New Holland in the French Bordeaux region. From the 20th April to the 13th May 2006, a New Holland TM190 shod with Continental agricultural tyres worked 23 days around the clock on different fields of New Holland customers – just 900 hectares in total.

“The challenge of the long-term use was to complete a lot of operational hours within a very short time without interruption or downtime”, explained Andrew Mabin, Managing Director, CGS Tyres UK Ltd.

“We are pleased, that the organisers selected our 65 series low profile tyre to participate in the TM Endurance trial. The large ground contact area permits a very high traction with low specific ground pressure. Besides the AC 65 offers good driving comfort,” comments Mabin.

A lot was asked of the TM190 and the wide base tyre AC 65 (sizes 650/65 R 42 and 540/65 R 30) during the test. “We ploughed more than 23 hours a day and only stopped in order to fuel and to carry out service checks,” said the organizer of the TM Endurance Trial, Rico Helmrich, New Holland Brand Marketing Specialist.

The tractor ploughed in all weather conditions and on fields with varying soil conditions – from very dry to wet and boggy. CNH favoured the particularly arduous conditions of the TM Endurance Trial: “It was especially important to us, that the test was carried out under real operating conditions,” said Helmrich.

The Continental agricultural tyres easily withstood the hard conditions: “The feature that made the Continental tyres so good in the difficult conditions was their ability to self-clean. Unlike some tyres which just ‘carry soil’, the lugs continuously cleaned helping to maintain traction. Overall I was very impressed with the ContiContract AC 65”, says Paraic McCarthy, Sales and Product Training Specialist, CNH UK Limited.

The TM190 also coped well with the long-running application: as the trial ended, exactly 533 continuous operation hours were displayed on the tractor’s meter. During the test, the TM190 covered 278 road kilometres. The ContiContract AC65 excelled on road due to its particularly quiet running and high levels of comfort.

Both partners involved in the TM Endurance Trial were very satisfied way with the result of the continuous use trial: “Both the ContiContract AC65 and TM190 completed the Endurance Trial with complete reliability and no problems – a real success. Continental agricultural tyres have once more demonstrated their quality and efficiency,” declared Mabin.