The majority of tractor tyres are much like the majority of tractors themselves, built primarily as ploughing machines to answer the most basic demand in growing crops – turning the soil.

Yet, just as some manufacturers build tractors to better fulfil other duties, such as transport, Nokian Tyres of Finland make a range of tyres that suit a wide variety of niche applications in addition to general purpose farm use.

Earthworks — The Heavy Tyres division of Nokian Tyres caters for a wide range of machines, including excavators and trucks

The company’s Heavy Tyres division serves many demanding applications, including mines and dockside cranes, with farming and forestry growing in importance as it extends its range further into the land industries.

However, there is a good deal of stiff competition out there so, to differentiate itself from the crowd, Nokian sets out its stall as appealing to farming and contractors with a premium product for high-powered tractors and forestry equipment.

A tyre type for all situations

Naturally, a traditional-type tractor tyre with the usual deep-angled lugs features in their range, but there are also block tread tyres, flotation tyres, winter tyres, and hybrid types in between these more focussed items.

Tyres for forestry applications are prominent in the range with puncture resistance and lateral grip being two of the major requirements for working in this environment.

Tyre stock — Tyre types include these singles to replace the twins on a rubber duck excavator

There are those suitable for timber harvesters, with different types again for forwarders while other products are designed specifically to work with tracks and chains.

When it comes to farming, the company is strongly promoting its Soil King VF tyre, which is currently available in 11 sizes with more fittings planned.

At a recent demonstration in Finland, there was the opportunity to compare the Soil King VF performance around the company’s test track near its factory at Nokia against a more road-orientated tyre.

The cavalry connection

This was no true test of an agricultural product, but as many larger tractors spend a good deal of time undertaking transport tasks, it still remains a valid window into their performance under one particular set of circumstances.

The tyre the Soil King VF was up against was the company’s Hakkapelliita TRI which – described as a block-patterned tyre for built environments – is hardly what one might expect to find on a farm tractor.

Hakkapaliitta tyre — The John Deere sported a set of Hakkapaliitta winter tyres, although all season versions are available

However, they are available in 26 different sizes for tractors and eight different sizes for wheeled loaders, so there is certainly a market for them in the Nordic countries and beyond.

To a tongue brought up to speak English, Hakkapeliitta is something of a mouthful, but it is the original brand name for Nokian’s winter tyre range, whether car or heavy duty.

The name refers to a light cavalryman of the 17th century. The horses bred to accompany the soldiers were strong and durable with their descendants – known as the Finnish Universal – being considered suitable for both draught work and riding.

Mixed fleet

Three tractors were available on the day – a small fleet which, unsurprisingly, featured a fellow Finn in the shape of a Valtra S415 fitted with a Central Tyre Inflation System.

A Valtra S series was brought in to demonstrate the effect of tyre pressure on road handling

This optional extra illustrated the flexibility of the Soil King VFs, as they could be reduced to 0.5 bar and still stay on the rim under load, with a much enlarged footprint to spread the weight and improve traction.

Yet driving at any speed above a good trot at these low pressures was an unnerving experience for handling was, at best, imprecise, and over-heating of the tyre wall could result in damage to its structure.

Fendt tractor — The Fendt 728 Vario on Soil King VFs gave a steady ride with only a hint of vagueness at the recommended pressure for road use

With a more realistic 1.8 bar set, driving on tarmac became a far more sensible proposition and steering was quite responsive – yet it was not perfect with the tractor carrying an extra 1,500kg in rear wheel weights.

Block tread stability

Switching over to a John Deere 6R 185, fitted with the aforementioned Hakkapellita TRI rubber, road manners were considerably improved and the tractor would drive as well as any light truck if it had the equivalent suspension.

The question then arises as to where such a tyre might fit into Irish agriculture?

The softer winter compound is unlikely to be required, yet a harder wearing version – the TR2 – with a similar tread pattern and design ethos is also available for all-season use.

Nokian tyres are already offered as an option on JCB Fastracs

Obviously there might be demand from operators of JCB Fastracs, which spend a lot of time on the roads with occasional forays into the field. In these cases, such a tyre would be ideal and JCB already offer it as an option on the 4000 series.

Hedge-cutting contractors are another outlet, and the tyres are already being used for this purpose in the UK where it is not just the road manners and wear characteristics which are appreciated, but also the minimisation of marks and imprints in softer ground and kempt verges.

Tyre pressure monitors

Nokian are also at the forefront of real-time tyre monitoring with its Intuitu smart tyres system.

Two parameters are measured by a device stuck to the inside of the tyre: the first is pressure;and the second is temperature. The readings are transferred to a phone app by Bluetooth.

The test mule for the Intuitu tyre monitoring system is a Fendt 824 Vario with blue wheel centres to indicate it is a trials machine

While pressure is the most important feature of tyre use – affecting, as it does, efficiency, safety and overall performance – the temperature can be the first sign of things going wrong.

This is not confined to a loss of pressure but can also be a result of tyre damage or incorrect alignment and is therefore a good indication of tyre health.

Tyre monitor — The tyre sensor is stuck to the inside of the tread to monitor temperature and pressure

Intuitu is available on all tractor products, enabling pressures to be checked regularly from a smartphone, removing the guesswork of visual inspection and highlighting problems at an earlier stage. It costs around €100 per tyre.

A tyre type for all situations

The cavalry connection

Mixed fleet

Block tread stability

Tyre pressure monitors

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