In testing conducted by the German Agricultural Society (DLG), the submitted pair of Continental TractorMaster tires won out over all comparable candidates from other well-known European premium tire manufacturers in terms of performance, fuel consumption, ground coverage, and drive efficiency. Continental's TractorMaster tire was tested as a premium-segment agricultural tire as part of the "Performance Review in Premium Class” test series performed by the DLG. The TractorMaster was officially awarded product certification in November 2019, affirming its premium quality with the test mark valid for five years.
Test winner in the field and on the road
The DLG test series comprises multiple tests of the efficiency of agricultural tractor tires in various applications. Overall, these tests demonstrated that fuel consumption when driving on TractorMasters is significantly below that of the tested reference tires. The tire plays to its strengths in particular in the combination of fuel consumption with the determined ground coverage in hectares per hour: the TractorMaster does its job some three percent faster than the comparable third-place reference tire does across the same surface area. The agricultural tires from Continental also exhibit the highest tire efficiency in terms of the ratio of tractive output to power take-off (PTO).
In addition to undergoing tests to determine their specific fuel consumption in the field, ground coverage, and drive efficiency, the tractor tires were also tested for on-road performance applying the DLG's PowerMix transport cycles. The test run carried out across the partial- and full-load ranges under the DLG PowerMix transport cycle conditions (36 km at varying inclines and on the level) demonstrated that the rolling resistance and low level of slip on inclined sections have a positive impact on performance.
In the overall results, the Continental TractorMaster beats the reference tires in all test categories by a clear margin, and has been officially granted the DLG test mark. In particular, the low fuel consumption in field use proves that the TractorMaster is the right choice for any farmer looking for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Flexible nylon carcass and d.fine tread lug technology deliver impressive performance
Like the standard automotive tires from Continental, the company's TractorMaster agricultural tractor tire is equipped with a flexible N.flex carcass and novel bead technology with a single bead core. What's more, this radial tire is provided with the d.fine tread lug technology specially developed for the TractorMaster that features a five-percent larger tread lug surface area for extending tire service life. The carcass material made of stretchable nylon lends the tires exceptional dimensional stability and impact strength. Moreover, the special bead design with single bead core ensures good deflection characteristics in the sidewalls – which minimizes soil compaction, thereby promoting sustainable soil conservation. The d.fine tread lug technology also extends the tire's mileage. Like the standard Tractor70 and Tractor85 tire series, the TractorMaster is fabricated in-house at Continental's own state-of-the-art production plant in the Portuguese city of Lousado, very near to Continental's car tire manufacturing plant there.
