Firestone AG Tire expert Bill Durivage says tire technology and design boost durability, allowing you to cover more ground with fewer replacements and greater reliability.
“Tire integrity, longevity, durability, all that really starts with our lab and our engineering. Tire should really help maximize the performance of your equipment, but also needs to protect your soil. So with Firestone, we have the farm tire test center in Columbiana, Ohio at Harvey Firestone’s original family farm. It’s a facility dedicated exclusively to testing farm tires for the North American farmers.”
Courtesy of the Henry Ford Museum
“So, we have Bridgestone Firestone Engineers that collaborate on a global scale to do research, test new rubber compounds, develop new tread designs specifically for farm applications. We use in the field data and our tire engineering expertise, and we really combine those to advance our innovative tire solutions. So we have in house computer experts that virtually design models of the tires first, and then they optimize that to really maximize the performance before we develop the experimental tires. They’re then tested at Columbiana and then put on to real world conditions.”
Proper tire tread design can have a big impact on a tire’s wear life.
“So there’s really three main parts of the tread design that impacts the wear life. There’s the tread pattern itself and the skid depth of that tread pattern. The design of the lugs and the arrangement of those lugs really affect how the wear impacts the tire over time. The overall lug volume, so typically a a larger lug or having more tread rubber, translates to better durability and longevity. Tires with larger lugs are more resistant to abrasion and having a greater surface area of that lug on the top when it’s in context with the road surface, easily distributes that weight, reduces localized pressures, which then can lead to a faster tread deterioration. So having that wider lug is gonna be better for wear.”
And then the tread compound itself.
“We develop bag tread compounds that are formulated to deliver long lasting motor life and enhance the durability of the product, but also protecting its double damage.”
Farmers can also take steps to extend the wear life of their tires.
“I think the main thing is maintaining proper inflation pressure. Having the correct inflation pressure really helps to maintain traction in the field, but also protects the durability and prevents irregular tire wear they experience on the road. Just having regular tire pressure checks and maintenance, doing a quick 15 minute check, when it shows your tires are in good shape and you avoid any kind of downtime in the field. We also have a 7 step checklist on our Firestone Ag website, prepare your equipment before going into the field. And when in doubt, you can always contact your locally certified Firestone Ag Tire dealer or get with our Firestone Field Engineering team or on our website at firestoneag.com to get more information.”
Again, that’s Bill Durivage of Firestone Ag Tires.
Chad Smith reporting.