Valtra unveils new 8350 HiTech tractor

Agricultural producers and contractors are faced by increasingly tough cost pressures. For this reason Valtra is unveiling its new, driver-friendly 100 kW (135 hp) 8350 HiTech tractor, which in addition to being easy on both the environment and its driver is a true “low revolution model”.

The engines for many of today’s tractor marques stem more and more often from light trucks. One manufacturer of engines designed specifically for tractors, Valtra-owned Sisu Diesel, which builds Sisudiesel engines for combine harvesters and earthmoving machines as well as tractors, decided to go back to basics. In the same way as in the heaviest trucks the maximum power rev rate is around 1900-2000, Sisudiesel decided to tune its 6.6 litre engine to develop its rated power at 1800 rpm. The working speed of rotation has thus been shifted downwards by approximately 400 rpm.

This has the effect of reducing fuel consumption by 5-10%, engine noise by 3-4 dBA and permits oil change intervals of 500 hours instead of the current 250 hours. The low noise level in the cab makes it possible to use a hands-free mobile phone.

This produces big benefits for both contractors as well as farmers who put in a long day. In terms of engine power the Valtra Valmet 8350 is in a class of its own. Its rated power is 135 hp at 1800 rpm, its maximum output 140 hp at 1650 rpm with a maximum torque of 650 Nm at 1100 rpm. The engine makes use of a totally new high-pressure injection system, a new turbocharger and an intercooler.

As a result of the lower rpm range the gear ratios of the whole transmission have been altered. The tractor manages the “Eurospeed” of 40 km/h at 1800 rpm. Correspondingly the power take-off’s standardized speeds of 540 and 1000 rpm are achieved at engine speeds of 1539 and 1750 rpm. The revolution capacity of the hydraulics pump is correspondingly greater, its maximum output of 73 l/min being achieved at 1800 rpm.

For example, the doubling of the service interval has been made possible by the fact that dropping the rated engine speed simultaneously reduces the temperature of the lubricating oil, which in turn reduces oxidation of the same. The lower engine speed also reduces the average speed of the piston. In normal use the piston travels 300 000 km in 10 000 hours; in the case of the low rev machine the same distance is covered after 13 000 hours of operation.