Will this tyre be worth the wait?

Mitas, known in South Africa for its Continental brand tyres, continues to develop the PneuTrac concept, writes Joe Spencer.

Will this tyre be worth the wait?
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Mitas, based in the Czech Republic, showed the first examples of the PneuTrac concept in 2013. This revolutionary tyre is claimed to provide better traction with less slippage, resulting in lower operating costs and less soil damage due to improved flotation.

It also provides highly stable driving at a low inflation pressure, ensuring comfort without the need to adjust inflation pressure.The latest addition to the Mitas PneuTrac range, the 480/65 R28 28”, was exhibited with the original 600/65 R38 38” on a Case IH Maxxum tractor at the recent SIMA Show This is the first time that a complete set of the new concept tyres has been shown.

The footprint of the Mitas PneuTrac is 53% larger than that of a standard tyre, providing higher tractive force. It also ensures much lower and improved distribution of pressure on the ground, with less soil compaction. According to the manufacturer, the lateral stability of the PneuTrac is 167% greater than that of standard tyres and the tyres can be mounted on standard rims.

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“We’re doing our best to make the concept commercially available as soon as possible, but it’s still too early to announce the exact date,” said Mitas marketing and sales director Andrew Mabin at the SIMA Show.

The best of both worlds
The PneuTrac concept combines traditional pneumatic tyres and rubber tracks, bringing together the best of both worlds. Mitas is intensively testing the tyres on 18” and 38” rims and has already performed static tests on the new 28” size. The company can now equip both the front and rear axles of a tractor in order to perform field tests and prove the advantages of the concept.