How to reduce your tractor's fuel consumption
Fuel consumption can be a considerable cost to your business, especially when the price of gas is rising. But if you can't reduce the price per gallon, you may be able to reduce your fuel usage by following our advice.
In this article, we'll also highlight the tractor tires we recommend for optimum fuel consumption.
For field use, there are several ways to optimize your fuel consumption:
To make sure your equipment has good traction in the field, it's important that your tractor tires are adjusted to the right pressure, (i.e. the lowest possible pressure capable of carrying the load).
Why is this important? Because with low pressure, the tire footprint will be larger, which provides better traction. By doing this, you will decrease slippage, which wastes energy and leads to lower fuel consumption for your tractor.
To do this, you can opt for tractor tires with Michelin Ultraflex technology, such as the Michelin AXIOBIB2 tire, which provide low pressure in the field.
Road use requires a higher tire pressure than driving in the field, so in order to reduce fuel consumption, you can use the CTIS (Central Tire Inflation System) CTIS allows you to easily adjust your tractor tire pressure when you transition from the road to the field, and vice versa, without leaving your cab.
If you don't already have CTIS installed, you can get it from our affiliated company PTG, which has been an expert in this technology for over 30 years*: Contact CTIS expert
you can easily adjust your pressures with a ctis for optimized fuel consumption
Properly distributing the weight of your tractor based on its power and the farm implement being towed can also reduce fuel consumption. To do this, add weight at the front using wheel ballasts. By achieving the right balance, you can optimize your traction, avoid unnecessary fuel consumption, and save money.
Not sure what your tractor's load is? Take a look at our Michelin AGROPRESSURE tool: in just a few clicks, it estimates axle loads for you thanks to its database of over 9,000 tractor and implement data.
With this information, you can then inflate your tires to the right pressure for your load without using a scale or weighbridge. This can help you save money on fuel.
The less a tire is worn, the greater the height of its lugs, and the better its traction performance.
If you use your tractor mainly in the field, where traction is essential, it is important to check the wear of your tires often. If necessary, replace them to reduce slippage, which can otherwise cause you to use more fuel.
Make sure your tractor is weighted properly
While pressure should be low in the field to improve traction, on the road it's the opposite. For smoother road surfaces like asphalt, low rolling resistance is desired to be the most fuel efficient. This requires increasing the tractor tire pressure, which was lower when in the field.
As with passenger vehicles, the faster you drive, the more fuel you consume. There is no obligation to drive at the maximum speed you are limited to by the road regulations or by your load.
You can save fuel by driving a little slower. This will make your journey slightly longer, but it will reduce your fuel consumption. The savings may seem minimal for each journey, but when added up over the year, you could see significant fuel savings
reduce your speed on the road to reduce fuel consumption
At Michelin, we have studied the needs of farmers to offer them a range of tires that are suited to their specific use. The ag tires are designed to provide the expected performance and be fuel efficient. Click on the tire below that best fits your needs to learn more.
If you spend most of your time in the field, sometimes in rough conditions, and are looking for optimized traction and production
If you spend 80% of your time on the road and the other 20% of your time in the fields, on grounds that are not too rough:
If you need a tractor tire that offers a good compromise between performance on the road and in the field:
Need more advice? Discover our tire buying guide.
*Compared to non VF (Very High Flexion) tire
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