Over his storied life of developing iconic performance vehicles, the late Caroll Shelby was often quoted saying: “There is never enough horsepower … just not enough traction.”

I doubt the developer of the famous 427 Cobra and Le Mans-winning “GT-40 Fords” has been on the minds of engineers developing tires for tractors and combines, but those engineers’ efforts over the past 20 years are on target to address Shelby’s concerns.

Importance of Psi

The ag media is replete with studies showing the positive relationship between lower tractor and combine tire pressures and overall corn and soybean yields due to reduced field compaction. Research shows lower farm equipment tire pressure equates to less compaction, and less compaction correlates with higher yields. But that’s only part of the story. Improved traction provided by tires capable of operating at lower inflation pressures is finally making some headlines on its own.

In “Deep Dive Into Advanced Tire Technology,” Lessiter Media’s recently published special management report No. 76, the improved traction of lower-pressure tractor tires was linked to estimates of fuel savings of more than 50 gallons of diesel over a 1,000-acre field in a recent field comparison conducted by Firestone Ag.

The test involved a pair of identical test tractors with identical standard tires connected by a cable and pulley system to a third “load tractor” (not running) equipped with a 23-foot field cultivator. The…