Diesel Tuner's Blog

Tillage work is labor some and has high fuel cost! 

Annual tillage can help mix nutrients in the soil, combat compacted soil, conserve soil moisture, and help in other ways.  A common problem with the farming community throughout the corn belt, is heavy tillage work (deep ripping, chisel plowing, etc.) can be a chore for their tractor. 

Tillage work involves using your tractor to pull what is generally the largest implement you own.  Most people report that tillage work is when a tractor will be put under the highest amount of stress.  Which explains why so many reports come in about tractors being grossly under powered for this practice.  Bogging down, running slow, struggling to climb hills, and other complaints are often made during tillage work.  

This is a situation that can be easily remedied with the custom tractor tuning provided by our Power Manager! 

Power Manager

• Custom tractor tuning
• Safe for your tractor
• Easy to use and readily available
• Use less fuel per acre
• Cover more acres per hour
• Supports Green, Red and Blue tractors

Harvest is one of the busiest times of year for farmers.  One thing no farmer should have to deal with during this time is an under powered combine.  Lugging up hills, slowing down the system, and in general costing the operation money can be enough to drive you nuts!  

Each year, just after harvest, we take an influx of calls inquiring about adding horsepower to combines.  Farmers tend to be detail orientated, and have a lot of questions before tuning any equipment.  Which is totally understandable, combines are not exactly cheap and they are one of the most crucial components of a successful harvest. 

If you think tuning a combine is crazy, take a look at the 3 most common reasons we find farmers love combine tuning.  

Shift Up, Throttle Back, What is it?

Many farmers run their large 4WD tractors while performing tillage work. Generally they find a gear that lets them achieve a desired ground speed and run at WOT. This practice will get the job done, no question. However, operators may see the Gallons Per Hour go up while this work is performed. This is a result of the tractor running more RPM than neccessary for the drawbar requirement. The amount of power needed for most drabar activities is probably not the peak power output of the tractor. This excessive RPM operation is the root cause of wasted fuel.  Good news though: Iowa State University, University Extension studied the "Shift Up, Throttle Back" strategy and have given suggestions on how to save fuel.  In fact, during testing some tractors measured up to a 20% reduction in fuel useage.

• ISU Shift Up, Throttle Back Article
• Mark Hana (Co-Author)
• Dana Schweitzer (Co-Author)

Harvest is one of the busiest times of year for farmers. Trying to get the crop in before the weather turns, managing employees and rushing to get a myriad of tasks done can be daunting. One thing no farmer should have to deal with during this busy time is an under performing combine. Lugging up hills, slowing down the system, and in general costing the operation money.  This does not have to be the situation for you this fall!

Each year, just after harvest, we take an influx of calls inquiring about adding horsepower to combines. Farmers tend to be detail orientated, and have a lot of questions before tuning any equipment. Which is totally understandable, combines are not exactly cheap and they are one of the most crucial components of a successful harvest. 

A few questions come up in every conversation about tuning a combine. Below, I hope to provide answers to the most common questions about combine tuning. 

• Learn More About Emissions Equipment
• See testimonials from actual farmers that have tuned their tractor
• Tractor Tunes in Action! 

Small farmers have a tough time making their passion profitable. Varying market prices, harsh weather conditions and rising cost of goods can become a true strain on the farm. 

Since the beginning of agriculture farmers have been finding ways to cut cost and increase production. This concept is what has driven innovation on the farm. However, with as many advances and "life hacks" that have been established, the cost of fuel is ever rising. Even with today's high tech, computer controlled equipment, the cost of fuel can still be staggering. 

Some other great articles about tractor fuel consumption:

• Predicting Tractor Diesel Fuel Consumption
• 6 Ways to Save Fuel on the Farm

BEFORE diving into saving fuel, you will want to gather as much detail as you can about how much fuel is currently costing you. This means knowing more than just how much you spend on fuel each year, quarter, or month, but knowing how much fuel each tractor uses for each task. To download a tracker that will help you narrow in on your most costly activities check out the Performance Tracker below.

Custom Tuning for Tractors!

Custom tuning is now available for tractors, combines and other agricultural equipment. For years, people have added electronic modules, chips, and programmers to diesel pickups in an effort to gain fuel mileage and increase horsepower. In the old days, resistors on inline modules were installed to interput the signal from the ECU to the control components, like the fuel pump and timing control. While this method does add power, there are some concerns. One of which is that when you fool the computer in a tractor you loose the ability to accurately measure how much fuel you are using, how much heat you are creating, and this method does not offer the ability to raise your speed limiter. 

With today's high tech, computer controlled, agricultural equipment there are better options. Tuning or re-Programming the ECM (Engine Control Module) is the safest way to add power and effiency to your equipment. Manufacturers use the same engine and transmission and drive line components in several models. The only difference between them being the computer programming which controls the power output and the initial cost of the tractor.

This allows for the potential of significant gains in power and efficiency through the proper tuning.Calibrated Power Solutions offers the Power Manager, which is a remote hand held tuner with custom tuning capability. You are able to get the most out of your equipment in the safest way possible. The programmer works in conjunction with the factory programming to Up-Rate your equipment in a safe and effective manner. Check out this video which explains more about it: Tractor Up-Rate.

• Have you considered a Bigger planter or tillage tool on your Farm. Are you worried if your tractor will have enough horsepower to get the job done?

If your existing machine has enough tire, but bogs under heavy load- consider tuning your tractor. You can use factory style calibration software to safely up-rate machines lower in their series to power levels of those tractors higher in the series. This means that if our brand has a similar size machine with more power than yours, you can get you the power difference.

Up-rate a 6105R to a 6130R

Up-rate a 9410R to a 9510R

Up-rate a Steiger 540 to a Steiger 620

Up-rate a 8245R to an 8295R etc.