Diesel Tuner's Blog

There is a more cost-effective way of pushing your tractor to the top of the line when it comes to power.

You want field time decreased and you want to use the least amount of fuel possible while in the field.  These two aspects save you two valuable items: time and money. You work hard trying to get the best yield out of your land, so why not expect your combine to do the same for you?  Tuning your equipment is the quickest, cheapest, and most efficient way of going about getting the most out of your tractor. It can up-rate your tractor for a fraction of the dealer price and bring you the top-end amount of MPH and power.  Let’s go ahead and examine what tuning can do for the equipment.

It's that time of the year, you're in the field or just about to get in the field, you know you spent a lot of time last year just wishing your tractor had better power. This year go ahead and up-rate your rig to give you the quickest, most efficient work in the field yet! Maybe you feel as though your tractor is under powered when it comes to tillage or you just want your sprayer to get the job done fast, well tuning is exactly what you're going to need to push this years yield past prior seasons. Get more power safely and get it at a fraction of the cost.

We know this is your livelihood. We come from farm communities and we know how difficult it can be managing yields, crops, equipment, etc. These tunes are made with you in mind. The heart and soul of America is agriculture and this programmer is here to help push you to where you want to be. These tunes are for the farmer that is not ready to buy expensive new equipment or to pay a premium price for the next level at the dealer where you purchased the tractor.

Whether you are in the field yet or not, you already know what machines in your operation could use more power.  Maybe your 4WD unit that does tillage work or if you have been thinking about running a larger implement but not sure if you got enough ponies to drag it.  Either way you need power.  

To be clear, this is not for those trying make a competition tractor!  This is for those that use their tractor to make a living.  This is for the farmer that needs more power but certainly can't afford to have broken equipment and trading in at the dealership is just too expensive right now.  

How Tractors Measure Exhaust Gas Temperatures

Have you ever noticed that some OEM's do not install an EGT (exhaust gas temperature) probe on the manifold?  Any performance diesel gear head will tell you it's the best place to measure EGT's giving you the  most accurate insight to any immediate stress on the motor.  

Spiking EGT's in the manifold could be a symptom of many different problems including low boost, failing injectors, airflow restriction, EGR failure, etc.  All of these failures signify a lit fuse that ultimately ends in engine failure if left unchecked.  Clearly it's important to monitor EGT's, right!?  

The problem with installing a probe from the manufacturer stand point is the life expectancy of the probe.  Seeing extreme temperatures and still measuring accurately for the life of the service life requires high quality probes (read: expensive).  

Never fear, manufacturers have come a long way in measuring temperatures (and cutting costs).  In fact many feel no real need for a probe favoring a dynamic EGT model instead.

Tillage and Deep Ripping is Laborsome and Expensive Work! 

Annual tillage can help mix nutrients in the soil, combat compacted soil, conserve soil moisture, and help in other ways.  Many of us throughout the corn belt have to do heavy tillage work (deep ripping, chisel plowing, etc.).  

For you, tillage work represents the  the hardest job your tractor will see this year.   Afterall, the ripper is probably the biggest implement you will run.  Which explains why so many reports come in about tractors being grossly under powered for this practice.  Bogging down on headlands, running slow up gentle grades, being forced to raise the plow to keep from getting stuck, and generally not being able to run at target ground speed to get a consistant finish are complaints we commonly hear from farmers doing this work.  

We see the stress and heavy power demands of tillage work as the biggest opportunity for savings.  Below we'll outline the case for tuning the tractor to save fuel during tillage operation.  We'll also save you from having to make significant capital investment in higher horsepower equipment to pull larger plows and finishers.

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

"My tractor needs more power!"

This is something you may have thought while doing heavy work like tillage or pulling a loaded down grain wagon.  Or maybe you noticed the lack of power while traveling over some tougher terrain.  

Regardless of when you noticed that your tractor is short on ponies, you need a solution.  You can either trade in your tractor for a larger model in the series or consider tuning to bump the power.  

More Articles About Tractor Tuning:

• Tillage Work
• 5 Reasons to tune your COMBINE before harvest
• Can you ever really have enough power?

Is your top speed causing a choke point on your operation?

The top speed of your tractor is extremely important.  Whether it be spring, summer or harvest, the top speed of the slowest tractor being used can impact how efficient your farm is.  Also, when using multiple pieces of machinery, keeping up with the other guys can be crucial to the operation.  Simply said, in the field or on the road, your top MPH matters.

Tractors can have their speed limited by either an electronically controlled speed limiter or simply by having a lack of power.   It is fairly straight forward when determining which factor is holding you back.  If you see the RPM gauge bouncing at a specific RPM while in your highest gear, you have a speed limiter.  On the other hand, if you can shift up but do not have the power to run without lugging then it is a lack of power.  With either of these problems, there may be a less expensive solution other than buying a brand new tractor.  

Other articles about Tractors and Combines:

• Shift Up, Throttle Back Review
• Why tune your Combine BEFORE Harvest
• Can your tractor ever really have enough power?

Tractor Tuning Can Add Value to the Farm!

Many farmers have discussed or utilized tractor tuning at some point.  With the electronically controlled engines equipped in today's agricultural equipment, electronic tuning can offer a quick solution to operational bottlenecks caused by underpowered equipment.  We're here to give you straight answers on tractor tuning, specifically as we supply it at Calibrated Power Solutions Inc.

At Calibrated Power we have experience in this exact field.  We routinely help farmers with questions about tractor tuning and routinely solicit feedback from our customers to help improve the experience for future users.  Our experience in custom diesel tuning, dyno operation and in-the-field testing have provided us with a unique view on the subject.  We've learned that there are a few questions that just about every farmer has when talking about adding power to his tractor through custom engine tuning. 

Helping Ohio Farmers:

In an effort to help Ohio farmers and Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association (OCW), Calibrated Power is offering a FREE 3 year membership to OCW with the purchase of a Power Manager or Power Manager Plus. 

This means that if you are farmer in Ohio, you can tune a tractor that already needed the extra power and we will pay OCW the $199 for a 3 year membership. 

• MORE POWER
• HIGHER GROUND SPEED
• FREE 3 YEAR MEMBERSHIP