Nokian Heavy Tires has introduced what it says is the world’s strongest forestry tire customized for CTL (cut-to-length) harvesters. The Forest King F 710/45-26.5 offers the best available reliability and load-bearing capacity for modern harvesters and forwarders, the company says.
The Ply Rate (PR) describing the durability of this tire, tailored for demanding forest use, is 24, Nokian says. Forestry tires currently available on the market typically have a PR figure of 16 or 20. The load-bearing capacity of this product has increased from 6,900 kg (Nokian Forest King F 20 PR) to 8,000 kg (the new Nokian Forest King F 24 PR).
In six- and eight-wheeled forestry machines, this increase in load-bearing capacity corresponds to about 4 cubic meters of pinewood harvested in the summer. Thanks to increased reliability, full loads can also be safely transported despite of the tree species or humidity of the wood, Nokian says.
“The efficiency requirements of modern forestry tires have increased year by year. In addition to environmental friendliness, machine manufacturers and contractors are looking for products that feature high quality and increasingly better load-bearing capacity and traction. Our new, carefully developed, ultra-strong material solutions enable a durable structure, higher operating pressure and first-class load-bearing capacity. The new Nokian Forest King F is the best of its class, offering all the desired features, ensuring reliability and making harvesting easier than ever before,” said Martti Paivinen, product development manager at Nokian Heavy Tyres.
Featuring excellent grip, the Nokian Forest King F is one of the world’s best-selling forestry tires, the company says, and the lightly moving product performs its job efficiently, showing respect for the environment. The wide tread provides forest machine contractors with many safe working hours in a variety of harvesting tasks. Thanks to the wide tread, the tire’s contact area is larger, which lowers the surface pressure. The big contact area and low surface pressure ensure that the Nokian Forest King F treats growing trees and sensitive undergrowth softly.
The straight sidewalls efficiently prevent damage to the sides. The groove profile, which deepens on the shoulder, and the straight tire sidewall work together to increase the tire’s cleaning properties and durability, Nokian says.
The design of this tire supports the position of tracks and chains, ensuring that they fit optimally on the tire. Tracks stay well in place and work well in wet conditions where grip is poor, according to the company.