Driving impression: More engine power and a different rotor are just two of the extra features that appear on the latest generation of Case IH Axial-Flow models. There’s also a new unit in the launch pipeline, but more on that in a future issue of profi. Here we focus on what’s available now – the 2388 X-Clusive model
There’s life in the old Axial-Flow yet’ would seem to be the clear message coming out of Case, which is claiming a whopping 25% output increase for the latest example of the breed – the X-Clusive.
Rotor design and engine power are perhaps the two main items to get a tweak, the former getting a different transitional feed-in cone area and a pitched profile to the impeller unit. Smoother crop flow is the claimed result. For full evidence of the latest rotor design changes, refer to the inset picture below.
Last harvest we managed an early drive on a 2388 X-Clusive, to get an impression of what the changes could do for the overall Axial-Flow performance. There is no doubt, for example, that the engine power hike will be welcomed by most Axial-Flow men, there having long been a feeling that the combine needed more motor grunt. And now it has it: Today Case boasts a rated output of 216kW/293hp (ISO TR14396) for the 8.3-litre 2388’s motor, complete with 24 valves and electronic fuel injection. Not only that, but when engine rpm drop by about 200rpm, power output goes up by another 8kW/11hp to cope with additional load peaks. And there’s more. When unloading grain on the move, the engine delivers another 15kW/21hp. To work the machine, we tucked the 2388’s 6.7m wide header into a heavy, long-strawed crop of winter wheat, travelling at up to 5km/hr.
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