The recently launched Valtra-Valmet 8350 pumps out its rated 99kW/135hp at an ear-pleasingly low 1,800rpm. Impressive statistics indeed, but what’s it like to drive? Andrew Faulkner finds out
Fire the tractor up, engage pto, and wind open the throttle to 2,000rpm+. Sound familiar? Most operators will recognise the above as standard tractor start-up procedure for pto-powered equipment. But not Valtra. With the launch of its 8350 model, the Finnish tractor maker questions traditional engine thinking. More particularly, it questions whether tractor motors need to rev so hard, up to 2,000rpm and beyond.
Proving Valtra’s point, the 8350 struggles to nudge its needle over 1,950rpm – and that’s downhill with a following wind. Indeed, the tractor’s rated power of 99kW/135hp clocks in at a lowly 1,800rpm, compared with its 8150 stablemate which produces 92kW/125hp at a more conventional 2,200rpm. The 8350’s torque figures make equally interesting reading.
Maximum torque of 650Nm peaks as low as 1,100rpm to give a torque back-up of 23%. Again, compare that figure with the 8150, which produces its top torque of 540Nm at 1,400rpm. More impressive still is a comparison with the larger 103kW/140hp 8450; it manages an admittedly respectable 615Nm at 1,400rpm, but this is still 35Nm short of the 8350’s peak. And the 8450’s peak comes 300rpm further around the rev dial.
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