TEST: Case IH Puma CVX 225 with ABS Not so long ago, 50km/hr tractors were seen as innovative. But, to cope with the ever-increasing amounts of road work clocked by today’s prime movers, some manufacturers are now marketing 60km/hr models. Naturally, such top speeds also require a certain up-speccing in the tractors’ braking department, as sported by Case IH’s 60km/hr Puma.
So convinced is Case IH of the merits of onboard ABS that the company isn’t only restricting the technology to its top-of-the-range 60km/hr CVT tractors; ABS will be offered as an option on the brand’s 40km/hr and 50km/hr tractors, too. And that has to be good news for operators. Trialled on a Puma CVX 225 model (165kW/224hp to ECE R120), Case IH’s ABS system utilises various components from the Iveco truck division, another member of the Fiat Group. To achieve a quicker response, the conventional oil-based braking system is replaced by an air-over-hydraulic package, the use of air meaning that the system is not affected by varying oil temperatures. The air-over-oil set-up also eliminates a car-style vibrating brake pedal when it’s stamped on hard in an emergency.
At the heart of the system is a computer processor that collects and evaluates the measurements gathered by speed sensors on the four individually braked wheels. These sensors take their readings from the gearwheels on each wheel and send a high frequency pulse to the controller. The computer then compares the sensor data and requires just milliseconds to adjust the pressure in the air brake system.
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