At launch, John Deere offered five variants of the 8000 series, the 9.0-litre 380hp and 430hp 8100 and 8200 and the 13.5-litre 540hp and 585hp 8400 and 8500. These four models all have a ‘standard-body’ with 680mm crop channel. Topping the range was the 13.5-litre 625hp 8600 with an 850mm ‘wide-body’.
What these basics do not outline is that the 8000 significantly differed from previous 7000 series in several areas. For instance, the cooling pack of the Stage IV compliant PowerTech PSX engines was re-located to free up space around the chopper, leaving more room for the corn cracker to be fitted and removed, something users of previous generation machines had long called for. Moving to the chopper, the driveline feed rolls were enlarged to help smooth crop flow and a move to a dry sump angular gearbox to transfer power to the drive system helped boost efficiency. The hydraulics and the fan are driven directly from the engine, with a reduction in belts and pulleys. These plus other detail tweaks all helped to reduce maintenance and increase overall efficiency. Tolerance of less than perfect grass swaths was also improved (see Further profi reading).
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