Deutz 6160 C Shift

gone

Member
Location
Carlow Ireland
After the first month and 100hrs here is my impressions of the 6160.4 C. Shift V the basic M420 it replaced. Forget the reliability, I have said enough about that before on here, except to say the new has only been back for it's 1st service and the only thing that needed doing was the clutch pedal needed oiling.
First impressions, the cab.
Firstly the doors seem to be braced better and close way better than on the M with the new shaped framing bar the handles are more accessible and the door closes more positively. not a big thing but the doors on the M took a lot of getting use to, these are way better.
The funky new steering wheel, the steering wheel on the M was built to last, brick sh*te house style, there were shards of hard plastic sticking out of it when new that would cut the hand off you, it was just getting smooth when sold with 800 odd hrs and would only stay getting better, good for at least 30,000hrs. The new one is still built to last, but is comfortable and well finished.
Armrest controls, gone is the stupid, awkward, useless, contrary, dangerous, lift switch, along with other functions it has moved to a new multi function control joystick. This joystick controls, the rear lift, 2 spools, F/R shuttle and all gearbox functions, all these functions work well and fall to hand very easily and logically.
Unfortunately also gone are the PTO controls, moved to beside the right hand door and the ASM (automatic 4wd and Diff) button, now under the armrest cover . :banghead:
Also on the armrest are, a small joystick to control the 3rd and 4th spools (or loader), 4wd, Diff, Engine speed switch, Neutral switch, and Hand throttle. The hand throttle could still do with some protection, because if you try to exit the right hand door or adjust the mirror you will tend to catch the throttle.
Under the armrest cover are all the settings for the automation of the gearbox and electric spools, :), but they also moved the ASM and front suspension buttons under there. :inpain:
The Dash and bulkhead, the new dash is very clear and concise and it seems less cluttered than the M, but still has the stupid clock that zeros every time the deadman is used. :scratchhead: The new bulkhead with all the new air vents reduces forward visibility, meaning that were the M was a country mile ahead of all the others the C Shift is only a country kilometre ahead, but if I was buying for a loader I think I would go for the basic spec for the extra visibility.
Lights, very little has changed with the lighting, new funky LED rear and side lights and a better rail headlights for when your using the front hitch. All 6 rear lights are still on 1 switch, so all on or all off :banghead: and the fuse board is still not up to the power drawn when all lights are on, but Deutz are to retrofit LEDs to solve the problem (y).
Right hand console, gone is the bloody cross lever for the spools, that use to hit the seat when you tried to work it and you couldn't use it and have the seat swivelled at the same time, (the main reason I went for electric spools). A new manual lift control switch has been added at the back right console (y) about time. Hitching an implement was so dangerous and awkward on the M. All in all the right console has improved.
Small touches, the passenger seat has a tiny thin cushion on it now, but no one is going to sit on it for long in comfort, so that is probably a good thing, people can sit on it in slightly less discomfort, than on the M, for a short time.
The front wiper has too small a sweep and at 6' I have to stoop to look out through it's arc.

The Engine.
What a difference, lively and responsive, it would jump out from in under you, because of the power bulge around 1800/2,000 it doesn't seem to hold on to revs as well above this, also because it is very highly geared (50K at 1,900revs) it can seem a bit dead on the road, but that is basically a 60K gear with revs reduced. It seems heavy on Add-Blue so far and light on diesel, but I have no exact comparison figures (I was finished ploughing when it arrived).

The Shuttle.
Deutz have caught up on the JD 6100/6900 or MF 6100 etc, nearly 30 years on. The shuttle actually works ;), you don't need to clutch and it's adjustable, miles ahead of the M.

The Gearbox.
I really like the C Shift, easy to use in Manual and 2 Automatic modes :). I would have the same complaint with as the Dyna6, the difference between the engine droop and the gear spacings means it can be inclined to pulse between gears. A vast improvement over the M.
Small things.
The toolbox is usable, unlike the M.
The deadman switch has been moved to beneath the left hand door.

All in all very impressed so far.
 

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After the first month and 100hrs here is my impressions of the 6160.4 C. Shift V the basic M420 it replaced. Forget the reliability, I have said enough about that before on here, except to say the new has only been back for it's 1st service and the only thing that needed doing was the clutch pedal needed oiling.
First impressions, the cab.
Firstly the doors seem to be braced better and close way better than on the M with the new shaped framing bar the handles are more accessible and the door closes more positively. not a big thing but the doors on the M took a lot of getting use to, these are way better.
The funky new steering wheel, the steering wheel on the M was built to last, brick sh*te house style, there were shards of hard plastic sticking out of it when new that would cut the hand off you, it was just getting smooth when sold with 800 odd hrs and would only stay getting better, good for at least 30,000hrs. The new one is still built to last, but is comfortable and well finished.
Armrest controls, gone is the stupid, awkward, useless, contrary, dangerous, lift switch, along with other functions it has moved to a new multi function control joystick. This joystick controls, the rear lift, 2 spools, F/R shuttle and all gearbox functions, all these functions work well and fall to hand very easily and logically.
Unfortunately also gone are the PTO controls, moved to beside the right hand door and the ASM (automatic 4wd and Diff) button, now under the armrest cover . :banghead:
Also on the armrest are, a small joystick to control the 3rd and 4th spools (or loader), 4wd, Diff, Engine speed switch, Neutral switch, and Hand throttle. The hand throttle could still do with some protection, because if you try to exit the right hand door or adjust the mirror you will tend to catch the throttle.
Under the armrest cover are all the settings for the automation of the gearbox and electric spools, :), but they also moved the ASM and front suspension buttons under there. :inpain:
The Dash and bulkhead, the new dash is very clear and concise and it seems less cluttered than the M, but still has the stupid clock that zeros every time the deadman is used. :scratchhead: The new bulkhead with all the new air vents reduces forward visibility, meaning that were the M was a country mile ahead of all the others the C Shift is only a country kilometre ahead, but if I was buying for a loader I think I would go for the basic spec for the extra visibility.
Lights, very little has changed with the lighting, new funky LED rear and side lights and a better rail headlights for when your using the front hitch. All 6 rear lights are still on 1 switch, so all on or all off :banghead: and the fuse board is still not up to the power drawn when all lights are on, but Deutz are to retrofit LEDs to solve the problem (y).
Right hand console, gone is the bloody cross lever for the spools, that use to hit the seat when you tried to work it and you couldn't use it and have the seat swivelled at the same time, (the main reason I went for electric spools). A new manual lift control switch has been added at the back right console (y) about time. Hitching an implement was so dangerous and awkward on the M. All in all the right console has improved.
Small touches, the passenger seat has a tiny thin cushion on it now, but no one is going to sit on it for long in comfort, so that is probably a good thing, people can sit on it in slightly less discomfort, than on the M, for a short time.
The front wiper has too small a sweep and at 6' I have to stoop to look out through it's arc.

The Engine.
What a difference, lively and responsive, it would jump out from in under you, because of the power bulge around 1800/2,000 it doesn't seem to hold on to revs as well above this, also because it is very highly geared (50K at 1,900revs) it can seem a bit dead on the road, but that is basically a 60K gear with revs reduced. It seems heavy on Add-Blue so far and light on diesel, but I have no exact comparison figures (I was finished ploughing when it arrived).

The Shuttle.
Deutz have caught up on the JD 6100/6900 or MF 6100 etc, nearly 30 years on. The shuttle actually works ;), you don't need to clutch and it's adjustable, miles ahead of the M.

The Gearbox.
I really like the C Shift, easy to use in Manual and 2 Automatic modes :). I would have the same complaint with as the Dyna6, the difference between the engine droop and the gear spacings means it can be inclined to pulse between gears. A vast improvement over the M.
Small things.
The toolbox is usable, unlike the M.
The deadman switch has been moved to beneath the left hand door.

All in all very impressed so far.
hope someone from deutz reads this, !
 

gone

Member
Location
Carlow Ireland
The 6160.4 is going very well and only very minor design flaws, it's a massive step forward from the M series, they have corrected the vast majority of the issues that the M series had. A good job all in all, still small things they could improve on but that is always they case
 
Location
Cheshire
The arm rest looks very similar to the M Profi versions? The crossover spool control is hateful I certainly agree. The shuttle is great on the M, don't know how you couldn't get along with it? The T3 engine has poor torque, which makes a good shuttle seem bad, adblue T4 are miles ahead. I'm pleased they have looked at the door closing because that is nearly enough to switch makes on its own.

To be fair I think its only when you get a few thousand hours under your belt you really appreciate how strong the Deutz is, how little fuel you've used, how everything still works as new and how many times it has needed fixing.
 

Victor

Member
Location
Devon
Let's hope the dealer appreciates it's value when I sell my 620 and get something a bit more comfortable and you don't have to rev the guts out of it to pull away. Won't be selling for a while though as all the money I save gets swallowed up in servicing the thing
 

Tommy

Member
Location
North East Wales
To be fair I think its only when you get a few thousand hours under your belt you really appreciate how strong the Deutz is, how little fuel you've used, how everything still works as new and how many times it has needed fixing.

This is exactly the point, they might not be a fashionable as a jd or fendt but do everything you can ask of them quietly and efficiently
 

gone

Member
Location
Carlow Ireland
After the first month and 100hrs here is my impressions of the 6160.4 C. Shift V the basic M420 it replaced.
Lights, very little has changed with the lighting, new funky LED rear and side lights and a better rail headlights for when your using the front hitch. All 6 rear lights are still on 1 switch, so all on or all off :banghead: and the fuse board is still not up to the power drawn when all lights are on, but Deutz are to retrofit LEDs to solve the problem (y).

All in all very impressed so far.

Deutz have decided that they don't want to resolve this problem, the fuse board will burn out before the end of the warranty and they will have to do that, but that still doesn't solve the issue.
Has anyone here solved this issue?
Maybe fitting LEDs is the handiest solution or did anyone fit extra switches and relays so all the work lights won't be powered off the 1 switch and relay?
It is 1 step forward and 2 steps back with Deutz, getting fed up of dealing with them, I will let warranty run out they can replace a fuse board or 2and may fix it myself then.
TIA
Gone
 

madscientist

Member
Location
omagh N.I.
so how's the c shift deutz going? nearest we get to steyr I suppose nowadays. would the 6160/6180 be comparable to the jd 6930, mf 6480 and tm 155 in performance and traction? quoted @ £70k this week for 6150 c shift. 6 year 0% no longer available.
 
Location
Cheshire
so how's the c shift deutz going? nearest we get to steyr I suppose nowadays. would the 6160/6180 be comparable to the jd 6930, mf 6480 and tm 155 in performance and traction? quoted @ £70k this week for 6150 c shift. 6 year 0% no longer available.

Case Farmall Pro would be as close as you get to a Steyr these days.

Quote sounds a bit toppy to me? And Deutz dealers won't sell into other territories.
 

gone

Member
Location
Carlow Ireland
so how's the c shift deutz going? nearest we get to steyr I suppose nowadays. would the 6160/6180 be comparable to the jd 6930, mf 6480 and tm 155 in performance and traction? quoted @ £70k this week for 6150 c shift. 6 year 0% no longer available.

The C Shift is going well, a few little teething problems, but nothing that wasn't fixed.
Way more lively than the M420 and using vastly less fuel.
I consider the 6150 6cyl a bit dead, the 6140 will run rings around it, if replacing a 6930 you would really need a 6180.
If you do a lot of work in dark get LED work lights the fuse board isn't up to all the standard lights being on for long.
Also do a deal on the first 2 services to be included in the purchase price, they charge mad prices for the filters.
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
The C Shift is going well, a few little teething problems, but nothing that wasn't fixed.
Way more lively than the M420 and using vastly less fuel.
I consider the 6150 6cyl a bit dead, the 6140 will run rings around it, if replacing a 6930 you would really need a 6180.
If you do a lot of work in dark get LED work lights the fuse board isn't up to all the standard lights being on for long.
Also do a deal on the first 2 services to be included in the purchase price, they charge mad prices for the filters.
The filter prices depend very much on how the dealer orders them from sdf UK. If you plan a couple of months ahead and get the dealer to source them on a stock order, they're significantly cheaper (assuming the dealer passes on the discount they receive).

The pricing structure for parts in place by sdf UK means that all overnight tractor down orders are very expensive in comparison to stock orders. This is something that they need to address to allow their dealers to compete in my opinion.

I replaced the (standard) beltline h9 spotlights with led floods on my 6150.4. This provides an excellent puddle of white light that completely surrounds the tractor instead of the very intense narrower beam. It also reduces the current draw a little.

There has been an engine software update at the end of last year. If the software version is pre 679 (which needs a dealer laptop running Serbia to determine), there's new file to be uploaded.

The update improves start off torque and lower rev throttle response (not that it was deficient before). Cold engine noise and smoothness is improved, and mine it is also using much less adblue since the update.
 

gone

Member
Location
Carlow Ireland
The filter prices depend very much on how the dealer orders them from sdf UK. If you plan a couple of months ahead and get the dealer to source them on a stock order, they're significantly cheaper (assuming the dealer passes on the discount they receive).

The pricing structure for parts in place by sdf UK means that all overnight tractor down orders are very expensive in comparison to stock orders. This is something that they need to address to allow their dealers to compete in my opinion.

I replaced the (standard) beltline h9 spotlights with led floods on my 6150.4. This provides an excellent puddle of white light that completely surrounds the tractor instead of the very intense narrower beam. It also reduces the current draw a little.

There has been an engine software update at the end of last year. If the software version is pre 679 (which needs a dealer laptop running Serbia to determine), there's new file to be uploaded.

The update improves start off torque and lower rev throttle response (not that it was deficient before). Cold engine noise and smoothness is improved, and mine it is also using much less adblue since the update.

Cheaper here to buy any engine parts and filters from Fendt than Deutz, by a good margin.
Deutz and the dealer replaced 6 of the work lights with LEDs for me and it has totally solved the fuse board overheating issue (y).
Not running down the 6150.4, I think it is a great tractor just the 6150 6cyl is a bit dead with the extra weight and the 6140 6cyl actually has more torque and a good bit less weight.
My 6160.4 is a bit heavy on adblue, but not an issue it is so light on diesel, I must get them to do that update when it's next in for a service. (y)
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
Cheaper here to buy any engine parts and filters from Fendt than Deutz, by a good margin.
Deutz and the dealer replaced 6 of the work lights with LEDs for me and it has totally solved the fuse board overheating issue (y).
Not running down the 6150.4, I think it is a great tractor just the 6150 6cyl is a bit dead with the extra weight and the 6140 6cyl actually has more torque and a good bit less weight.
My 6160.4 is a bit heavy on adblue, but not an issue it is so light on diesel, I must get them to do that update when it's next in for a service. (y)
I hope sdf UK (and Ireland) read that customers are going to fendt dealers instead of their own deutz dealer to buy parts! They need to do some serious rethinking about their parts price structure.
 

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