Fastrac 4000 series

[Fendtbro]

The biggest problem with the 4220 is the vario box.. at say climbing a hill well loaded you are at 20k, you will be about 50% hydrostatic input. That really saps the power, nothing wrong with the sisu.. it’s a beast on pto work, running most kit in eco no bother. My pals case cvx has 3 or 4 mechanical shifts between the vario and eats the 4220 on hills. I think the zf box would have been a better choice for a road oriented tractor. The higher final drive ratio on the 4220 over a 724 will kill it a bit more too, as if both are doing the same forward speed the 42 will be running more hydro and therefore more power losses. The lack of a powershift into the low ratio is really stupid and dangerous as the tractor can stop driving completely on steep hills with a decent load. You have to stop to engage low box with cars behind you then stop again for high! The vario works great for field work like baling, mowing and most jobs, no clutches wearing on direction changes. Unlike the zf. The ride comfort is fantastic and roading handling is good but a little more wandering with the 70 profile tyres over the 65’s. You really need the wider tyres tho as I don’t care what anybody says, they will struggle sooner in bad conditions. Wheel diameter is critical for maximum traction, especially if the back end is heavily loaded. So far our 42 has done well tho, just have to accept it’s a bit slow on the hills.

 

[D14]

Have heard similar from two other people who came away unimpressed. Cost of them is also off the chart nuts, one quote was dearer than a Fendt with every bell and whistle ticked...

Brand new 4220 fully loaded £118k. Fendt 724 £145k. Both recent quotes. There will be minor spec differences to argue about but not much. I don’t know as I didn’t ask but a Fendt 722 would be about £138k which is the same hp sauce. Jcb has the 3 year warranty, but the fendt was only 1 I think but would need to check.

 

[Dian Landman]

We got quoted 145k pounds for a 4160 here in South Africa. Would a 4160 have enough power to run 85% of the time with a Vicon 3900 litre fert spreader and the rest pull a planter? So basically with the load on the three point hitch will it still struggle to keep speed?

 

[Andrew]

There really is some rubbish spouted on here.

We had a 3230. We brought a 4220 after a demo. The 3230 got swapped in for another 4220, even though we had the option of a 3230 both times.

We’ve had quotes for JD and Fendt and MF as well. They were all similar money.

As for the original question, why would anyone buy a tractor that is the same weight but 60hp less apart from purchase price?

 

[Suckndiesel]

There really is some rubbish spouted on here.

We had a 3230. We brought a 4220 after a demo. The 3230 got swapped in for another 4220, even though we had the option of a 3230 both times.

We’ve had quotes for JD and Fendt and MF as well. They were all similar money.

As for the original question, why would anyone buy a tractor that is the same weight but 60hp less apart from purchase price?

The tractors are round the 8 ton mark, I’d say the 4220 could actually be easier on fuel than the smaller ones which I think would be under powered

 

[Drillman]

It’s highly unlikely I would ever buy new tractor but if I was in the market a 4220 would be at the top of the list for a closer look.

It really does look like a very nice piece of kit.

 

[D14]

We’ve had quotes for JD and Fendt and MF as well. They were all similar money.

We had prices from two jcb and two fendt dealers. The gap was massive.

 

[Dian Landman]

What are the key differences between the 4160 and the 4220? A dealer in the UK said they can map the 4160 to 200hp?

 

[ollie989898]

The biggest problem with the 4220 is the vario box.. at say climbing a hill well loaded you are at 20k, you will be about 50% hydrostatic input. That really saps the power, nothing wrong with the sisu.. it’s a beast on pto work, running most kit in eco no bother. My pals case cvx has 3 or 4 mechanical shifts between the vario and eats the 4220 on hills. I think the zf box would have been a better choice for a road oriented tractor. The higher final drive ratio on the 4220 over a 724 will kill it a bit more too, as if both are doing the same forward speed the 42 will be running more hydro and therefore more power losses. The lack of a powershift into the low ratio is really stupid and dangerous as the tractor can stop driving completely on steep hills with a decent load. You have to stop to engage low box with cars behind you then stop again for high! The vario works great for field work like baling, mowing and most jobs, no clutches wearing on direction changes. Unlike the zf. The ride comfort is fantastic and roading handling is good but a little more wandering with the 70 profile tyres over the 65’s. You really need the wider tyres tho as I don’t care what anybody says, they will struggle sooner in bad conditions. Wheel diameter is critical for maximum traction, especially if the back end is heavily loaded. So far our 42 has done well tho, just have to accept it’s a bit slow on the hills.

Driven plenty of 3000 series, just don't seem to be able to put the power to the ground as a conventional tractor would, I know not why but I suspect the wheels are something to do with it, and the weight just doesn't seem to be in the right place?

 

[Andrew]

We had prices from two jcb and two fendt dealers. The gap was massive.

The ones we had weren’t. I think it has more to do with your dealer and the discount rather than the manufacturer.

What are the key differences between the 4160 and the 4220? A dealer in the UK said they can map the 4160 to 200hp?

Not an expert but I think 4160 is just lower spec. Mechanically the same, just derated.

Driven plenty of 3000 series, just don't seem to be able to put the power to the ground as a conventional tractor would, I know not why but I suspect the wheels are something to do with it, and the weight just doesn't seem to be in the right place?

They will put it down just as well. But you have to ballast them correctly and set the tyres correctly. So many people just take them off a trailer, put them on a subsoiler and wonder why they don’t pull.

 

[Dian Landman]

The ones we had weren’t. I think it has more to do with your dealer and the discount rather than the manufacturer.



Not an expert but I think 4160 is just lower spec. Mechanically the same, just derated.



They will put it down just as well. But you have to ballast them correctly and set the tyres correctly. So many people just take them off a trailer, put them on a subsoiler and wonder why they don’t pull.

So the suspension, transmission etc are all the same still? I know the hp differs and the bigger one has the twin calipers. Cant really find a lot of other differences. I was told that the 4160 can be mapped to make 200hp. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[D14]

The ones we had weren’t. I think it has more to do with your dealer and the discount rather than the manufacturer.

Looks like it and you could pull the comparison apart with things like the Fendt having 710 rear tyres and 600 fronts while the JCB had 600's all round. The Fendt is 20hp more. The warranties were different etc etc. However from an operators point of the view the JCB wins every time.

 

[Andrew]

So the suspension, transmission etc are all the same still? I know the hp differs and the bigger one has the twin calipers. Cant really find a lot of other differences. I was told that the 4160 can be mapped to make 200hp. Can anyone confirm this?

I was led to believe there were no major differences. I’m sure any engine can be mapped, but would probably void the warranty straight away. You may save a bit on new price, but I would think resale value will be a lot less (less demand) so overall cost of ownership is higher. So why would you?

 

[nick...]

I love these tractors and seem to be several about.have they now sorted the front diff problems and the oil pick up pipe in the engine falling of putting on the oil warning light and causing engine failure very quickly if not stopped.
Nick...

 

[Brad nz]

So the suspension, transmission etc are all the same still? I know the hp differs and the bigger one has the twin calipers. Cant really find a lot of other differences. I was told that the 4160 can be mapped to make 200hp. Can anyone confirm this?

I’ve been told that the suspension is different double acting rams vs single acting. 4220 having the double acting. Could be wrong tho ‍

 

[jamesfalky]

I’ve been told that the suspension is different double acting rams vs single acting. 4220 having the double acting. Could be wrong tho ‍♂

Suspension depends on spec, if you have no front linkage, generally they wont have "advanced suspension" (double acting suspension), that applies to all models, as soon as you put front linkage on them then you get advanced suspension, or it can be specced separately if thats what you want.

 

[Wreckit Ralf]

We thought the 4220 is quite a heavy tractor when we looked at one, even physical size it felt very big, plus 220hp is way more hp than we need. A 4160 is ideal power wise for us, but underpowered for the tractor.
I'm hoping they eventually do a smaller Fastrac for the farms and contractors that really like the 4000 series but just don't need that size or weight of a machine. Even a 4cylinder without the vario transmission would be a perfect machine for these parts

 

[Foxcover]

The biggest problem with the 4220 is the vario box.. at say climbing a hill well loaded you are at 20k, you will be about 50% hydrostatic input. That really saps the power, nothing wrong with the sisu.. it’s a beast on pto work, running most kit in eco no bother. My pals case cvx has 3 or 4 mechanical shifts between the vario and eats the 4220 on hills. I think the zf box would have been a better choice for a road oriented tractor. The higher final drive ratio on the 4220 over a 724 will kill it a bit more too, as if both are doing the same forward speed the 42 will be running more hydro and therefore more power losses. The lack of a powershift into the low ratio is really stupid and dangerous as the tractor can stop driving completely on steep hills with a decent load. You have to stop to engage low box with cars behind you then stop again for high! The vario works great for field work like baling, mowing and most jobs, no clutches wearing on direction changes. Unlike the zf. The ride comfort is fantastic and roading handling is good but a little more wandering with the 70 profile tyres over the 65’s. You really need the wider tyres tho as I don’t care what anybody says, they will struggle sooner in bad conditions. Wheel diameter is critical for maximum traction, especially if the back end is heavily loaded. So far our 42 has done well tho, just have to accept it’s a bit slow on the hills.

I’d say it’s the CVT box that makes it so much better than the old Fastracs and has rejuvenated sales.

 

[Speedstar]

I’d say it’s the CVT box that makes it so much better than the old Fastracs and has rejuvenated sales.

The gearbox in the fastrac is very poor compaired to a fendt

 

[Andrew]

Wheel diameter is critical for maximum traction, especially if the back end is heavily loaded. So far our 42 has done well tho, just have to accept it’s a bit slow on the hills.

If the backend is heavily loaded you need the front heavily loaded. Fastracs are designed for 50/50 weight distribution, not 70/30 like a normal tractor.