Sell Me a Vario 😀

[Niteforce]

We have a fendt 720 and it’s a pleasure to drive. Just have to remember to change down into lower range when entering a field.
I’ve been told the new case / new Holland varios will have a 4 speed box instead of a 3 speed currently.Never driven one so can’t comment if better or worse.

 

[z.man]

Like the vario for the small square baler the ability to increase speed at limitless increments really ups output. It’s also really good for heavy pto work set the revs to 1000 and the tractor will keep it there all day up hill or down dale just speeds up and slows down depending on engine load, don’t think I’ve ever stalled one, and the fact it stops still when you pull the handle back is good for safety let’s you tip toe round tricky bits not “riding” the clutch

 

[Muddyroads]

Best of both worlds in the massey then... SISU+FENDT VARIO win win win

The 300 series Fendt are Sisu engines without the 2 stage box. Only issue is 43k top speed rather than 50k, but how often are you really going to need that in a tractor under 140hp?

 

[Wreckit Ralf]

Whats the diffrence in JD's autopower, compared with New Holland Auto Command? Heard Autopower is a far simpler, easy to use vario.

 

[bigrigg150]

13 ton digger on the lowloader, pull up to a junction on a hill....stop...set off again with out even moving your feet.........no big gear change, no clutch riding..........you wont set any speed records but all nice and smooth.

 

[KB6930]

Whats the diffrence in JD's autopower, compared with New Holland Auto Command? Heard Autopower is a far simpler, easy to use vario.

Difficult to explain 100% but JD is more like driving a conventional gearbox tractor but with the ability to vari your speed. Where the new Holland it's a vario so less driver input

 

[KB6930]

13 ton digger on the lowloader, pull up to a junction on a hill....stop...set off again with out even moving your feet.........no big gear change, no clutch riding..........you wont set any speed records but all nice and smooth.

When we got our first autopower there was nowt in it on the road between it and a power quad box 30 series JD. Nowadays I'm not so sure . I always think the vario maybe slows down a bit quicker but usually is back to top speed quicker once you start to get away again over the top of a hil as it's just working away up to speed rather than having to wait to get into the next gear

 

[mf7480]

Difficult to explain 100% but JD is more like driving a conventional gearbox tractor but with the ability to vari your speed. Where the new Holland it's a vario so less driver input

We’ve justhad our first autopower and I’m sure I can feel it pulse through a few gears when you start from standstill. Is that normal?

 

[bigrigg150]

ive only used fendt vario. never used jd autopower. Did try some sort of case vario thing but didnt think much of that.

 

[KB6930]

We’ve justhad our first autopower and I’m sure I can feel it pulse through a few gears when you start from standstill. Is that normal?

On a 30 series you can feel a range change maybe 2 I can't remember but I never noticed it on the R

 

[KB6930]

Tried a couple of fendt over the years and found them pretty lackluster on the road and not much better in field. First one was an old shape 820 and my 6930 was better next one was a 722 and I thought the same no get up and go or staying power in them compared to JD.

Fastrac pretty much the same ot goes well in field but seems like the fendt gearbox is holding it back on the road

 

[Farma Parma]

New Holland auto command is way ahead of the power shift version. I've had both on demo in a t7.250 and the vario will run rings round the power command.

We've 3 JD's with autopower and the fastrac with vario and they're just so much nicer to drive than a power shift . You can get just the right speed for what you want slow right down with no jerking for rough bits of field etc etc the list of good things just goes on and on for me .

Thats a brill sum up, until non cvt drivers get one to try they would never know.

 

[Farma Parma]

The 300 series Fendt are Sisu engines without the 2 stage box. Only issue is 43k top speed rather than 50k, but how often are you really going to need that in a tractor under 140hp?

that must be the 3pot SISU in them is it? couldnt even name a farm that operates anything less than a 415 fendt & id say most around is the 700 series probs 75% sold up here

 

[KB6930]

Thats a brill sum up, until non cvt drivers get one to try they would never know.

Round baleing is my perfect example I can be doing 2 bales a minute and a gearbox your up and down 4 or 5 gears per bale it's a lot of jumping around at PTO speed the vario is very smooth in comparison

 

[bartdereu]

I drive two Fendt vario's and they are awesome. I have been driving a NH cvt too and as stated here before the whine extremely in comparisation
to the fendt vario. It's not perfect, because you have the 1/2 manual gear shift but overall it's a rock solid device (if handled properly)

 

[PSQ]

Anecdotally the CNH Autopower /CVX is a more reliable transmission than the NH PowerCommand 19 speed box (£23k +VAT to replace with a factory re-CON unit ).

From driving point of view they're both good boxes (T7030 PC and Puma 240CVX here) but the CVX is far better for field work at optimum forward speed and RPM. Snow ploughing with a 4'6" Vee is a doddle with the CVX, 1500rpm and always at the right speed for the job with the slightest move of the joystick.

 

[Frankzy]

Whats the diffrence in JD's autopower, compared with New Holland Auto Command? Heard Autopower is a far simpler, easy to use vario.

From an ease of use point of view, the JD Autopwr (non command pro stick) is the simplest to jump on and drive..

I strongly disagree with that statement, I've driven all the main brand CVTs and the JD setup is easily the hardest one to get used to.
It's mainly due to the facts that there is no pedal mode, when going at high speed you can't just bring the stick all the way back down to engine brake but rather you have to slowly retard it, and for some gods forsaken reason the damn thing won't even stop when the drive stick is at the bottom so every time you want it to stop you have to get at the shuttle!

Most trucks have the option of a fully automatic gearbox now anyway. CVT is less efficient because you have two drivetrains- a mechanical one and a hydrostatic one which mesh. Trucks have torque converters I understand, mostly for fuel efficiency and ease of use. Less need for slow speed work where the engine revs need to be independent of travel speed.

Automatic gearboxes in trucks doesn't have a torque converter nowadays, they are actually bog standard unsynchronised(!) crash boxes (but saying that they did start out in the 80s as torque converters that is true). Pretty soon though Volvo Trucks realised that when you have a computer doing the shifting you always get perfect shifts which means you can go all the way back to the bygone era of unsynchronised gearboxes and have the computer perfectly speed match engine and transmission for perfectly smooth gearshifts.

 

[Half Pipe]

We have a fendt 720 and it’s a pleasure to drive. Just have to remember to change down into lower range when entering a field.
I’ve been told the new case / new Holland varios will have a 4 speed box instead of a 3 speed currently.Never driven one so can’t comment if better or worse.

Fairly sure CNH don't have a 3 speed Vario, swb t7/ puma down have 2 ranges, lwb have 4 ranges.
They all have 3 user set speed modes, maybe this will be increased to 4

 

[bartdereu]

As far as i know all NH cvt's have a 4 speed gearbox with power shuttle and a hydraulic unit for the speed between the shift ranges.

 

[Finn farmer]

Only happens in winter, it’s obviously a thing set by Fendt software. I can put the oil temp on the screen and the moment it reaches 10 degrees I can change range. The solution is to buy a 1050 and have no range change

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Case won't let you go over 10km/h on cold days. But that's probably for the best and keeps the Cvx alive longer.