Remapped Valtra duo improve safety for road users

Gibliston Farming Company’s 2015 Valtra T215 was struggling for power on some of the unforgiving hills and ground farmed in the East Neuk of Fife.

The nature of the business means a lot of road work is required to haul commodities from various rented fields across Fife, and the Valtra’s power shortage was a growing issue. 

Operator Scott Robertson, along with the rest of the farm team, highlighted the limiting output of the Valtra caused cars to overtake in dangerous places due to the slow tractor speed, especially on hills.

Some of the roads around the farm are national speed limit, so cars travel quickly, and the road undulations can make it hard to see.

The business is a mixed beef, sheep and arable enterprise, along with a farm shop, and it chose to explore agricultural remapping to improve the performance of its tractors (Valtra T254 and T215) when hauling loaded 14t grain trailers.

Scott explains the issue: “Before the remaps we would slow to 35kph on the hills, which doesn’t sound like a big drop for 50kph gearboxes, but it felt significant and happened on every load, which soon added up during the season.”

Local Avon Tuning HD authorised agent, Neil MacAllister, who has been performing on-farm remaps to improve performance of agricultural machinery for several years, was enlisted to help.

Neil’s reputation and word of mouth recommendations have grown and the Avon Tuning HD maps, created and supported by a dedicated team in the UK, offer users peace of mind should there be a need for back-up. 

Scott continues: “The difference following the remap on the Valtra T215 is that we can travel consistently at 50kph on the same hills we were slowing down on beforehand. This is safer and more efficient for us and reduces the likelihood of dangerous overtaking from other road users.” 

Scott Robertson says having tractor power in the right place has improved multiple tasks across the farm © Avon Tuning

Field work benefits

The benefits of the remap have been felt in the field, with the tractors no longer struggling to carry out any of the field operations, even on steeper and more challenging ground.

Scott says the hills and changes in soil type and texture were causing a much slower output beforehand.

“We use a Claydon direct drill to establish cereal crops on the farm and even with this we’ve noticed an improvement, but a bigger benefit has been with the heavier tillage and power-demanding implements.

“For example, we settled at 8.5kph using the power harrow combination drill, which the tractor could reliably maintain to cope with the hills.

“More output was available on the flat, but the hills and heavier soil would slow me to this speed,” says Scott.

“Since the remap, we can reliably sit at 12kph with the same tractor and implement, regardless of hills or soil.

“This means our shorter drilling season can be completed quickly and gives us more capacity to drill with the weather windows.”

The drill, and Strautmann forage wagon, can both be run in 540 eco following the remap, which helps to trim fuel costs and cab noise.

Scott says there’s now plenty of torque with the tractor at 1,600rpm and it’s comfortable at this level all day due to having increased output where it’s required.

The farm’s Strautmann forage wagon can operate at 540 eco PTO speed, helping to save fuel use during the season © Avon Tuning

Reliability

Although Scott had some reservations about remapping before adding the map to the tractors, the experience since has more than justified the decision, and the Valtra has offered faultless reliability since the work was carried out.

The Valtra T215 already had a tuning chip added before the farm replaced it with an ECU remap and there’s noticeable differences between the two methods.

“Both provided the power increases we required, but one thing the ECU remap has improved is the continuous power throughout the day.

It allows us to sit at 1,600rpm all day as the power is controlled directly from the ECU.

“I can also drop down a gear and there is plenty of power available should I hit a sticky patch of soil or thicker grass crop.

“It’s providing me with all the power the tractor offers, but in the right place so I can use it,” adds Scott.