When you’re involved in making the whole package, you have more flexibility to be innovative. That’s a big reason Titan tires was able to be so successful in creating its Low Sidewall Technology (LSW) product line.
Since Titan produces both the tire and the wheel, the Goodyear-linked company can get creative in their products. Titan has kept the same overall diameter of conventional sizes that farmers are used to, but they have increased the wheel size. In doing so, they’ve shrunk the sidewall down.
The difference is obvious by looking at it, and there are several benefits to that technique. The biggest one: LSW tires can be run at a lower air pressure, which will reduce soil compaction — and thus increase yields.
“This is the future of Titan; this is where we are headed,” said Titan representative Matt Schweller.
The tires are also more stable (and safer) on the road. The left-to-right wobble on machinery such as a sprayer is gone, and there’s no more road lope (that bouncy feeling on the road where you’re getting shaken around in the cab). Shrinking the sidewall means shrunken recoil being built up in the tire. Also gone is power hop, that feeling of getting pushed forward by the shape of your tire.
“It’s the same technology that you see in the automotive world, we’ve just grabbed that and run with it in the agricultural market,” Schweller said.
The LSW line is being continuously updated — your best bet is to go online for specific sizing info because printed materials are outdated in a hurry. When a farmer buys one of these products, they’re buying both the tire and the wheel, and dealers are equipped to quote a cost of both components.
If you’re skeptical, don’t be. Titan offers a 100-day promise to prove the performance. Unhappy after that time period? Titan will buy them back and pay for the associated labor of getting you the tires you want.
So far, Titan hasn’t had a single person opt to return them.
