Re: john deere class 9?
I'm still wondering about this class size. No one seems to able to tell me what "class" actually is. Is this a regulated standard? If so who's in charge? I don't disagree some machines are more productive than others but maybe we need to measure productivity. Why talk class size if the designation is unregulated and undefined, what weight does this classification hold? From what I can tell all manufacturers go up a class size when they release a machine that has more HP than the previous model (ie. CR9070 ("class 8") to CR9080 ("class 9")). So why does a 9860 ("class 8") not go up a class when they added HP to it (9870)? Was the 9860 only a class 7, is the 9870 now a class 8?
And if class size is only a reflection of HP shouldn't the weight of the machine, and how efficiently that machine uses the HP also be part of the equation (given that an inefficient, heavy machine would require more HP just to propel it in the field). HP doesn't neccesarily reflect productivity. Older conventional machine could have all the HP in the world but were still limited by walker loss in many situations.
I would love for someone to shed some light on this issue. Currently class size seems to be nothing more than a clever marketing spin that doesn't accuretly reflect true machine productivity between manufacturers. How can anyone possibly use this to measure a machines capability?