Anyone tried the Forterra HSX 2013 edition ?

[Renze]

I know our dealer sold one in the town i was born, but havent seen one in real life yet.

First things i picked up from other new owners: I hear they still defy laws of physics by blowing hot air down, with no HVAC nozzles at floor level: A dry mouth from the heat at head level, and still cold feet.

Just one nozzle aimed at the operators feet would be enough. the hose could run behind the switch panel on the right hand cab pillar, it doesnt need to be large in diameter because you dont notice the air velocity either by wind blowing on skin, or by swirl noise. You just have to push enough heat to there, if you can get it at the feet, you can get it anywhere because the heat naturally rises up.

How is the ride with a dumptrailer and an 800kg front 3pt weight ? How well did they fine tune the natural frequencies of the seat suspension and the cab suspension, does the seat suspension react on the cab suspension ? (in a Profi test a year or two ago, they found that the most comfortable tractor was equipped with a cheap basic seat: for example the Fendt importer put an expensive full option Grammer seat in the test tractor, but because the active dampening system wasnt compatible with the amplitudes the cab suspension gave to it, the comfort was actually quite poor)

A thing i personally find a disgrace for the entire tractor are the control levers for the hydraulic remote outlets: To operate the levers you need to set force from your elbow to push the lever. The levers on the Proxima can be pushed by setting force from both the elbow and the shoulder joint, where the direction of movement is linear, pushing the lever away from the center of the operator, which is much, much more ergonomical and causes less fatigue.

 

[carrick]

Bought one, but it still in dealer as I have not had time to prepare my trade in , and plan is to complete current contract before exchange. Never needed anything like 800 kg wearing my front tyres before, so do not plan to use it now.
Shuttle is smooth, seat is standard Grammer Air. Cab a lot brighter, though right hand steps are boxed in by tank.

 

[Renze]

At first, congratulations on your new purchase

Today they are very busy with first cut between the rain, so silage trailers everywhere. Even a reasonably heavy Fendt 820 is using a big front 3pt weight when there is a 20t silage trailer behind (fully loaded means 15 ton of grass silage) even though they wouldnt need it for traction untill maize season. They buy light tractors because it should save fuel , but 90% of these modern tractors on a silage or dumptrailer are carrying a front 3pt weight all day

Anyways, those external spool levers, i would disassemble them, put them in a workbench clamp and beat them straight up, so you can actually push the levers in a horizontal movement, instead of a vertical... No big deal to change, but i cant see why the guys in the factory dont do this, as it is a remark in virtually any tractor test...

Anyways, do you have experience with the Proxima Power ? Does the HSX shuttle give a different feel than the early Prox ?

 

[carrick]

No experience on any of the smaller range accept a testdrive in the power prior to ordering. I would say the proxy gives better pedal control, the hsx feels like the pedal is a switch, like the button on the stick. If you want gradual clutch release, you must use the steering colum lever. Hope the engagement and torque improve standing starts, as I see despite the extra gear, they have not reduced first ratio.
I am not looking forward to learning new gear pattern, as I still have a 9540 to confuse me??
I agree on externals lever, but if you rest your hand on the bank nd use your fingers to control levers at base, it gives better control with less stress.
Thanks on congrats.

 

[Renze]

The Prox also jerks when you engage the hand shuttle lever while your foot is pushing the clutch down a wee bit. I spent a day rolling a silage pit with it, and you should stick to the shuttle lever and the foot brake to assist at the end of the heap. You can hear when the forward clutch engages, so then you should release the brake again.

startoff torque is greatly improved, both the absolute value, as the transient response due to the 16V head and the waste gate turbo, versus e.g. the 11441 which was a dog.
when you release the clutch (or shuttle lever) the turbo has a second to build up pressure before its fully engaged. on the 11441 the turbo didnt do anything untill 1400rpm, which lead to clutch replacement before 3000hrs on all three that were sold near me.

I agree on the gear pattern being a challenge, it took quite some time for me to dream the inversed 2nd and 3rd on the 5245 (it had the optional fast reverse speed, running on the 3rd speed gearwheel instead of the 2nd)
And even now on the 5718 i sometimes grab in thin air between my legs, where the 5245 has its gearlever. On the 5245 i sometimes tried to shuttle on the left had beside the chair, where our C-385A had the gearlever 15 years ago...

You DO get used to it, but it does make you scratch the back of your head sometimes

 

[carrick]

Well impressed so far. Think 1st gear must have lower ratio, start off is great in comparrison to 12445. Lots of pulling power, smooth gear change, display takes guess work out of many opperations, ride is good, though was delivered with 30 psi in front wheels?? now 18psi. Lock is amazing, reminds me of a Ford 6600 I once had!
Only dissapointment is the PTO button on outer wing only enguages the shaft whilst you press the button, release it and the shaft stops. What is the purpose of this???
All round I am impressed, well done Zetor .

 

[Renze]

18 PSI (1.25 bar) is a bit soft for road transport, you'll wear them quickly because the deflection of the tire on the road surface causes extra friction and rubber wear.

Does yours have the optional flexible mudguard mounts, for extra steering angle ? It should have the same turning radius than an old UR3 with that option, despite the long wheelbase of a 90's compact six cylinder...

 

[carrick]

All Good, no teething problems.
Has anyone heard of problems with the clutch packs on the proxima range.

Dealer tells me that is the reason a warning sound is given each time you slip the clutch, or rest your foot on the pedal above 1200 rpm. The computer recorded 36 such incidents during the first 100 hours, such use of clutch could invalidate warranty.
This is going to be a problem in the future I believe. Some tasks may be impossible with out slipping the clutch ( hedge cutting, using front mounted stone fork whilst cultivating, balling etc.)
Is this a design fault by Zetor . Other brands are not subject to this restriction I think.