Mighty motor, large cab, but …
A new look and more power are all part of the latest generation of 7R tractors, which is topped off with the 7R 350. This is 40hp up on the previous range-topper, although the motor supplying the grunt is still a 9.0-litre, six-cylinder DPS unit. The engine now benefits from a variable geometry turbo as part of the Stage V updates, yet it's the green-trimmed mirrors over the new boxy-shaped mudguards that make the new model stand out.
385hp — but not when parked
First stop for our steed is the test bench at the DLG. At rated speed, the needle stopped at 198.1kW/265.6hp at the pto, while the max was a modest 221.5kW/297.0hp at 1,700rpm. Compare these statistics to the factory specs of 257.0kW/344.6hp rated power and even 283kW/379.5hp, and you may start to feel a little shortchanged
John Deere limits the pto output of the 7R 330 and 7R 350 to the same level as the 7R 310 when the tractors are doing stationary pto work. This is to help prolong the life of the pto clutch pack, which is not designed to continuously push out all of the power the engine can muster. This nugget of information is more important to users operating wood chippers, pumps or similar. However, as soon as the tractor starts rolling over 0.5km/hr, the software allows all of the power to flow. John Deere was able to trigger the additional power with a
