Tractors are running smoothly again in Koster at the Mushlendow Feedlot after Jaco Dippenaar, the owner of Footprint Performance, improved the performance of these tractors.

Sometimes a farmer buys a new implement thinking his tractor has enough power, only to find out later that it cannot handle the implement.

In the tractor world, you pay per kilowatt, and buying a new tractor to match your implement could cost you the price of a farm.

This is where Jaco and Footprint Performance can make your life much easier for only a small fraction of what a new tractor would cost you.

What is Footprint Performance?

Footprint Performance specializes in optimizing your tractor in terms of power delivery as well as exhaust gas management decoupling. The company can help you extract more power from your tractor and save costs on exhaust gas management.

The company was founded in 2013 when Jaco decided to import car tuning parts.

“We quickly realized that the market was becoming saturated, and then we started researching where we could take this technology. We found there was a gap in the agricultural vehicle market,” says Jaco.

Their research proved that it is possible to make these adjustments to tractors due to the way the tractors are manufactured in a series.

The engines are compatible, and the adjustments do not negatively affect your tractor.

But how does it work?

The first step is for Jaco to make a copy of your tractor’s software. After that, he makes adjustments to the software and conducts tests to see if the adjustments work correctly.

“We also check what extra power we can add, and most of the time, we also do a coupling on the exhaust system, which shows you whether the combustion is good and if the tractor is running optimally,” explains Jaco.

Cost savings with Footprint Performance

Footprint Performance’s optimization offers you several benefits, including, and perhaps most importantly, lower fuel consumption.

“Many farmers naturally want better fuel consumption because it is probably one of the biggest input costs of any farming operation.”

The second saving comes from not having to buy a new tractor.

Jaco mentions that you can also save costs by decoupling the exhaust gas management systems (for example EGR, DPF, and AdBlue) of your tractor by modifying the software.

He believes: “In Africa, diesel is often very dirty, and sometimes these types of things can cause a tractor to break down in the field. Some farmers are not always near dealers to get parts when these exhaust gas management systems break.”

In this case, Footprint Performance can provide peace of mind by removing these systems from your tractor.

This includes removing the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system, which feeds exhaust gases back into the engine. This causes soot from the gases to settle inside the engine, which is harmful to it.

They can also remove the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) that sits inside the exhaust system. The DPF can become clogged over time, leading to a loss of power in your tractor.

Jaco explains that the last obstacle nowadays occurs with Tier 5 engines.

This is the addition of AdBlue, which is a diesel exhaust fluid that mixes with the exhaust gases, and it is expensive. Additionally, parts can also break if the dirty diesel clogs it.

Jaco Dippenaar with one of Mushlendow Feedlot’s Massey Ferguson tractors that he has optimised.

Which tractors can be optimised?

Jaco says they can work on any tractor with a common rail injection system. This means any engine that is digitally controlled and does not use a mechanical pump to inject fuel.

Seeing is believing

For farmers, seeing is often believing, so you can e-mail Jaco directly at info@footprintperformance.co.za or visit their website at www.footprintperformance.co.za.