WITHIN the short space of two years, Case released two outstanding series of tractors in both the high and medium horsepower classes – the Magnum and Maxxum respectively. This week we’ll look at some of the key similarities and differences between these two ranges.
Manfactured in Neus, Germany, the Maxxum was newly designed from the ground up and replaced the dated International 856, 956, and 1056 tractors and offered the operator the power for heavy implements twinned with the versatility and manoeuvrability around the yard.
Assembled at the Racine plant in Wisconsin, the heavyweight Case IH Magnum was the first new joint venture between the merged Case and International Harvester companies and built upon the existing International Harvester 5200 tractors.
Both tractors employ Cummins engines in 5.9l and 8.3l guise, the latter capable of churning out huge power and torque figures.
While the Magnum uses a 18F/4R powershift transmission, a new level of technology was introduced on the Maxxum, which was more sophisticated than their larger Magnum siblings.
Two choices of transmissions were available – standard linkage-operated Synchroshift, and PowerShift with an electronic shifting function.
The 16F/12R Powershift has four gears, with four ranges operated by a thumb shifter on the gearstick. The Maxxum was fitted with both 540rpm and 1000rpm PTO speeds as standard while the 540rpm was an optional extra on the bigger Magnums.
Interestingly, transmissions on early tractors in both line ups were flawed – the Magnum was initially only fitted with two reverse gears, which was upgraded to four while early Maxxums did not have a neutral position on the shuttle, the oversight soon remedied by Case.
The exterior styling on both tractors is very similar, with both sharing an almost identical forward hinging bonnet. At a glance, cab design is also similar. However, the Maxxum boasts two doors to the Magnums single entry point. Few similarities are shared by the control consoles in the tractors, but both have excellent levels of visibility.
Both models received the ‘Pro’ optional upgrade late in the series which offered more power and refinement.
Coincidently, Case replaced the tractors in both the Maxxum and the Magnum line-up in 1997, but retained the range name. Almost 35 years after their initial launch, the Maxxum and Magnum name are synonymous with Case IH tractors.
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