hitch height vs gear

i do some occasional pulling with a 730 john deere. max hitch height around here is 20". with my draw bar at the 20" max i can only go 2nd gear with out running out of power, but i always spin out. always have had the bar in as far as i can get it and the front end gets light so i dont see any advantage to lengthening the bar.

so i have been wondering if i were to turn my bar over to the down side which would probably put me in the 15 to 16" range would i be able to run 3rd gear and lug the engine down more and with the increased speed get me farther? it is roughly a 1 mph jump from 2nd to 3rd.

depending on the speed limit of the class i may have to hold the throttle back in 3rd till i get lugged down or am spinning enough to slow me down below limit.

dirt track, transfer sled. 7500 and 8500 farm stock classes. some times 8500 and 9500 when i use my 720 diesel but have the same issue

let me know if anyone has tried such an idea or if you think its a bad plan.

there is a pull tomorrow sunday the 17th in Preston MN that i am thinking about going to and thought i would bounce the thought off some more experienced pullers so i have an idea weather to try it or not.

thanks

Good thinking,however in my opinion,4-5 inch drop is ALOT!!!!!!!When I pull Div 2 it is a n 18 inch hitch height,makes a lot of difference,but third gear will torque you out very easily,so maybe a big drop will work.Chain length and track toughness plays a big role.Raining here,so most likely no pull this day.You must have a slow range tranny.

yes it is the slow range, 2nd is 2.something and 3rd is 3.something. i have used a straight bar and ran out of power in 3rd and that would be around 17" i think. i guess i need to double check what heights i can make, its been a half a year since iv'e done anything with it. i have a factory straight bar and a factory bent bar and a bolt on setup that adds 1"-2" to what ever i already have depending on if i use a 1" spacer.

I think lowering the hitch heighth and lengthening drawbar is going to hurt you. I try to keep drawbar 18" in length from center of rear axle and right a the heighth limit according to the rules. If you lower it I think you wont get as much traction. Any of the 730's I was ever around was that they were too heavy, especially in the front. Can you put any more weight on the front?

3rd should work well,with adjusting height to fit a tracks condition,that takes time and passion to learn.On a good clay track with moisture around here,20 inch height and second gear at under three mph would be perfect in the weights ranges you pull.

that's kinda what i was thinking. iv taken 1st place in 8500 on a good tight track with the straight bar and first gear against 3020s and 4020s and others of the likes, took a while to get to the other end but that was fine with me.

i don't plan on lengthening it and agree that would hurt me. i do run with 100 to 300 lbs up front on the 720 depending on conditions but when i say they are light up front i mean that the wheels are just light enough that they wont steer, which is perfect, not that it is 2 feet in the air.

Your not gonna go anywhere in 3rd gear unless you are in mud. 2nd gear. What tires are you running?

15.5 38 field and roads at about 30% on the 730 and 15.5 38 traction torques at about 65%

Always have the hitch at the max legal height. Work everything else around that. You want the weight on the drawbar and the drive wheels instead of the weight on the pan.

(quoted from post at 14:05:37 05/19/15)
Always have the hitch at the max legal height. Work everything else around that. You want the weight on the drawbar and the drive wheels instead of the weight on the pan.

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Agreed. Lowering the hitch height is as good as taking weight off the tractor and adding more on the sled.

I wish everyone pulling against me would lower their hitch about 5 inches.