Hyundai's new HX series — which the company had been showing at international trade shows for a year and are now available in the U.S. — ranges in horsepower from 186 to 336 and operating weights of 52,260 to 92,240 pounds.
In the video above, we take a walkaround tour of the largest in the series, the HX400. It boasts 336 horsepower and an operating weight of 92,240 pounds. The other new excavators Hyundai is launching in the U.S. are the HX230, HX260, HX300 and HX360.
All five excavators come with fully electric-hydraulic controls for smoother operation and a 22% boost in productivity, according to Hyundai. The new system avoids the hydraulic loss that can occur with pilot controls and increases precision, the company says.
The DX08 and HX05 Hyundai engines for the excavators now offer a nearly 10% improvement in fuel efficiency compared to previous models. Replacement intervals for engine oil, engine filters and fuel filters have been boosted from 500 to 1,000 hours when using CK-4 oil, and coolant replacement intervals have jumped from 2,000 to 6,000 hours.
The majority of HX series service points are accessible at ground level, and higher points can be reached with a new side-access structure.
Contractors will be moving more dirt with standard, larger-capacity buckets, and durability has been upgraded through an increase of the booms' box sizes and an updated arm design, the company says. The updated HX series also received strengthened upper and lower structures for improved resistance to external shocks and operations under heavy load.
Joe Hodges, product manager for excavators at Hyundai, says other upgraded areas of the HX Series include better heat treatment on the tracks, increased dimensions on the H-linkage, larger bucket cylinders and auto grease standard from the factory.
00:00:00:02 - 00:00:09:08
Joe Hodges
These are the new series. Hyundai Excavators this is the 400. It's about a 92,000 pound machine.
00:00:09:10 - 00:00:15:06
Jordanne Waldschmidt
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00:00:15:07 - 00:00:43:07
Joe Hodges
Hi, I'm Joe Hodges, I'm the excavator product manager for Hyundai North America. We've seen a bunch of big upgrades from our previous generation, everything from increased plating on our lower frame. We have better tempering, better heat treatment, improvements to the track chain to reduce the wear on your where components. We've seen improvements to the bosses, increased dimensions on the H linkage, and even larger bucket cylinders, all in the name of more productivity.
00:00:43:07 - 00:01:25:28
Joe Hodges
With a bigger standard bucket. We have auto grease standard from the factory, improved upper structure, basically with a new modern design. The side access has been moved over for easier daily service in maintenance access. The power plant for the machine is now the new series Hyundai engines, so you have the 087. five liter. These machines hydraulics have been upgraded to the new F, so electric over hydraulic, which enables better fuel economy where you're only producing the power demanded by the operator, and easy upgrade ability to aftermarket 3D systems like Trimble or Top Con, where you're working with major contract sites and infrastructure.
00:01:26:03 - 00:01:52:26
Joe Hodges
This machine comes with a technology option, so it has four different applications. You have 2D machine control from the factory. You have boundary, which limits the reach or the height or the depth that you're digging. So if you have obstacles like an overpass or you have a known depth and then you have lift assist, which takes your lifting chart and puts it into a easy to digest, easy to understand visual representation.
00:01:52:26 - 00:02:25:08
Joe Hodges
And then you have a payload weighing system so easily keeps track of how many trucks you've loaded, at what capacity. With all the technology being added, the ideal targeted customer for like a full package would be a higher end contractor, somebody who's working with different infrastructures that have certain requirements for maybe a 2D or 3D grade system. And having those autos enables you to put a more junior operator in the seat and still end up with the same finished product.
00:02:25:11 - 00:02:28:24
Jordanne Waldschmidt
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