Hustler Super Z 104"

[puppypaws]

Originally Posted by a clear difference lawn

Funny how I got blasted on this site a year ago for saying I could cut dry grass at 11 mph and now the guru says that a hustler will cut at 16 mph! I get it that you are the "know all" genius on this site but i am going to have to call you on that one. No way is a 72" going to cut grass around here in the dead of summer at 16mph. I hope all the Florida guys back me up on this. Quite frankly, I rarely see anyone cutting thick St. Augustine at over 10mph around here and we want to get done just as much as evryone else in the country. It is just too much grass to handle at that speed - and still look good. When the bahia gets thick - it is even worse. I said in my original post that if you mulch you would have to slow down anyway. There are a lot of really open communities around here were I think this mower could work well. Obviously a 72" would do the job too. But remember - if you are cutting grass at 40mph you must be side dischrging so you will have a lot more blowing to do vs mulching.

What I gave was only an example and is all relative, if you need to slow down a certain percentage to do a satisfactory job with a 72" deck, you must also slow down (possibly more) to do an equal job with a 104" deck. There is not enough hp offered with the 104 to keep it at full rpm while mowing grass with any moisture or thickness, much less mulch with any speed relative to productivity. To mulch with an 8.67" deck and do a reasonable job, you will need a 45+ hp engine, you need a strong 40+ hp to side discharge and maintain relative rpm's.

Toro calculates 5.5 to 6 diesel hp per foot of deck width on their wide area mowers.

I run a 35 hp Kawasaki on a 72" Super Z, and believe me it needs every hp in average cutting. So for a person to believe Hustler is offering enough engine hp to adequately pull a deck that is over 2.5' wider is ridiculous.

The 38 hp Kohler is no stronger than the 35 Kawasaki, it is relative to each companies standard of hp rating, and Kawasaki's rating method is much more accurate than that of Kohler's.

[Realslowww]

Originally Posted by a clear difference lawn

Funny how I got blasted on this site a year ago for saying I could cut dry grass at 11 mph and now the guru says that a hustler will cut at 16 mph! I get it that you are the "know all" genius on this site but i am going to have to call you on that one. No way is a 72" going to cut grass around here in the dead of summer at 16mph. I hope all the Florida guys back me up on this. Quite frankly, I rarely see anyone cutting thick St. Augustine at over 10mph around here and we want to get done just as much as evryone else in the country. It is just too much grass to handle at that speed - and still look good. When the bahia gets thick - it is even worse. I said in my original post that if you mulch you would have to slow down anyway. There are a lot of really open communities around here were I think this mower could work well. Obviously a 72" would do the job too. But remember - if you are cutting grass at 40mph you must be side dischrging so you will have a lot more blowing to do vs mulching.

The area I am in in northern FL you can mow at 15 with a Super, Services doing big areas are finding out 2 Super's 72 models can be much more cost effective and faster than their 15FT Bat Wing setup's.

If you just are mowing to knock down and the grass is not to thick 15 is no problem but in southern FL no way,northern FL is way easier.

[Realslowww]

Originally Posted by puppypaws

What I gave was only an example and is all relative, if you need to slow down a certain percentage to do a satisfactory job with a 72" deck, you must also slow down (possibly more) to do an equal job with a 104" deck. There is not enough hp offered with the 104 to keep it at full rpm while mowing grass with any moisture or thickness, much less mulch with any speed relative to productivity. To mulch with an 8.67" deck and do a reasonable job, you will need a 45+ hp engine, you need a strong 40+ hp to side discharge and maintain relative rpm's.

Toro calculates 5.5 to 6 diesel hp per foot of deck width on their wide area mowers.

I run a 35 hp Kawasaki on a 72" Super Z, and believe me it needs every hp in average cutting. So for a person to believe Hustler is offering enough engine hp to adequately pull a deck that is over 2.5' wider is ridiculous.

The 38 hp Kohler is no stronger than the 35 Kawasaki, it is relative to each companies standard of hp rating, and Kawasaki's rating method is much more accurate than that of Kohler's so mounting it on the older Super should be a good fit.

The high compression Generac is supposed to be 10 percent more powerful than a 37 Kaw and it is about the same compact size as a 30 HP Kohler.

[Realslowww]

Originally Posted by puppypaws

What I gave was only an example and is all relative, if you need to slow down a certain percentage to do a satisfactory job with a 72" deck, you must also slow down (possibly more) to do an equal job with a 104" deck. There is not enough hp offered with the 104 to keep it at full rpm while mowing grass with any moisture or thickness, much less mulch with any speed relative to productivity. To mulch with an 8.67" deck and do a reasonable job, you will need a 45+ hp engine, you need a strong 40+ hp to side discharge and maintain relative rpm's.

Toro calculates 5.5 to 6 diesel hp per foot of deck width on their wide area mowers.

I run a 35 hp Kawasaki on a 72" Super Z, and believe me it needs every hp in average cutting. So for a person to believe Hustler is offering enough engine hp to adequately pull a deck that is over 2.5' wider is ridiculous.

The 38 hp Kohler is no stronger than the 35 Kawasaki, it is relative to each companies standard of hp rating, and Kawasaki's rating method is much more accurate than that of Kohler's.

The high compression Generac is supposed to be 10 percent more powerful than a 37 Kaw and it is about the same compact size as a 30 HP Kohler so it should fit nice on the older Super.

[puppypaws]

Originally Posted by Realslowww

The high compression Generac is supposed to be 10 percent more powerful than a 37 Kaw and it is about the same compact size as a 30 HP Kohler so it should fit nice on the older Super.

I've run both and the Generac because of reacting more quickly to changing conditions due to the responsiveness of its E-Governor, definitely feels more powerful. I put a mower with a Cat 28 hp diesel in tall thick grass, beside a 33 hp Generac powered mower, and the Cat diesel in comparison performed like a 20 hp engine. You could stall the Cat, where the Generac never changed sounds, I honestly could not believe the difference, and I was watching both perform.

[Realslowww]

Originally Posted by puppypaws

I've run both and the Generac because of reacting more quickly to changing conditions due to the responsiveness of its E-Governor, definitely feels more powerful. I put a mower with a Cat 28 hp diesel in tall thick grass, beside a 33 hp Generac powered mower, and the Cat diesel in comparison performed like a 20 hp engine. You could stall the Cat, where the Generac never changed sounds, I honestly could not believe the difference, and I was watching both perform.

The problem with the Gen is no EFI but I hear they are testing it. The High Compression model is supposed to be 10% more powerful than the standard version but you have to run 93. They claim it makes more HP through added torque and not RPM so that is great.

I hear the 28 Cat is a turd.

[Richard Martin]

Originally Posted by gene gls

Didn't he sell the rights to Dixi Chopper..........They were advertizing his combination at one time.

Dixie had (past tense) the rights to build their own version. It was much more robust than the one that Brad sold. They may still have the rights but I haven't seen a Flex-Deck mounted to any Dixie except the one they used to demo with.

[johnnybravo8802]

Originally Posted by puppypaws

Large flat areas where speed can be utilized at 80% efficiency (20% loss due to turn around time) a mower such as this "104" which has an 8.67' cut while traveling at its top rated speed of 11 mph will cut 9.25 acres per hr., whereas the new Super Z HyperDrive cutting at a width of 6', but running a top speed of 16 mph (and yes it will cut grass at that speed) will cut 9.31 acres per hr.

This tells you that one 72" Super Z (due to speed) is capable of cutting as much as this 104" mower. Most people do not realize speed makes this type difference. The 72" Super Z is also much more maneuverable than the 104", which also add additional productivity to the equation.

I have to agree with you on this one Puppy...from first hand experience. I mow a 30 acre industrial plant with some really wide open areas but also has areas by the retention ponds with rows of trees. We tried out a Lastec 100' mower in 08', thinking one man on a big mower vs 3 men on 72"s and found out that a WAM can only be utilized if their are very few objects to mow around. The problem is, where do you have areas like that....not in the real world. The extra size of a WAM and slower speed makes these mowers slugs when it comes to maneuvering. My Scag 61" ran circles around the 100"-in fact, the rep was so embarrassed, he accused me of turning up my mower. I also agree with the extra speed of the Hustler. I rented a Hustler Super Z a few times and it ran circles around my TT, on this same property. The extra speed makes a big difference when you have acres and acres of grass to mow. The key is to keep the blades sharp. The speed makes such a difference, I'd really consider a Hustler in the future. I even ran a cheetah and didn't find it near as fast or responsive as the Hustler. The speed, optional suspension seat, and flex forks make the Hustler untouchable in my opinion.

[puppypaws]

Originally Posted by johnnybravo8802

I have to agree with you on this one Puppy...from first hand experience. I mow a 30 acre industrial plant with some really wide open areas but also has areas by the retention ponds with rows of trees. We tried out a Lastec 100' mower in 08', thinking one man on a big mower vs 3 men on 72"s and found out that a WAM can only be utilized if their are very few objects to mow around. The problem is, where do you have areas like that....not in the real world. The extra size of a WAM and slower speed makes these mowers slugs when it comes to maneuvering. My Scag 61" ran circles around the 100"-in fact, the rep was so embarrassed, he accused me of turning up my mower. I also agree with the extra speed of the Hustler. I rented a Hustler Super Z a few times and it ran circles around my TT, on this same property. The extra speed makes a big difference when you have acres and acres of grass to mow. The key is to keep the blades sharp. The speed makes such a difference, I'd really consider a Hustler in the future. I even ran a cheetah and didn't find it near as fast or responsive as the Hustler. The speed, optional suspension seat, and flex forks make the Hustler untouchable in my opinion.

The new 72" Super Z I bought; of which I had flex forks installed before it was delivered rides a little better than my old Super Z with flex forks and the flex seat base added to the suspension seat. The difference is the wheel base being longer and just enough additional weight to help the flex forks react a little easier.

This is also with the flat-free tires on the bigger machine, which as we both know; tires with low air pressure absorbs a great deal of shock. I honestly thought the flat-free tires would give me a ride problem, but the only thing I've noticed is when it sits overnight there is a flat spot that must be rolled out. These flat spots move out of the tires amazingly fast compared to what I would have thought, meaning it has not been a concern so far.

I've had some argument (from one) that the additional weight should make the ride more rough, and this is not true, the additional weight removes many of the smaller jolts associated with slightly rough terrain. I tried to explain to him there was terrain you could cross on a D-9 Caterpillar and never feel any roughness due to its weight, but if you crossed the same area with a lower weight rubber tire machine it may beat you to death. I don't think he ever believed what I was trying to get across, but that's what makes the world go round, different people, with different opinions.

[Mowingman]

I kind of wonder about why Hustler is making this type of mower again in the first place. Years ago, Hustler reinvented themselves by canning the whole line of mowers they had with these big decks, and coming out with a new series midmounts. Now, they are back to trying to build these wing-type mowers.
I guess they did not learn their lesson the first time around. Hustler already has way too many models. Why bring out a mower that wil have very limited demand, and one where JD and Toro already "own" the market?
Someone at Hustler is on an ego trip. Reminds me of some of the foolish and costly mistakes Dixie Chopper has made over the years.