Hustler SuperZ vs John Deere Z series

[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by jl8806

Gmlc, what mowers do you run? You may have said I prob just over looked it
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I don't mean to speak for him, but I'm not sure he's still online, so I'll answer that. He runs a Gravely 452 Z and a Scag WB.

[GMLC]

Originally Posted by jl8806

Gmlc, what mowers do you run? You may have said I prob just over looked it
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I run Scag and Gravely. The Velocity and X-Factor decks are very similar to the 7-Iron. My Scag is a 52" hydro walkbehind and my Gravely is a 452 ZTR.
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[Ridin' Green]

Originally Posted by jl8806

I guess iv just got in a bad habit of thinking everything pretty much has to be double cut because of our Dixie choppers, they have been great but there way out of date now days, the newest one we have is a 07 model and it's been tore up for 2 years with both trannys out and engine trouble, kinda hard to justify putting the money into it to fix it. But with our mowers to get a good stripe it has to be gone over at least twice and same goes for a good clean cut with no piling up... Back to that video I'm assuming the deere may not have been the new R? I believe the video but I didn't think the deere would be that far behind with only 3mph difference. Thanks again for all the replies guys
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No, that video is old like I said. I believe it was a first year 900. Def not the R model, which is no different than what I run outside of the seat and flex forks. I have to wonder if it was "detuned" myself since it is so far behind. Regardless, like we've been saying, don't get caught up in a rediuclous video. It proves less than nothing in reality. Who knows how each machine was operated or set up.

[GMLC]

What I thought was odd about that vid was the Hustler took off quick but near the end the others were making up ground quick? To many unknown variables to take the video seriously.
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[jl8806]

Yea guess I was reading a little to much into it lol... What about the deere on hills and ditches? The hustler would set on hills pretty good, our Dixie's are ok as long as your just going up a hill but you can't stop and turn on a hill or go off of one like I could with the hustler, I'll probably keep the Dixie's in the ditches to keep from being so hard on my new mower but I do need it on hills...
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[Ridin' Green]

The Deere holds hills as good as any Z made today.

[weeze]

don't worry about speed. top speed on mine is 10.5mph. i've yet to cut at that speed on any lawn i cut. the fastest i've got it up to is about 9mph and that is only possible if you are cutting on a smooth wide open area and the grass hasn't grown very much. most of the time you are cutting at 8mph or even less. the deere holds hills great.

[mtmower]

I've had a couple of SZs and now have a Gravely 460. After getting the 460 I took my GPS and checked them both on a black top road after adjusting the tire PSI, engine RPMs, and steering stops. What I found was my recent SZ was doing just under 14 mph (not 15 mph) and with adjustments I got it to a strong 14.2. The 460 was about 12.5 mph and I was able to get a strong 13 plus out of it. Keep in mind the tire diameter is slightly off due to new rubber on the 460 and 1100 hr., pretty well shot tires on the SZ. All in all the SZ is faster which is fun and somewhat usable but not the end all deciding factor IMO.

I would consider what options you're installing on them. Even though my 460 has an amazing seat system on it and more compact due to a smaller foot print, the overall ride is stiffer/rougher than my SZ which has a lesser suspension seat, pneumatic front tires, and flex forks. So in my case I can operate the SZ at a higher rate of speed under rougher conditions. I average a cutting speed of around 10 mph in the wide open. If you can get a mower that cuts 2 mph slower but has a QOC good enough to do it in one pass so you're not having to double cut, it's a no brainer. Long story longer, if you not getting the suspension or suspension seat, speed is less usable.

This spring I'm going to see if I can install the flex forks off my SZ onto my 460 and see what happens!

[weeze]

i wouldn't even buy a mower without a suspension seat or platform of some type. any suspension at all is better than nothing. even residential mowers have suspension springs under the seats.

[jl8806]

What options do I have for striping kits on the R deeres, iv heard they don't stripe very good so I would want something if that is the case...
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