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Hustler Super Z - problems with model

88K views 238 replies 13 participants last post by  Mike_LS 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi, just wanted to start a thread about Hustler SuperZ mowers. I recently bought one of these after having ten years in the industry... I have been extremely disappointed by the product - would definitely not recommend it for a quality product.
The main problems are:
extremely rough ride which makes the deck bounce like mad, in this case then the cut is not smooth as when the deck slams down it creates scalping and crop circles - not a good look when you are trying to provide professional lawn cutting. Have had the mechanics re-set the deck, replace forks, etc. Terrible ride - wouldn't recommend it to anyone looking for something decent that will produce a quality job. Apparently this is not just my model either, this is just how all of them are. I plan to put up a video on youtube to get the word out there as I feel they are selling something that doesn't live up to the quality they are selling it at.

Second problem is that due to the forward and back jerking you are left with nausea and whiplash feelings even after a couple of hours use. :dizzy:
In turn, you can't use it for its fast speed as there is no way you would cope going over fairly smooth terrain with all the bouncing and jerking!

I have been to the ends of the earth in trying to get this problem resolved as I would have not thought spending quality money on a commercial mower like this to expect to be buy such junk.
I don't what other people out there think, but it certainly doesn't ride like a thoroughbred as it says in its adverts.
Stay clear - choose another brand over this one and you won't be disappointed! :nono:
 
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#2 ·
Did you get my text msg? All I can suggest is slowing down. I know it defeats the purpose of a fast mower.

Maybe add some weight to the deck. Another thought is getting some shorter and or weaker springs. The deck itself if heavy as so it has to be spring tension issue.

You'll have to let me know how the discharge goes when the grass is thickens up and some damp. Im sure youve seen my posts and pics on here already.

I look forward to the vid.
 
#3 ·
Hey Mickhippy, Yes i agree with regards to the spring tension, I told the dealer the springs had to be wrong but they maintain that they are the correct springs. If I end up having to keep the mower I will put some smaller springs on there for sure and that will likely help the problem a lot if not entirely. However at this point I cant continue using the mower until the rough jerkyness is dramitically improved, maybe my lawns are a lot worse than the normal however im comparing from other brand mowers i have owned and used in the past and have never experienced this.

With the grass clumping issue, my other zero turn a dixon, it had a similar issue whereby the grass flap was laying too low so the grass would hit the flap and be deflected straight onto the lawn in a trail, rather than dispersing out evenly. So I resorted to always having the flap lifted up, which isnt safe and made even more dusty than normal but had to do to get and even dispersion of clippings. I guess you have tried this already though? sorry havnt looked through your post as yet, was javing trouble registering yest, but managed to get signed up tonight. will have a look.
 
#4 ·
I see your post now, the problem is with the deck flap as u suggest, so hopefully hustler will listen and redesign!

Maybe in the mean time you could try raising the flap just slightly, to prevent 100 % of the grass hitting the flap but still low enough so it doesnt become dangerous. I drilled a neat hole and put through a bolt with an eye hook on one end, with large washers to prevent tearing the flat from the hole. then hook a rubber or ocky strap through the eye hole and use this to raise it slightly, or a rope which owuldnt have any flex in it.
 
#5 ·
All this is interesting,I talked with a guy around 3 months ago who bought a new super 60 37 and he said the same thing. He claimed the new hydro system was way to touchy and the mower rode like a tank. Puppy say's his 72 is great with the flex forks.

I demoed one lightly today for 5 minutes and I noticed the demo had flex forks on it and that tells me maybe the new chasses is over built and needs some flex? My 72 XR7 model rides grest stock and I noticed today a stiffness about the mower chasses but with the flex forks it seemed ok but I did not like the bounce of the front end.

When you run at high speeds over rough ground a little flex in the chasses makes a machine much more compliant,just not a mower any machine.

So when I see a demo Super with flex forks that tells me they may be trying to hide a problem with the ride? the mower is built great but it may be over built.

Honda found this out in 1997 when they redesigned the CR 250 and made the chasses to stiff for moto X. World champion Jeremy Mcgrawth told Honda to stick it up the butt and he immediately signed with Suzuki because of it.

It is not your imagination at all,if a machine is to stiff when you are going at a good clip it will beat the crap out of you. 15 MPH is a good clip!

Maybe air tires in front?

I am real interested in this because I am interested in one,all dealers who sell these along with multiple other brands say it is on paper the best quality designed Z ever but they are not using them on a daily basis.
 
#6 ·
I agree that the chassis is stiffer than last design. Floor pan/footrest is further out by a few inches there by making the caster arms shorter. Seems that way anyway. I haven't measured it.
I bet it's a rough ride without the flex forks!

That said, I'm sure there are other machines out there with stiffer designs. Look at the Scags for example.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#9 ·
All this is interesting,I talked with a guy around 3 months ago who bought a new super 60 37 and he said the same thing. He claimed the new hydro system was way to touchy and the mower rode like a tank. Puppy say's his 72 is great with the flex forks.

I demoed one lightly today for 5 minutes and I noticed the demo had flex forks on it and that tells me maybe the new chasses is over built and needs some flex? My 72 XR7 model rides grest stock and I noticed today a stiffness about the mower chasses but with the flex forks it seemed ok but I did not like the bounce of the front end.

When you run at high speeds over rough ground a little flex in the chasses makes a machine much more compliant,just not a mower any machine.

So when I see a demo Super with flex forks that tells me they may be trying to hide a problem with the ride? the mower is built great but it may be over built.

Honda found this out in 1997 when they redesigned the CR 250 and made the chasses to stiff for moto X. World champion Jeremy Mcgrawth told Honda to stick it up the butt and he immediately signed with Suzuki because of it.

It is not your imagination at all,if a machine is to stiff when you are going at a good clip it will beat the crap out of you. 15 MPH is a good clip!

Maybe air tires in front?

I am real interested in this because I am interested in one,all dealers who sell these along with multiple other brands say it is on paper the best quality designed Z ever but they are not using them on a daily basis.
This is reassuring to hear that there are some others, even if they are far and few between, who have felt the bad ride im getting.

Very good point, that these dealers arent using the mowers daily and yet they claim to know everything about how well they ride and cut and everything else. My opinion of the mower has been formed by mowing for 700hrs on zero turns, then getting on this super Z and cutting most of the same lawns i did those 700hrs on and all of a sudden am experiencing nausea which I have never had before from a zero turn. As well as a rough cut, high spots and scalping from the deck raising off the turf & banging back down.

Im not sure if they have ever claimed that this machine is capable of cutting grass well at 15mph but i have tried this on smooth lawns and its not a suitable cut, lots of glass blades and stringy weeds left behind.
 
#11 ·
I agree that the chassis is stiffer than last design. Floor pan/footrest is further out by a few inches there by making the caster arms shorter. Seems that way anyway. I haven't measured it.
I bet it's a rough ride without the flex forks!

That said, I'm sure there are other machines out there with stiffer designs. Look at the Scags for example.
Posted via Mobile Device
I had a Scag, nice mower but rode like a tank at 10 MPH. Making a mower that can cut and ride good at 15 MPH is no easy task. Like I stated, when I go to a dealer and do a demo and it has flex forks on it that is not a good sign.

Added weight always screws handling up,specially at high speeds.In something that moves fast weight is your enemy period. Just look at a semi.

Have people tried pneumatic front tired?
 
#12 · (Edited)
Scag was the other mower I was tossing up on, it was between scag and hustler, chose hustler as it seemed to be the strongest of the two and offered the 37 hp.

Do you recal whether the scag was rough at slower speeds? say 5 MPH. This hustler is rough at all speeds, in fact if you go slow enough you can actually feel the bumps even more than going a little quicker you skip over them a little better. I have put 15hrs on the mower so far and havent been able to find a speed or particular style of mowing which is not overly rough. Im sure if I go 1-3 kph I would not feel the bumps but this is un-realistic for cutting 3-4, 5 acre blocks per day.

pneaumatic tires may be worth a try, they may soak up the uneven terrain before sending the shock through the chassis. But i dont want to throw any money at it, if the dealer are prepared to do this that would be ok, the mechanic tried a set of standard non flex forks on it and didnt think there was a noticable difference in the ride. I would have liked to try myself. But really I dont have time to be sourcing the parts etc needed for this, Its coming into busy season and I just want to get on with work and making money out of the $18000 investment.
 
#13 ·
Ok, watched the vids and heres a couple of points...
That yard is super rutted. Just because a machine can travel/mow at X speed doesnt mean you can do it at that speed. You have to work to the conditions!

Dont ever sit with your back up against the seat back unless its super smooth. The rocking motion of the machine gets transferred into the body. Commonly know as "back slap." I miss the flex seat for precisely that problem!
The part of the vid with your miss's jumping out of the seat was a classic!

The hydros on the SZ are really strong and sensitive. Trying to get up to speed quickly, especially over ruts will for sure make the front end light and or jump. Looked like ( as your going over the ruts,) its making you push/pull the levers. Basically, you know where the rough spots are, slow down over those areas. I have one property in particular that I can go flat out but near the end of the run there is a deep rut caused by a ute. I know I need to slow down or Id get thrown out of the seat!

The deck bounce looks like a problem but I wonder if the springs have been tensioned off enough. Could even try taking them off completely but it will make the deck pretty damned heavy. That said, deck bounce is caused by rough ground and trying to go faster than you should. Youve gone from a much smaller, way less powerful and much slower machine onto arguably the most hard core machine out the. Theres going to be a learning curve! The wheel base of the SZ is different to what your used to and you need to take that into account. The wheels are going to find high/low spots you didnt feel before.
I agree that the deck can be light and bounce but Id rather have that than my knee getting screwed up more, caused by 2 previous model SZ's with cr@p leverage on a heavy deck.

How long have you been mowing that property? I bet if you mowed it on a 30 or 45 degree angle the ride would be sweet or at least MUCH better! Give it a try! You wouldnt be hitting those ruts square on and thats whats causing you most of the problem!

Im just trying to be straight up with you mate. At the end of the day, going off those vids, I dont think its the machine. I think you need to adjust your methods or fill the ruts. Like I said, just because the mower can go 15mph, doesnt mean you can mow at those speeds.
 
#14 ·
Hey Mick, thanks for your input.

I agree it could look quite terrible that lawn, but the reality is this mower does the same thing on all my lawns at some point, off coarse it will only do it where there are bumps and when there are bumps it does this. I have tried mowing at slow speeds, tried mowing without my back against the back rest, I still get the same thing. I have been mowing on that particular lawn for over 2 yrs now and tried different angles on it but due to the undulations if I mow in any other direction it scalps the lawn fromt he different direction.

Its not specific to the hydros either as I think I have mentioned before that I have tried riing over bumps without my hands on the levers and it makes no difference, I have also tried with just my fingers on levers but doesnt change the ride. So if its the hyrdos influencing the jerkyness, then its not due to my hands... I have had a mower in the past that was jerky on concrete from hyrdos so i know all about that.

I must stress to you, I am not cutting at 15MPH I never do!! On this lawn I would be cutting at less than half speed most of the time, but as I say the jerkynes is there at all speeds!
 
#15 ·
I could always cut with my back against the backrest with my previous zero turns. in saying that i have tried cutting without my back against the seat rest, but the mower still moves in the same fashion and the movement is still transferred through my body from my ass up.

I have spent 15 hours cutting with this machine, the more hours I spend on it the rougher it feels and the worse its getting.

The videos are a little dramatic, which was deliberate so i could make sure its showing up for film, but seriously i have tried everything on all different lawns & I am only getting more and more re-assured that the mower is not right.
 
#16 ·
Mickhippy, when your riding over the rough terrain, do you feel the forward to back motion in your upper body? without your back against back rest. Or are you only feeling up and down movement over the ruts?

With the idea of removing the springs from the deck, I have thought of this and would like to try it if its not a big job to remove them, I havnt had a good look at it but is it a matter of just removing the tensioner nuts and then sliding the springs off? I will have a look tomorrow at that.
 
#17 ·
Scag was the other mower I was tossing up on, it was between scag and hustler, chose hustler as it seemed to be the strongest of the two and offered the 37 hp.

Do you recal whether the scag was rough at slower speeds? say 5 MPH. This hustler is rough at all speeds, in fact if you go slow enough you can actually feel the bumps even more than going a little quicker you skip over them a little better. I have put 15hrs on the mower so far and havent been able to find a speed or particular style of mowing which is not overly rough. Im sure if I go 1-3 kph I would not feel the bumps but this is un-realistic for cutting 3-4, 5 acre blocks per day.

pneaumatic tires may be worth a try, they may soak up the uneven terrain before sending the shock through the chassis. But i dont want to throw any money at it, if the dealer are prepared to do this that would be ok, the mechanic tried a set of standard non flex forks on it and didnt think there was a noticable difference in the ride. I would have liked to try myself. But really I dont have time to be sourcing the parts etc needed for this, Its coming into busy season and I just want to get on with work and making money out of the $18000 investment.
The Scag TT is a rough riding mower,the Scag Cheetah is supposed to ride like a Caddy as well as the new Gravely are supposed to ride better than the old Super Z. Here in FL where I am my Super stock you can just give it the sticks and it is plush.

Have you tried lower tire pressure ? for sure try to find some air tires just to try,it only takes 10 minutes or less to swap. You may need flex forks.

You should try and work with the mower,every dealer has told me as far as quality it is in a class by itself and hustler really is good about warranty work.

What other z's have you owned?
 
#18 ·
Ok, watched the vids and heres a couple of points...
That yard is super rutted. Just because a machine can travel/mow at X speed doesnt mean you can do it at that speed. You have to work to the conditions!

Dont ever sit with your back up against the seat back unless its super smooth. The rocking motion of the machine gets transferred into the body. Commonly know as "back slap." I miss the flex seat for precisely that problem!
The part of the vid with your miss's jumping out of the seat was a classic!

The hydros on the SZ are really strong and sensitive. Trying to get up to speed quickly, especially over ruts will for sure make the front end light and or jump. Looked like ( as your going over the ruts,) its making you push/pull the levers. Basically, you know where the rough spots are, slow down over those areas. I have one property in particular that I can go flat out but near the end of the run there is a deep rut caused by a ute. I know I need to slow down or Id get thrown out of the seat!

The deck bounce looks like a problem but I wonder if the springs have been tensioned off enough. Could even try taking them off completely but it will make the deck pretty damned heavy. That said, deck bounce is caused by rough ground and trying to go faster than you should. Youve gone from a much smaller, way less powerful and much slower machine onto arguably the most hard core machine out the. Theres going to be a learning curve! The wheel base of the SZ is different to what your used to and you need to take that into account. The wheels are going to find high/low spots you didnt feel before.
I agree that the deck can be light and bounce but Id rather have that than my knee getting screwed up more, caused by 2 previous model SZ's with cr@p leverage on a heavy deck.

How long have you been mowing that property? I bet if you mowed it on a 30 or 45 degree angle the ride would be sweet or at least MUCH better! Give it a try! You wouldnt be hitting those ruts square on and thats whats causing you most of the problem!

Im just trying to be straight up with you mate. At the end of the day, going off those vids, I dont think its the machine. I think you need to adjust your methods or fill the ruts. Like I said, just because the mower can go 15mph, doesnt mean you can mow at those speeds.
Did you get you cutting issues sorted out?
 
#20 ·
Hmm so the scag tt is also rough, the cheetah was the model I was considering. Starting to sound like all larger sized machines are rough? I have not used machines larger than 52" before, those machines have all been like driving in a car in comparison to the super Z. I have owned a 2005 dixon and a 2010 dixon, also used a ferris non-suspension, john deere zero turn, the ferris was 61" cut and quite good, only had the up and down movement, no front to back jerking.

I have put tires down to 8 psi in rear, didnt help at all unfortunately.

I would only be losing out by trying to sell this hustler and going for another machine, but at the end of the day it may be necessary for health issues. I cant understand why im the only one with such an issue, my lawns must all have a lot of rough sections compared to others, but in saying that im comparing it all from 4 yrs and 700hrs of zero turn mowing.

The hustler suits me perfectly with the strength, the power, but problem lies with the apparent speed. The biggest reason for me upgrading was to increase my productivity, however the rough ride of this machine has forced me to use it quite slow, therefor I am not getting through lawns any quicker than my old small machine.
 
#21 ·
Good video's, thanks. Those are typical NH lawns. When people on LS say they mow above 10-12 mph I always think the lawns have to be smoother than ours.

I would suggest demoing the new Gravely 400 series with air seat and rubber isolated platforms. In my opinion its the best riding machine in the industry and the only reason I can go 10 mph+ in NH. You wont be disapointed.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#24 ·
Hmm so the scag tt is also rough, the cheetah was the model I was considering. Starting to sound like all larger sized machines are rough? I have not used machines larger than 52" before, those machines have all been like driving in a car in comparison to the super Z. I have owned a 2005 dixon and a 2010 dixon, also used a ferris non-suspension, john deere zero turn, the ferris was 61" cut and quite good, only had the up and down movement, no front to back jerking.

I have put tires down to 8 psi in rear, didnt help at all unfortunately.

I would only be losing out by trying to sell this hustler and going for another machine, but at the end of the day it may be necessary for health issues. I cant understand why im the only one with such an issue, my lawns must all have a lot of rough sections compared to others, but in saying that im comparing it all from 4 yrs and 700hrs of zero turn mowing.

The hustler suits me perfectly with the strength, the power, but problem lies with the apparent speed. The biggest reason for me upgrading was to increase my productivity, however the rough ride of this machine has forced me to use it quite slow, therefor I am not getting through lawns any quicker than my old small machine.
No I have heard the new Super rides bad stock, As stated the 400 series Gravely or Cheetah, my Supers are 15 MPH nice ride stock in most all conditions here. The old super in it's day was considered by most the best ride at the time without getting into suspension.

A lighter z will always be more nible and agile,weight is your enemy overall.
 
#25 ·


without back on back rest
My friend, your problem is coming from a washboard property in this video, believe me this is not rocket science, anyone looking (as Mick did) at the mowers movement knows this property is extremely rough. The washboard affect would not come into play as much if the peaks and valleys were not so close together. Mow up and down (parallel) to the ridges your mower is bouncing across, and it will be totally different. When you watch the mower and see that the flex forks do not have time to activate properly because of the high and low places being so close together. This means no ztr will ride good in that scenario, a fully independent suspension such as the one Ferris uses will by far give the best ride in a situation of that type, but nothing will be great.

Go into my post and find where I used a new IS3100 Ferris and compared it against my Super Z with the flex forks and flex seat. You will see where I talked about the washboard affect, such as you have in the video, and how the fully independent Ferris suspension does make a difference in this type situation.

I own and operate a new 35/72 Super Z, and have one area I could make the mower do the same as yours in the video, so what that means to me is I know I must slow down for the mower and flex forks to operate as designed.

I honestly can't believe you have not figured this out, and yes, I run both my Super Z mowers at full stick the largest majority of the time I'm cutting grass, but there are places such as in this video where I must slow down.
 
#26 ·
Mickhippy, when your riding over the rough terrain, do you feel the forward to back motion in your upper body? without your back against back rest. Or are you only feeling up and down movement over the ruts?

With the idea of removing the springs from the deck, I have thought of this and would like to try it if its not a big job to remove them, I havnt had a good look at it but is it a matter of just removing the tensioner nuts and then sliding the springs off? I will have a look tomorrow at that.
Only time I have issues with movement is on this lawn... You can tell by the camera shake how rough this place is and Im going very slowly. Millions of ant nests!
I can rarely sit back in the chair on any lawn. Maybe Ive just learnt how to move with the motion!!! lol

Try adjusting the back rest for more angle away from your back.

Im not really sure whats involved with taking the springs off. I personally wouldnt do it. Id adjust what ever I could before going down that road and theres a reason for them. That said, I would assume taking them off would be a real pain. No doubt it would mess up the deck level etc so is something I would get the dealer to look at. Levelling an SZ deck is no fun at all!
 
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