Well, I ended up looking at a variety of other comparable mowers to my Toro G3 X-Master and realized that I love cut, durability and power of my mower, just not the ride. So I just purchased a ZTR Puffer in a dire attempt at keeping my mower, which I have tricked out over the past five years to suite my needs, and not having to endure the buying / selling / monthly payment routine on a new one. If this doesn't work, I'm out $60 bucks for shipping both ways and I'll surrender to the concept of buying a new one. For those in a similar situation, I'll post a review in the weeks ahead.
This is just a follow up to me mounting and testing a Puffer seat on my Toro Z-Master (74925). The seat arrived promptly and installation was easy. I think the overall time to install was less than 30 minutes.
I immediately noticed how higher I sat on the machine. I knew it would increase ride height 3 inches, but this felt far higher. And I mean like awkwardly high. I have the Toro handles adjusted all the way up and at full speed the handles would hit the back of my thighs. I tested it on different inflation levels, different terrain and at different speed. The ride did improve but only slightly over the older Milsco suspension seat I previously had installed. As the Puffer compressed to absorb shock the seat frame seemed to stroke forward. I won't say it wants to throw you forward, but it is a forward and down motion. This forward movement feels different than a typical suspension seat.
Overall, factoring the awkward ride height and not substantially improving the ride over my current suspension seat on my machine, I sent it back. ET Air Ride was great to work with and promptly refunded my money minus a shipping cost of $30.
Admittedly I think I was trying to do something that just isn't going to be accomplished with how my ZTR is built. It's rough, and always will be rough. The Puffer may work for many applications, but not mine. For me it's on to a different mower, perhaps a Ferris, in the spring.
