Lawn Care Forum banner

Super Z Made New (Pictures)

13K views 35 replies 8 participants last post by  StanWilhite 
#1 ·
2006 Hustler Super Z with newly installed Kohler 28 EFI engine, hydraulic pumps, wheel motors, Michigan Suspension Seat on flex base, blade spindles, electric clutch, wiring, relays, hoses, belts, control panel, and muffler. The deck was leveled and the pitch set at 1/4", any rust spots were prepped, primed and painted.

The mower really looked good before I cut a large area of very dusty grass and leaves with no wind to move the dust away.

I will say this mower starts and runs better than my new Super Z with the 35 carburetored Kawasaki. Fuel injection is by far superior, which people should realize from the vehicles they drive, I doubt seriously anyone would say they prefer a carburetor over fuel injection.

I've seen remarks made about Hustler's HyperDrive Hydraulic System being smoother than the old style hydraulics, since I own both a new HyperDrive System, and now new pumps and wheel motors from the old style system, I can tell you without reservation this is not true. My old mower operates just as smoothly as the new mower, the only difference being is the old hydraulic system is somewhat freer feeling (which my wife likes better), it takes a little more effort to move the steering levers on the HyperDrive system.

I have more blow-out on the new VX4 deck by far, and yes, I know you can drop the skirt down into the "A" hole position to help this, but I've heard others speak of hitting objects and bending the skirt. I try to run fast enough to leave the blow-out behind, but in many places this is impossible, and now with the dry weather and leaves to move, I will use the XR-7 deck which does an excellent job with no blow-out.

I checked the speed and actually picked up 1/2 mph with the new engine, whereas with the new pumps and wheel motors and old engine I had lost the same 1/2 mph. This means the mower is back to its original speed of 13.2 mph.

I would love to hear the theories on how the old engine could not achieve the same speed; even with both engines turning the same rpms (3650)?

I attaching a photo which is not doing the cut justice due to grass being in a very dry state, while also going into dormancy from cold weather. I am moving leaves, and the XR-7 deck is doing an exceptional job of breaking them into smaller pieces and moving them completely out of the cut in one pass.

I am still extremely impressed by the older style XR-7 deck, and the ride with flex forks, flex seat base, and new Michigan Suspension Seat is excellent, even at the 13+ mph top speed, and yes, contrary to popular belief this mower will cut grass at its top speed and do an exceptional job.

I noticed on the Hustler web site they have now lowered their Super Z speed to 14 mph on the Parker wheel motor machine, and raised the speed to 16 mph on the HyperDrive machine I have. How they do this I honestly don't know, I have yet to check, or have anyone else check a Super Z that achieved its advertised top speed. My old mower is at 13.2 mph, and the new HyperDrive machine is at 14.2 mph, these speeds are not checked by GPS (which will get you to within 1/2 mph depending on satellite location), but are checked by distance and time, the same as it done when calculating drag car speed, the most accurate means possible.

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Tread Synthetic rubber


Hood Motor vehicle Car Yellow Automotive design


Hood Car Motor vehicle Vehicle Automotive design


Tire Vehicle Automotive tire Wheel Blue


Sky Plant People in nature Natural landscape Tree
 
See less See more
5
#27 ·
It was on a 72" BB 35hp Diesel. I know he bleeds BB mowers but Ive had my fill of them.
He is carrying Grasshopper now so I'm gonna take a look at those this spring since he is such a great dealer. I mainly went there to get a new Kawi backpack blower. He also carries Redmax handhelds.
Posted via Mobile Device
What is it with BB ?, the price is right.
 
#28 ·
What is it with BB ?, the price is right.
It's probably been deleted, my experience was 3 years ago now.

The problem is all the constant little things. They go through idler arms, pulleys, bearings, belts, etc. It was something every week. We do run machines 5 to 6 days per week 6 to 700 hours per season, occasionally 800. Scag is what I've always run with no issues.

I decided to try a BB as an experiment due to price and Retrodog being such an awesome dealer. I had one of the first Outlaws which had the frame crack on both sides over the wheel motors. It sat at BB factory for a month, and came back with welds on it that looked like the kids at the local FFA fixed. That was enough for me.

Granted Retrodog let me run his demo the whole time my mower was at the factory. He always went above and beyond as a dealer to resolve the frequent issues I had. Now that he carries Grasshopper I will be taking a close look at them next year.
 
#29 ·
It's probably been deleted, my experience was 3 years ago now.

The problem is all the constant little things. They go through idler arms, pulleys, bearings, belts, etc. It was something every week. We do run machines 5 to 6 days per week 6 to 700 hours per season, occasionally 800. Scag is what I've always run with no issues.

I decided to try a BB as an experiment due to price and Retrodog being such an awesome dealer. I had one of the first Outlaws which had the frame crack on both sides over the wheel motors. It sat at BB factory for a month, and came back with welds on it that looked like the kids at the local FFA fixed. That was enough for me.

Granted Retrodog let me run his demo the whole time my mower was at the factory. He always went above and beyond as a dealer to resolve the frequent issues I had. Now that he carries Grasshopper I will be taking a close look at them next year.
I had a Scag TT and it was a great mower but to slow and rode like a tank, the front caster's bent to easy and the deck was not as tough as my XR7 by a long shot but the rest of the mower was a brick chit house besides the drive shaft going out.

I was going to buy a BB but every dealer back in 06 told me not to because their customer and dealer support sucked, your welds are just another long line of complaints I have heard about the professionalism of the company.
 
#30 ·
I had a Scag TT and it was a great mower but to slow and rode like a tank, the front caster's bent to easy and the deck was not as tough as my XR7 by a long shot but the rest of the mower was a brick chit house besides the drive shaft going out.

I was going to buy a BB but every dealer back in 06 told me not to because their customer and dealer support sucked, your welds are just another long line of complaints I have heard about the professionalism of the company.
Yeah there have been plenty of problems with the BB mowers. They do have a lot of good ideas, but they have a long way to go. A little less money on pointless advertising and more on product improvement, customer service, and dealer support would be a good start.

I run the Turf Tigers with Michigan seats and 10 psi in the back tires. They ride fine to me. Also always have run the 35hp Vanguard which will run 12 mph. Plenty fast enough for mowing. I get rid of them around 2000 to 2500 hours, and can still get a decent price for them since they have the highest resale of all ZTR's.
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#31 ·
Yeah there have been plenty of problems with the BB mowers. They do have a lot of good ideas, but they have a long way to go. A little less money on pointless advertising and more on product improvement, customer service, and dealer support would be a good start.

I run the Turf Tigers with Michigan seats and 10 psi in the back tires. They ride fine to me. Also always have run the 35hp Vanguard which will run 12 mph. Plenty fast enough for mowing. I get rid of them around 2000 to 2500 hours, and can still get a decent price for them since they have the highest resale of all ZTR's.
Posted via Mobile Device
Reading this post reminded me of a Scag I saw for sale (on eBay I think) that was regarding over 2K hrs as "low hours". Made me wonder how high the hours would have to be to be regarded as "average or high" hrs? :)
 
#33 ·
As a teenager I was on a crew that maintained a 400 acre campus. I ran TT's with over 5000 hours as well as Kubota's. The mowers were run 10 hours a day 6 days per week. My scag dealer has seen TT's with 7000 hours!!
Posted via Mobile Device
Oh yeah, that happens. In fact my last mower had a 4 cyl International gas engine (C60) in it, and when I sold it (with over 7500 hrs on it) the tractor was running as tho the engine was brand new. It also never leaked or used 1 drop of oil in the 30+ yrs I had it.

I guess I'm just not used to having anyone refer to a Z (with over 2K hrs on it) as having "low hrs". Maybe he's had some good luck in the past and has run mowers with a lot more hrs on them. :)
 
#34 ·
Oh yeah, that happens. In fact my last mower had a 4 cyl International gas engine (C60) in it, and when I sold it (with over 7500 hrs on it) the tractor was running as tho the engine was brand new. It also never leaked or used 1 drop of oil in the 30+ yrs I had it.

I guess I'm just not used to having anyone refer to a Z (with over 2K hrs on it) as having "low hrs". Maybe he's had some good luck in the past and has run mowers with a lot more hrs on them. :)
In the zero-turn mower dictionary, 2000 would not fall in the definition of low hrs.
 
#36 ·
In the zero-turn mower dictionary, 2000 would not fall in the definition of low hrs.
That has always been my way of thinking too.

500hrs or less I would consider lower hours.
2000hrs I would consider the end of life and a money pit for the regular mower guy.

One can keep just about anything going if you throw money at it and can afford down time.

So true!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top