Cheetah Suspension or Tiger Cat II Seat?

So I've narrowed it down to the Tiger Cat II or the Cheetah. I'm leaning heavily toward the TCII but there's one question that's still nagging me. How about that suspension on the Cheetah? I'll be mowing a minimum of 5 acres weekly, and the areas that aren't rough are REALLY rough. I've heard the Cheetah suspension is great for fast mowing on washboard lawns. My lawn is closer to a lunar surface in many places so I'll be going a little more slowly and I've gathered that the seat on the TCII might actually be better for that application.

There's no way I'm considering anything but the TCII or the Cheetah. I've wittled my selection down for too long to back up. Anybody care to weigh in on those seats? Thanks

Sweats said:

So I've narrowed it down to the Tiger Cat II or the Cheetah. I'm leaning heavily toward the TCII but there's one question that's still nagging me. How about that suspension on the Cheetah? I'll be mowing a minimum of 5 acres weekly, and the areas that aren't rough are REALLY rough. I've heard the Cheetah suspension is great for fast mowing on washboard lawns. My lawn is closer to a lunar surface in many places so I'll be going a little more slowly and I've gathered that the seat on the TCII might actually be better for that application.

There's no way I'm considering anything but the TCII or the Cheetah. I've wittled my selection down for too long to back up. Anybody care to weigh in on those seats? Thanks

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I just bought a Turf Tiger II which I believe has the same seat suspension as the Tiger Cat II — and I have a country yard. It's not a "lawn." The yard is probably between 4-5 acres. I've only mowed with the TT once because I just bought it and it has been raining, but I learned a lot in that one mowing. 1) I love the seat suspension. LOVE! My old mower had no suspension and I think it was shaking my fillings loose. 2) I need to develop some touch and new muscle memory because I used to spend most of my time mowing with the handles all the way forward. That Turf Tiger is too darn fast for that. There are places where the speed will be great, but there is a lot of my property where I simply can't mow fast due to rocks, stumps, ditches, trees and even a 15 foot cliff. I think the TCII is rated at 12mph, same as the TTII. I think the Cheetah does 16mph which would be scary at my place.

The good news is your're choosing between a Cheetah and a Tiger Cat. That bad news is...well, there is no bad news. Good luck.

My Cheetah 61V is 3 years old but only has a little over 100 hours. I am a home owner who mows 3 acres and don't want to spend a lot of time doing it. I have some rough places and I slow down. Mainly cause I don't like to hear the deck bounce.

Although I have some long smooth straight areas, I have never mowed in high range. So all my mowing has been at 8 mph or less. Choosing the Cheetah for the 16mph would be important only if I was driving to get fuel or mowing other yards in the area. Otherwise 8mph seems plenty fast for me. When I hit the rough areas, I tend to lean forward and take my back away from the seat backrest. That seems to help.

I think the Cheetah has the longer wheel base so it should be more suited to a better ride. But it also can take up more room on a trailer and may be a negative for hauling. The seat and suspension are suppose to be among the best in the business. My neighbor has a Turf Tiger and his seat is nice too.

I have not had any issues with the Cheetah/Kawasaki unit. If I were buying again, I would get another Cheetah. I think it is the best if your not running it all day long. The Turf Tiger driveshafts would be a plus if the mower ran all day.

My neighbor and I were talking this week, our only regret with our Scags is, we wish we would have bought them years ago and not wasted our time on hardware store mowers.

Cheetah 48" & 52" deck size models have the single speed ZT3400 hydrostatic drives with a top speed of 10.5 MPH.
Cheetah 61" & 72" deck size models have the two speed ZT5400 hydrostatic drives with a top speed of 16 MPH.
This is why the Cheetah models have the type of adjustable suspension system that they have. The entire seat and foot plate are suspended.
Tiger Cat II models have an adjustable suspension seat, all models have the same pump and wheel motor drive system with a top speed of 12 MPH.
I replaced the stock non suspension seat on my Tiger Cub with a suspension seat similar to the seat on Tiger Cat IIs. Nice seat, with many different adjustments.
I mow rocky, rooty, hilly lawns and very seldom do I get over 7 MPH, most of the time slower.
If you are able to demo both machines you will be able to make a better informed decision as to which machine would better suit you in your specific situation.
In my area there are many Scag machines, I see newer Turf Tigers and Cheetahs in recent years, some operators have two newer units on their trailers, many with collection systems installed. I have a collection system on my Tiger Cub and use it about 90% of my mowing time. Last fall I collected around 2,200 bushels of grass/leaves. I also have a JRCO 46" spring tine de-thatcher that I use on my Tiger Cub for spring and fall cleanup, and this combo makes for one super functional machine.
If I were to replace my Tiger Cub, I would go with a Tiger Cat II, but this is only my personal preference as I have yet to operate a Cheetah.

Well that didn't take long. I'd already been following Mac0822's thread about buying a Tiger Cat II. Then I started this thread, largely in an effort to eliminate the final contender to my own Tiger Cat II purchase (the Cheetah). Got some great feedback, then saw jekjr's thread "Turf Tiger II vs Tiger Cat" and saw his view and some valid counterpoint from a TTII owner. While I really like the many reviews and comments I've read on the Turf Tiger II, I just can't go that far out of my budget. And although I can't first-hand compare the two as jekjr did (the budget thing sort of makes it moot) the TTII vs TCII thread pushed me over the edge. Of all things, it made me realize just how many times I've seen those two models compared without the Cheetah entering the discussion. Now, I'm sure the Cheetah is a great machine and I'm just as sure that more owners are plenty satisfied than not. But, it seems it goes in a different direction than either the TTII or the TCII (not to mention I have to type out the entire name every time I mention it). Seriously, I'm thinking it's it looks like I just need to get the Cheetah out of my head and go get the TCII. Incidentally, my wife beat me to this decision days ago. She'll be pleased.

So the Tiger Cat II was delivered this afternoon. I'd upload a pic but lack the expertise. Now I'd better go start justifying this purchase.

Beautiful mower Sweats.

I did my first full mow with my new mower last night and it was a pleasure. The seat suspension made a huge difference in how I felt afterward. In fact, with my old mower I used to have an odd visual sensation, after mowing, that everything was moving away from me. I suppose the constant vibration or shocks to my spine caused that. I also used to be pretty tired afterward. I didn't feel any of that with the TT.

Also, my 3-hour mow took only 1 hour and 45 minutes!

On the steepest hill I mow, my old 19 hp mower would struggle getting to the top. The Scag flew up it like it was flat ground. To say I am thrilled with my new Scag would be an understatement.