Want to make a fast lawn mower tractor.
- Thread starter Jonas94
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Carscw
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I have a ford 9 inch rear end that I had made to make a go kart for drag racing. I will build a tube frame and put a craftsman body on it then let my dumb brother inlaw test drive it. Won't really be a mower but will look like one. This might be faster than my go kart with the Honda 750 on it
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Hey, this is what you need to do 
How to: Lock a Trans-axle or Differential Video
How to: Lock a Trans-axle or Differential - YouTube
How to: Lock a Trans-axle or Differential Video
How to: Lock a Trans-axle or Differential - YouTube
And what happen to your neighbour?
I built a racing mower a few years ago.
To go fast all it takes is about 15 minutes and a smaller pulley with appropriate shaft diameter on the transaxle.
You can get them off the shelf at Tractor Supply Store.
I couldn't say not to do it enough though.
It will be fun for about 10 minutes,then you will realize that not being able to stop at such speeds scares the hell out of you-and I was on flat pavement.
Mower's have NO brakes,the small disc on them is to slow and stop it for shift/gear change and that's it-they aren't made to stop a mower at even top speed stock.
After about 5ft you will have zero control,because the front end is too loose.
Even brand new,they are loose because they are designed for low speed.
One thing that is cool and horrible at the same time is you will almost instantly be near top speed when you take off,there is almost no lag between stopped and ludicrous speed.
IF I were to do it again,I would do the brakes FIRST-Then the suspension/steering THEN start dropping pully size's.
You don't need to alter the governor at all,hp isn't what is making it slow. It's a function of gearing,which is easily overcome with a pully swap and smaller tires.
By the time you NEED more hp,or raise RPM for higher top speed then you'll understand plenty about racing mowers.
For now,leave it alone and fix the gearing issue with the pulley's.
It only took an 8hp tecumseh about 5m to make me realize power isn't the issue,it's keeping it to the ground.
I couldn't imagine a pulley swap on my 26hp mower,it has left black marks on my concrete just taking off in 6th!
And that was factory stock and 24hp before motor swap.
To go fast all it takes is about 15 minutes and a smaller pulley with appropriate shaft diameter on the transaxle.
You can get them off the shelf at Tractor Supply Store.
I couldn't say not to do it enough though.
It will be fun for about 10 minutes,then you will realize that not being able to stop at such speeds scares the hell out of you-and I was on flat pavement.
Mower's have NO brakes,the small disc on them is to slow and stop it for shift/gear change and that's it-they aren't made to stop a mower at even top speed stock.
After about 5ft you will have zero control,because the front end is too loose.
Even brand new,they are loose because they are designed for low speed.
One thing that is cool and horrible at the same time is you will almost instantly be near top speed when you take off,there is almost no lag between stopped and ludicrous speed.
IF I were to do it again,I would do the brakes FIRST-Then the suspension/steering THEN start dropping pully size's.
You don't need to alter the governor at all,hp isn't what is making it slow. It's a function of gearing,which is easily overcome with a pully swap and smaller tires.
By the time you NEED more hp,or raise RPM for higher top speed then you'll understand plenty about racing mowers.
For now,leave it alone and fix the gearing issue with the pulley's.
It only took an 8hp tecumseh about 5m to make me realize power isn't the issue,it's keeping it to the ground.
I couldn't imagine a pulley swap on my 26hp mower,it has left black marks on my concrete just taking off in 6th!
And that was factory stock and 24hp before motor swap.
You sure about that?
thirdroc17
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To lower the mowers center of gravity for a somewhat more stable ride, yes.
Depends what your after really.
Shorter=quicker,taller=faster
Shorter tires will effectively raise the overall ratio,allowing for quicker acceleration.
Taller will lower ratio which would give you a higher top speed.
I say smaller mainly because taller will raise your already bad center of gravity.
Assuming brakes/steering were modified,my personal preference would be towards smaller for that reason and I would raise RPM or pulley ratio to attain desired top speed.
Top speed is simply a function of RPM and gear ratio,I was trying to lean him towards safety/acceleration versus top speed to keep him from killing himself.
Admittingly though,acceleration isn't much of an issue on these little things once modded
You caught me
Shorter=quicker,taller=faster
Shorter tires will effectively raise the overall ratio,allowing for quicker acceleration.
Taller will lower ratio which would give you a higher top speed.
I say smaller mainly because taller will raise your already bad center of gravity.
Assuming brakes/steering were modified,my personal preference would be towards smaller for that reason and I would raise RPM or pulley ratio to attain desired top speed.
Top speed is simply a function of RPM and gear ratio,I was trying to lean him towards safety/acceleration versus top speed to keep him from killing himself.
Admittingly though,acceleration isn't much of an issue on these little things once modded
You caught me
Carscw
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Best thing is have front and back pulleys the same size my craftsman is a five speed in third I can play in the mud Fo burn outs wheelies for over 20 feet. In 5th I can still carry the front wheels over 20 feet and top speed is 43 mph. Engine is a very old 14.5 off a old snapper was going to put a Briggs 20hp twin but don't really need or want twice the RPMs.
No brakes at all never had a need for them.
I used a bike brake lever and cable as a gas Pedel
Welded the front end and run go kart wheels with bearings. Only big problem is a belt only last about four hours but saw I clip on how to make a clutch
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No brakes at all never had a need for them.
I used a bike brake lever and cable as a gas Pedel
Welded the front end and run go kart wheels with bearings. Only big problem is a belt only last about four hours but saw I clip on how to make a clutch
Sent from my iPhone using LMF