Ferris Evolution

Does anyone out there know anything about the Ferris Evolution? I own a Toro Z Master commercial, and I don' like how easy it slips on downhills, especially if I attemt to turn. I now learn that it is a common characteristic of zero turns.It also tears up grass,I have light soil thus compounding the problem.I'm looking at a used Evolution, but have not had an oppurtunity to drive it yet. Any thoughts? Thanks, cop

Why are they selling it? Ferris make a very product and have seen the evolution ferris at shows but if it was me I would want to try one before I would buy one.

cop said:

...I own a Toro Z Master commercial, and I don' like how easy it slips on downhills, especially if I attemt to turn. I now learn that it is a common characteristic of zero turns.It also tears up grass,I have light soil ...

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I know you said youæ±*e giving up on the zero turn but can I share a few details that are often over looked with any unit capable of executing a 0 deg turn. Any time you are going to turn the unit on a dime both handles need to be brought to 渡eutral before yanking the unit around. If this is not done the forward momentum of the mower will cause the tires to break free and tear the lawn. This is even truer on an incline. Briefly bringing the unit to rest before spinning it around. Also if you have large tire something like a 23X12X12 you can go down as low as 10 pounds of psi on the tires this will help traction on steeper inclines. I never operated a Ferris Evolution can you walk behind it if need be? If you can walk behind it than it will defiantly climb a hill better than any sit on top unit.

The owner of the Evolution says he can't get used to the hand controls. I did not say I am giving up on the zero turn, I'm just not happy with how it responds going down steep hills.I can easily turn around on any hill, it's in the turning to go around something while going down hill , that the problem comes. sometimes it is unavoidable. I appreciate the idea of lower tire pressure and I have done that. Maybe my hills are just too steep. It will however , go up just about any hill. I do not yet know if one can walk behind an Evolution, but my logic tells me that weight added to the back i.e the operator, would help the traction going up or down hill,assuming it dosen't get light in the front. When I try one I hope too have some answers. Thanks for your replys. cop

Check my response to zero turn on wet hills thread on this site

cop said:

The owner of the Evolution says he can't get used to the hand controls. I did not say I am giving up on the zero turn, I'm just not happy with how it responds going down steep hills.I can easily turn around on any hill, it's in the turning to go around something while going down hill , that the problem comes. sometimes it is unavoidable. I appreciate the idea of lower tire pressure and I have done that. Maybe my hills are just too steep. It will however , go up just about any hill. I do not yet know if one can walk behind an Evolution, but my logic tells me that weight added to the back i.e the operator, would help the traction going up or down hill,assuming it dosen't get light in the front. When I try one I hope too have some answers. Thanks for your replys. cop

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seems like evo souks even more : ))))

guy on Lawnsite forum, thread "ferris evolution s75x feedback", wrote about s75x snapper pro (pretty much same ferris evo under diff. brandname and ferris license) :

[Q UOTE=all ferris;4106059 ]I have a s75x snapper pro, 52", 26 or 27hp KAW (can't remember). I wish I would have never bought the piece of crap. I am a die hard Ferris guy and I hate this mower. My shoulders start to hurt if I use it too long which could be fixed if they moved the hand controls back a bit. The seat and knee pads are black - 100 degrees and black burn my ass. Never put a black seat on a mower : )) The biggest problem is the thing just does not turn well at all. It will just spin the wheels when trying to turn and I think it is caused by poor weight distribution. It sucks on hills. Cut quality is good.
I wish I had bought another walk behind. If you want one of these things you better get one now cause they won't be around long - mark my words. b4 you buy one though try going down a hill and turning with it....you won't buy it after that[ QUOTE]

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you can take any commercial mower and demo it for a day or so from places where they sell and service commercial mowers (from authorised ferris dealer) - so you'll try it on your sites and see for yourself
same thing with your Evo - you can take it from the guy who selling it to test run it wherever you want (to see if it works good for you or not) - he would understand, - to demo (to try) mower before you buying it - common practice in landscaping industry

p.s. all midmount ztrs don't like to go nose down - always better to keep your nose (front wheels) up on hills (slopes);
on u-turns all heavy mowers would damage turf (especially where grass is weak) - try to make it very smooth and/or do three-point turn (T-turn)

evo info:
http://www.ferrisindustries.com/pages/mower.php?product_id=31#
http://www.snapperpro.com/models/features/4:s75x

I have had a 48 inch zero turn evolution for 4 years....it has been a great mower and i bought it because it does not slip on hills ....even with dew on the ground...I have only one fault with the mower....the safety switches or electrical safety switcher have been a nagging problem.....they seem to be cheaply made and suddenly the mower wont start because one is out of adjustment.....u have to determine which one it is and adjust idt or buy a new one frequently.....but the mower is sturdy and cuts and runs good and doesnt slip like my past zero turns,