Maximum Ground Speed - How Important?

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dmenn

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Looking for some input on maximum ground speed of residential zero turns..

For the EZT's, I've seen them between 6mph (Bad Boy MZ Magnum) and 7mph (pretty much everyone else).
For 2800's, I've seen 7 mph (Scag Liberty Z), 7.5 mph (Cub Cadet Ultima ZT2), and 8 mph (Ferris 400S).
For 3100's, I've seen 7 mph (Bad Boy ZT Elite) and 8.5 mph (Toro Timecutter HD).

I know there are several other brands I'm missing, but these are the ones in my area that I've been looking at.

For cutting ~ 3/4 acre, how big of a deal is the maximum ground speed? I'm looking for an excellent cut in the shortest amount of time. I've tried reading some of the user manuals and some indicate the max speed is only for transport (not PTO), some say you need to adjust speeds to obtain optimum cut, and one specifically (the Ferris website Q&A) says that it can provide an excellent cut at 8mph.

Thoughts on how much of a difference a mph or two might make?

Thanks!
 
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Pumper54

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I don't own ZT mower so take all this with a grain of salt. Figure the width of tbe cut you will be making and then determine the length of tbe longext cut to see if you will even get the max speed, and figure out how many miles or portions of a mile you will go and use that to figure your average speed. That MIGHT help you decide on a mower. I would say try out each of the ones you are thinking about getting and get the one that 'feels best' to you.
Tom
 
cpurvis

cpurvis

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For 3/4 of an acre? Not important at all.
 
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bertsmobile1

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Double ditto.

No difference.
In fact ground speed is fairly well insignificant even if you have 100 acres to mow.
The maximum mowing speed has little to do with the actual speed of the trannies.
No good doing 50mph if you have to run over the grass 5 times to cut all of the grass properly.
On less than a acre I can mow faster with my Greenfield friction drive tractor with fixed diff than most can do with a "fast" zero turn.
You can cover a lot more grass driving very slowly with a wide deck that racing around quickly.
If all a mower company has to offer is beng 0.5 mph than everyone else then walk away.
 
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Darryl G

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I'll have to agree that for one 3/4 acre lawn it won't make much difference. But for someone like me who mows for a living, 1 or 2 mph makes a big difference. The 1.5 mph increase in speed of my Bob-Cat over my Exmark (8.5 vs 10 mph) is quite noticeable, useful and saves me a lot of time. The extra speed is most useful for running around between different parts of a property, getting between multiple accounts at the same stop, for doing a quick second cut to disperse clippings and when I am bagging to run to an on-site disposal area or my rig to dump. So in my opinion it depends on your overall use of the machine, including when the blades aren't engaged.
 
BlazNT

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Mowing a business with 2 acres compared to mowing one with 1.5 acres side by side. I mow one and another company mows the other. I put my mower up 15 minutes before the other company because I think out how to mow and get the job done. I turn around and start cutting the next strip of grass about twice as fast as them. Turning takes up more time than almost any single action on a mower. Top speed is nice but turning is much more important.
 
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Darryl G

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BlazNT said:
Mowing a business with 2 acres compared to mowing one with 1.5 acres side by side. I mow one and another company mows the other. I put my mower up 15 minutes before the other company because I think out how to mow and get the job done. I turn around and start cutting the next strip of grass about twice as fast as them. Turning takes up more time than almost any single action on a mower. Top speed is nice but turning is much more important.
Click to expand...
Yeah well most operators don't really know how to operate a Z mower. They tend to steer/turn with just one stick which scrubs the turf with the inside tire so instead they do 3 point turns which take a lot longer. A lot of the reason I run compact 52 inch mowers instead of larger framed 60 inch ones is because you can maneuver them much more easily without damaging turf rather than having to tip-toe around.
 
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bertsmobile1

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Most people do know how to drive their mowers full stop.
Got 3 customers who all run the local Greenfields Fast cut 30" & 32" mowers because they do a lot of 1/4 acre residentials.
These are tractor style mowers & most run them with the diff locked.
They do 20 to 30 yards a day and laugh at all the know alls who tell them they should be using ZTR's cause tractors are too slow.
According to one of them it takes better than a month to get a driver up to speed.
 
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DK35vince

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Darryl G said:
I'll have to agree that for one 3/4 acre lawn it won't make much difference. But for someone like me who mows for a living, 1 or 2 mph makes a big difference. The 1.5 mph increase in speed of my Bob-Cat over my Exmark (8.5 vs 10 mph) is quite noticeable, useful and saves me a lot of time. The extra speed is most useful for running around between different parts of a property, getting between multiple accounts at the same stop, for doing a quick second cut to disperse clippings and when I am bagging to run to an on-site disposal area or my rig to dump. So in my opinion it depends on your overall use of the machine, including when the blades aren't engaged.
Click to expand...
+1
For 3/4 acres 1-1/2 MPH differences may be noticeable, but not a big difference.
But I mow 8 acres, my previous zero turn (54" Hustler FasTrak) would mow at the 7 or 8 MPH top speed.
My current zero turn (72" Hustler Super Z, 35 HP) will mow at 14 MPH (yes I can and do mow at full speed every where its smooth enough) made a massive difference in my mow time over the Previous FasTrak.
The Super Z will mow circles around my 35 HP Compact utility tractor with an 84" deck.
 
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cpurvis

cpurvis

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Back to the OP's question:

Here's how much difference it makes in mowing 3/4 acre with a 6mph mower vs. an 8 mph mower, assuming a 52" deck--3.5 minutes.
 
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