my 61” Tiger Cat has a woeful 27hp Kohler on it. Runs terrible, we have done coils, carbs, governors, etc just doesnt want to perform. found a 25hp Briggs that will fit the mower, question is —— is 25hp enough for the 61” deck or should i keep looking for 28-35hp motor?? any help appreciated. mower is a 2012 or 13 model.
Depends upon your lot & your grass
Kohler recommend fitting an engine that is rated 20% over what is needed for the mower .
This is to allow for things like baggers, mulching blades , hilly terrain & towing
My wholesalers only keep a limited stock of engines and I regularly fit substantially lower power engines
The only thing most notice is the mower uses less fuel
People seem to think because a mower has a maximum ground speed of 10mph then you should be able to mow 4' tall grass at that speed
Back in the old days tractors came with "Working gears " & " Traveling Gears" a concept that appears to be foreign to most now days
thanks for the info, i mow about 5 acres. been mowing with a 19hp kawasaki on a 48” since 2006 or so. bought the 61 to cut down a little on mowing time, but i think she is just worn out. i was hoping to find a 28+hp for a little upgrade
How much money are you willing to spend?
Do you plan on buying a new engine or something used?
Have you considered rebuilding the current engine?
You said that you bought it used. Is the rest of the mower in good condition?
My 2021 Gravely ProTurn 260 came with a Kohler Confidant ZT740. This Gravely is a similar size and weight of the Tiger Cat. It has plenty of power. However, the ZT740 is rated at 25hp.
Going to anything above 27hp, you are going to start seeing less offerings with carbureted engines.
B&S Vanguard largest carbureted engine is 26hp.
Kohler offers CV752 for their largest carbureted engines at 27hp.
Kawasaki offers the FX850V carbureted engine at 27hp and the FX1000V at 35hp.
The new Tiger Cat II smallest engine offering is 26hp EFI.
So you could possibly get by with a B&S Vanguard 26hp engine.
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The length of the crankshaft tail piece is critical.
rest of the mower is fine, deck, hydraulics etc work great. dont wont to see how much i can spend, probably looking more are a used engine. i would like to stick with Briggs or Kawasaki. thanks for the info
You also have the option of rebuilding the current engine. The current engine likely has a lot of hours on it.
Getting parts for B&S engines is sketchy right now.
yeah, we have discussed that. has about 950 hours on it, but what would i have when i rebuilt it?? just waiting on kohler problems to resurface. i think i want to get away from Kohler- i’m sure its great stuff but i havent had any luck with them
950 hours for a Kohler Command is not a lot of hours. Usual can get 1750 or do before rebuild or replace with regular maintenance. Maybe consider going over engine with complete tune up and giving it a good look.
