What Makes a Z-Turn Better ?

[alvanko]

I understand that a Z-turn can cut down on the hand trimming . They claim to have a very fast ground speed and can cut "acres per hour". Just because it goes fast does it mean the quaility of cut is good too? I always felt a high blade speed with slow ground speed was good. Do the Z-turns have a higher tip speed or do they leave a poor cut at the high ground speed?
I am looking at possibly buying a Z-turn for my wife next year but we want a good quality cut. Any thoughts??

 

[JJT]

Mine has a blade tip speed of 18,000 feet per minute. My dealer said that's 3 times faster then most riders. Add the manueverability and speeds 2-3 times faster than the typical rider and your mow time goes way down. I went from 4 hours a week of mowing and trimming to under an hour of mowing, (and now my trimming is every other week for less than 20 minutes). My only regret - not buying it sooner. Fuel economy is another plus - I now have a no maint diesel that burns less than a gallon / week where the rider was 3 gallons+.

I have a Kubota ZD21 with a 60" pro deck. almost 100 hours in the past 2 years and I still love the machine.

 

[Bird]

I've hunted through the manual, brochures, and even on the Internet and have not found anything to tell me what the blade tip speed is on my little Toro ZTR. I know it's got to be there somewhere; I just haven't found it. However, it's supposed to run up to 6 mph and it seems to cut pretty well at full speed, although the manual does say to improve the quality of cut, go slower. And since the lawns I cut are small, I usually do go slow. So I can't say why it cuts so well; I just know it does. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[beagdog]

Just traded a G1900 4ws with a 60" deck for a ZD21 with 60" deck. Only run it about 8 hours, but I'll never go back. The cut is unbelievable for the speed the machine can run.

One area I mow is about 2 1/2 acres, been mowing it with my L3010 and 6' finish mower, took about an hour and 10 minutes by the time I mowed the ditches. Mowed it last weekend with the ZD21 and took about 45 minutes, and I'm still learning on the slopes. I may sell the finish mower and never use it again.

In the 8 hours I've run it, I've used less than 1/2 gallon per hour of fuel. It'll get better when it gets broken in.

 

[deereowner]

I just got a Hustler FasTrak ZTM with a 20 horse engine and 52" cut. I was using a John Deere Lawn Tractor with 17 horse engine and 42" cut. My mowing time has gone from 1.5 hrs to about 50 minutes for 1.2 acres. And I am still learning how to best use the ZTM. And to make things even better, the quality of the cut is much better. The blade speed on the ZTM is about 18,000, and I don't know what the LT was, but this has a much cleaner cut.
It is also much more fun to cut with the ZTM. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif IMHO, it is worth the difference in price, since cutting grass is something that has to be done every week for 2/3 of the year where I live.
The only downside is that if you aren't careful, you can tear up the grass when you pivot. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif I am having to work on making turns that don't do that. But that is getting easier with practice.

 

[jgh]

20051017

My Exmark XP seems to show some tendency to scruffy cut (miss some things here and there) if I go too fast, probably since our terrain is bumpy and I bounce around at speed. Since I am still learning how to use it, my results may improve. It has a dump-from-the-seat leaf/grass pickup, very nice to use this leaf season! I would have considered a Kubota if they had offered that.

Our land is so irregular I can actually slow this 27 hp diesel down some times (which pulls down blade speed).

One other thing I have heard: the fast speeds of ZTR mowers are best achieved when mowing regularly (ie, little grass height to cut).

Jim

 

[Jagmandave]

My 3 acre property is rough, and the ZTR does it in half the time, but I do have to go over some small areas a second time, I figure it's because of the bouncing. But, my property is also hilly, and the ZTR is so much more stable that I can mow more safely too, a definite plus. Plus too and also, I've got a bunch of trees to mow around, and the tight turning radiuss makes that a snap. I also have to watch my turns in wet grass tho......

 

[oliver28472]

If (when) I start looking, the seat is going to be one thing to look at. Whether or not it is suspension, etc. Also if the frame pivots, and I don't know enough to say whether that makes a difference but the seat does.

 

[Sigarms]

Forget the Blade speed and all that "other stuff".

It's a blast to ride, and you actually look forward to mowing the grass!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif (and after you get one, you may not want your wife to use it!).

 

[FOURTEEN]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( if the frame pivots, and I don't know enough to say whether that makes a difference )</font>


<font color="red"> The solid frame works just fine on my Hustler FasTrac! Going over my uneven 'lawn', I don't notice whether four wheels or three wheels are on the ground at any one time!

It is less likely to scalp with the solid frame because the front of the deck is held high by whichever front wheel is on the higher ground. If the front frame pivots, it positions the front of the deck at a height only half way between the elevations of the two front wheels, making a scalp more likely.

With so much weight on the rear wheels there is no significant loss of traction when one of the front wheels is off the ground. </font>

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[FOURTEEN]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( the seat is going to be one thing to look at. Whether or not it is suspension)</font>


<font color="red"> My Hustler FasTrac without a suspension seat rides fine on smooth terrain or at reasonable speeds. On rough terrain I could more comfortably cut with a suspension seat at higher speeds, but the cut quality would stink! If I'm bouncing, it means I'm going too fast, and the bouncing deck will be giving me a quick poor cut!! So I let my butt decide what is the best speed for my comfort AND a quality cut! </font>

/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Kiohio]

The Country Clipper ZTR deck is suspended from the articulating front end which actually makes it follow the ground much better than a solid axle. Regardless of the amount of weight on the rearend of these ZTR's without an articulating front-end they just don't stick as well on hills as one with an articulating front-end.

KO

 

[jeffinsgf]

Just to present an opposing viewpoint, I just sold a ZTR (older) and ended up replacing it with a JD 455 with a 60" deck instead of the new ZTR I expected to buy. The old Ransomes I sold had a built-in collector that could not be removed or by-passed. I am mowing around an acre, so that amount of collected grass turns into a big pile pretty quickly. I blamed the age of the machine for the skid marks I made on every turn, no matter how careful I was. Following the contour of a curved sidewalk that was on a slight side slope was difficult without (again) leaving skid marks. One side always seemed to be driving slightly faster than the other, making constant adjustments necessary.

I thought all my problems would be solved by moving to a newer machine with an advanced drive system. I drove an ExMark and a JD. In both, I found the same thing. I had to constantly adjust the control handles. I couldn't just relax and expect the machine to travel in a straight line.

The 455 might take a little longer to get the job done, but it seems perfectly matched to the contours of my walks and drives, leaves a beautiful cut (much better than the old Ransomes), lets me daydream a little while I'm working (doesn't require constant attention), doesn't leave skid marks at every turn, and has the added benefit of being a tractor that can accept other implements and has auxiliary hydraulics.

 

[_RaT_]

Whats a JD 455? I went to the website and saw no such mower. I suspect its been replaced.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Sorry, the 455 is a lawn and garden tractor. Until the current "X" series came out, it was the top of the line JD-LGT. It is powered by a 22HP Yanmar diesel engine, has two hydraulic circuits, and has optional 540 RPM PTO and Cat 0 or Cat 1 three point hitch available. If you're a Kubota guy, it is about the size of a BX2300, but without 4WD and the PTO and 3pt are options. It was discontinued around 2001(?) and replaced by the X495. I bought mine off eBay for $4300.

 

[RalphVa]

Main reason for a ZTR is you can pretty much go full speed and also get closer to things because the deck is right out front where you can see and gauge where it is. Went from Sears tractor mowers to a Scag on 5 acres in NJ. Took 5-7 hours on the tractors and 3 hours and 15 minutes on the Scag. Could go around trees at top speed (sometimes on 2 wheels) and not leave any grass uncut.

They're also worlds better to maintain. The Scag deck had a crank to raise the 3-bladed deck. All the blades were held on by through-bolts. I could raise and have the blades off in about 5 minutes, took them home for sharpening and took about 5 minutes putting them back on.

Used the Scag also to chop up leaves from the numerous oak trees on the property. Just discharged inward intil it started to choke down and then turned around for a couple rounds. Then went back to discharging inward. Surely beat the heck out of riding around on those tractors with a roaring engine behind the seat sucking off the deck and discharging into a tented cart behind that had to be emptied later.

Ralph

 

[slammer]

The advantages of the ZTR are IMO high ground speed, and agility. However their are other things to consider.

Mandatory 2 hand operation on most models: No sipping, smoking, waving, etc...while you mow. (don't laugh that stuff is important to some folks)

Rough ground will limit your groundspeed to tractor levels thus negating the speed advantage.

"Work". Most (not all!) ZTR's are unsuitable for any task beyond mowing or pulling a lightweight cart.

Slopes. With most models hills are tricky. If you mow along a slope...holding a straight line can be awkward because the front castor wheels want to follow the law....the law of gravity! This means that you have to mow up and down even mild slopes. And for the record on some units you best be careful coming down the hill...some will skid.

Let's eat grass! On some units you will get literally covered in grass...not all mind you but some.

What this all boils down to is that ZTR's are great units just like tractors...but also like tractors they have limitations and quirks that take getting used to...

I post 3 buying tips fairly regular on another site and they seem to work...i'll post em' here for you...keep in mind that these tips are just my opinions!

Slam

Here they are once again folks...Slammers famous three point checklist for mower buying success...


1. Carefully evaluate the size mower you need and buy at least one size larger.

2. NEVER buy a mower from ANYPLACE that will not let you test drive it or at least a similar model. Ergonomics are just as important as performance and capability.(Vitally important!)

3. DO NOT base your purchase on price or brand name alone! Do proper research and find all of the available models that fit your criteria and haggle, save, or trade to get the right equipment for the job. Do not compromise!

If you follow these three tips you will end up a happy camper with just the right unit for the job. If you disregard this advice your gonna end up with One or the other of the following problems:

A. Buyers remorse. Stuck with a piece of junk or simply a unit inadequate for the task at hand.

Or..

B. A teed off spouse when you start shopping for another tractor just 3 - 6 months down the road because you did'nt buy the right unit in the first place.

Now go forth and shop and try and have fun!