ZD 326 tearing up lawn

[Koz]

I've had a ZD 326 for several months now. I've been patiently waiting for my technique to improve but so far no luck. I really like the 326 speed, ride and cut. My problem is that it consistently is tearing up my lawn. I do not live in the woods where grass is aways wet, I live on top of a hill where there is lots of sun. My grass is a the "Penn State" mix of Kentucky Blue, Red Fescue and Perennial Rye. I tear up the lawn when I do the following:

1 - when spinning in place and doing a true zero radius turn. I have read that many people use this technique successfully (driving one side forward and other tire reverse). If rpm is equal, it makes sense that this should work but it is very difficult to match rpm. Maybe the ZD326 is just too heavy for this?
2 - frequently when doing a 3-point turn. My technique has been to initially move both wheels forward slowly, once I see rotation on inside wheel I stop driving it forward and drive outside wheel a bit harder. The inside wheel keeps on turning very slowly but tends to dig into the ground. If I make a huge 3-point turn I can avoid the damage, but I am now doing something that my B7610 tractor could do!
3 - when I quickly slow down. The ZD 326 is much faster than my B7610 tractor and when I get to the end of a row and try to slow down (I do not abruptly stop) the ZTR's real wheels will "skid", causing damage
4 - when I do a turn at speeds faster than what I could accomplish with the B7610. I'm not turning at full speed (which would cause a power slide) and the damage is not extensive but I can see some ripped up turf.
5 - when going down a hill. I expected this to some degree but it is very difficult to creep down a hill without sliding and ripping the turf. It seems that the only way to avoid this is to accelerate but it quickly becomes too wild for me!

I'm hoping that with time things will improve but my wife keeps noticing the damage and commenting on how I wouldn't accept it if we were paying someone to mow the lawn. She also points out that for what this beast cost we could pay someone for years!

Is this typical of what you guys experience with the heavy diesel 300 series tractors? Is there something I can do that will reduce damage, especially when trying to get the ZD pointed 180 degrees in opposite direction? Is there a chance that there is something wrong with my unit that is making this more difficult?

thanks!

 

[Kubota 2007]

I have a ZD326, when first using it, I did have many places torn up. This is the first season using it, started in June, to date I have very few tear up's! Alot less than when I first started using it. I have found, speed is a major cause, when turning I keep an eye on the "inside rear tire" and make sure it is in motion,otherwise it will drag that wheel, another thing I watch, is the front casters, when going from one direction to another I try not to turn sharply until the casters have made their 180 deg rotation. Hope this helps, I mow alot of grass and over time you will get the hang of it. They are a great mower,but different then many are use to. I still have problems coming down a hill and making a 90 deg turn, at this point, I stopped doing it and mow in different directions. Ken

 

[628pm]

The previous post is what I do also. Are you going to stop tearing up your lawn when you turn. No I don't think so. I still do when I don't pay attention to what I do. But I have decreased the amount of damage to my lawn. You must be going down a pretty steep incline to lose control, I have some steep hills to mow and after a while I can go down them pretty good without slippage, but sometimes it does happen. I had a simplicity cobalt, the kubota tackles the hills better than the simplicity, but the ride is not as good. I am very pleased with the kubota.

 

[KJINTF]

Good to hear others have the same issues w/ their ZD326
They are nice well built expensive machines but a bit LOUD and heavy
Have heard some folks swapped out rear the tires and or changed the tire pressue - Personally I have not yet tried either of them
Anyone done that?
Did it reduce the tire damage?
My lawn is a flat 2 plus acre section with several trees
Had to lower the ROPS learned the hard way and broke a tree limb completly off early on did not realize the thing was so high above my head

Had the machine since April this year only now getting the entire lawn mowed without more than one or two tire damaged areas.

Slowing down reduced the damage more than anything else I have found
Sure would like to hear what others have done to reduce the damage

Ken

 

[Gary Fowler]

I get a little tire damage when turning due to lack of traction with the slick turf tires. The other day I was mowing with the slope (trying to) and it keep drifting downhill. This was a very small incline. I kept putting more back pressure on the uphill side which wasnt helping the tracking. I looked down and the uphill tire was spinning wide open in reverse while the downhill was wide open in forward. I finally stopped and looked behind me (due to stiff neck, I cant look back without turning in the seat) and all I had was a long skid mark where the tire was spinning. The grass was wet from dew this time, but my mower has poor traction even on dry grass. I was going to put some tractor type tires on it and try that, even bought the tires but couldnt find a tire shop that could put them on. Oh well I guess I will just continue to slide around and have to mow directly up and down the slopes.

 

[om21braz]

ZD21 here, for a little over 5 years. That said, the ZD series and any other similiar mower will tear up the ground anytime one wheel is rotating and the other is not.
(1) It can be done, but not many can do 100% of the time and not tear the turf.
(2) As others have mentioned - watch the inside wheel and keep it turning.
(3) As you become more accustomed to it, you'll get smoother - IMHO the Kubota has
some of the least "touchy" controls.
(4) Nature of the beast - more seat time will help.
(5) Again, watching the tires, making sure they are rolling and not sliding.

Another thing to mention is, try to mow in a different pattern each time you mow as these machines are heavy and will damage turf by simply running over it the same again and again. Lastly, it takes a very experienced operator on a machine he is familiar with to get excellent results from the ztrs on uneven ground - even flat ground when damp.

 

[tmajor]

My neighbor has a new JD ZTR. He tears his lawn up some. I've watched him and offered to give him lessons, which he hasn't taken advantage of.

I've got a Woods ZTR with ag tires ... these babies would "dig in", if trying to "spin a zero turn".

There are a few areas, where you "just can't prevent it", however on level areas, it can be prevented.

Forget the "zero turn" concept. If you come to the point, where you want to turn, make a 90* turn, with both wheels moving. Then reverse the inner wheel, while at the same time, going forward with the outer wheel. In other words: slow down, keep both wheels moving, with the inner wheel going backwards and the outer wheel going forward.

There is a YouTube video of same. .. I'll look for it.

Add: This isn't the one, which I had in mind, but you'll get the idea.

 

[coobie]

I've had a ZD 326 for several months now. I've been patiently waiting for my technique to improve but so far no luck. I really like the 326 speed, ride and cut. My problem is that it consistently is tearing up my lawn. I do not live in the woods where grass is aways wet, I live on top of a hill where there is lots of sun. My grass is a the "Penn State" mix of Kentucky Blue, Red Fescue and Perennial Rye. I tear up the lawn when I do the following:

1 - when spinning in place and doing a true zero radius turn. I have read that many people use this technique successfully (driving one side forward and other tire reverse). If rpm is equal, it makes sense that this should work but it is very difficult to match rpm. Maybe the ZD326 is just too heavy for this?
2 - frequently when doing a 3-point turn. My technique has been to initially move both wheels forward slowly, once I see rotation on inside wheel I stop driving it forward and drive outside wheel a bit harder. The inside wheel keeps on turning very slowly but tends to dig into the ground. If I make a huge 3-point turn I can avoid the damage, but I am now doing something that my B7610 tractor could do!
3 - when I quickly slow down. The ZD 326 is much faster than my B7610 tractor and when I get to the end of a row and try to slow down (I do not abruptly stop) the ZTR's real wheels will "skid", causing damage
4 - when I do a turn at speeds faster than what I could accomplish with the B7610. I'm not turning at full speed (which would cause a power slide) and the damage is not extensive but I can see some ripped up turf.
5 - when going down a hill. I expected this to some degree but it is very difficult to creep down a hill without sliding and ripping the turf. It seems that the only way to avoid this is to accelerate but it quickly becomes too wild for me!

I'm hoping that with time things will improve but my wife keeps noticing the damage and commenting on how I wouldn't accept it if we were paying someone to mow the lawn. She also points out that for what this beast cost we could pay someone for years!

Is this typical of what you guys experience with the heavy diesel 300 series tractors? Is there something I can do that will reduce damage, especially when trying to get the ZD pointed 180 degrees in opposite direction? Is there a chance that there is something wrong with my unit that is making this more difficult?

thanks!

This is one of the reasons I sold my 2007 ZD 326P and bought a 2011 John Deere X740 graden/lawn tractor.The kubota ZD326 is a top notch ZTR IMHO but I never got the hang of not tearing up my yard.coobie

 

[Koz]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm relieved to hear that i'm not alone in experiencing this and also that there is hope that my technique will improve.

Watching the video that tmajor linked, I "think" that my 3-point turn is similiar. If anything, i'm going a bit slower with a larger radius. I think that my 326 would cause damage if driven in the exact manner shown in that video, especially watching him cut a tight circle around the tree. The 326 is certainly bigger and heavier than the Ferris, though.

Thinking about it, I wonder if ZTRs would be improved if there was a "neutral" position where the tire can freewheel either direction with no resistance from the hydro. There could be an indent that would allow the operator to quickly find that position.

 

[slc10844]

I just make a 3 pt turn to go in the opposite direction. I push both controls forward or reverse applying less pressure to one side depending on which direction I want to go. Don't change directions abruptly. The torque will cause the tires to spin every time.