Hi lift blades.....

[1slow5point0h]

I added the Hustler mulching kit, and it didn't leave a very clean, smooth cut. There'd be 2 small trails of grass where I made every pass. Then I ran over something and bent one of the dividers, so I pulled it off. Yesterday I put on some G5 Gator mulching blades and removed the other divider, and now the grass is smooth, no clippings to be seen and it's just a much nicer looking cut.The blades are a ton sharper than the ones that came with the mulching kit too.

 

[577jersey]

I added the Hustler mulching kit, and it didn't leave a very clean, smooth cut. There'd be 2 small trails of grass where I made every pass. Then I ran over something and bent one of the dividers, so I pulled it off. Yesterday I put on some G5 Gator mulching blades and removed the other divider, and now the grass is smooth, no clippings to be seen and it's just a much nicer looking cut.The blades are a ton sharper than the ones that came with the mulching kit too.

Thats good news bro,,sounds like you are onto something now...

 

[kraky]

So.... if I'm clear on this you're still running the metal discharge cover, no dividers and the Gator blades?
Last year on my raptor SD 54 I bought a metal discharge cover by itself and tried mulching with the Gator Blades. It didn't work very well... it cut okay but all the clippings came over to the right side of the deck and when they couldn't get out they blew out the front and landed all over me and the mower.

 

[1slow5point0h]

So.... if I'm clear on this you're still running the metal discharge cover, no dividers and the Gator blades?
Last year on my raptor SD 54 I bought a metal discharge cover by itself and tried mulching with the Gator Blades. It didn't work very well... it cut okay but all the clippings came over to the right side of the deck and when they couldn't get out they blew out the front and landed all over me and the mower.

Correct. It had rained for about 2 weeks so I had the deck set about halfway up/down because the grass was pretty tall and thick. Some blew out the front and a little on the sides, but not much. Overall I'm really impressed as of now. In a day or 2 I'll cut it again and get it down to my usual setting.

 

[kraky]

Hey...if it works that's cool. On the sd54 I bought the plate not so much for mulching grass but I figured in Fall I could pre grind the leaves and round them up and then put the cover on and Destroy them from there. My one and only test there was a disaster like mulching grass.
So this year I moved to a fast-track and then a few weeks ago I bought one of the rackem catcher baskets that hangs on the discharge chute. My first test of that was pretty unimpressive too. A lot of fine mulch flies out the screen holes... when the wind is blowing from the side it creates just a terrible mess... possibly worse than my mulching experience. It looks like anytime I try to do a shortcut I am cursed....lol! My allergies are not impressed!

 

[577jersey]

lol..Id love to get a chute blocker just too shut once in a while to keep grass out of beds,off houses,and cars...I have my deflector bungeed up 90% of the time....if you throttle the RSD down it also helps alot to tame the spray and dust in certain spots.
If you think about it even the small 22" mulchers get a little messy with stuff flying out from around the sides at times.
The decks on these big mowers really are not designed for mulching anyway.

 

[BoylermanCT]

I just installed the XHT high lift blades on mt RSD yesterday and cut my deck chute way back so it only overhangs the deck by 2" and the difference in mowing through the thick stuff was incredible. The chute definitely was the main cause of my clogging issues, and was not helped by the Gator blades which tends to turn weeds like pigs ear into mush by cutting it up so many times. The high lift blades threw the grass 10-12 feet and grass was coming out the entire chute opening, not just the front portion as was my experience with the stock chute. Very pleased with the cut, no missed stragglers. Thanks for the recommendation of the XHT blades!

 

[577jersey]

Glad to hear!!
Yeah those blades where the best thing I ever did to my RSD,,I got two sets now I like them so much.
The suction has increased by at least 35% compared to the stock blades,,i wont even use them any more unless I do a real dirty lawn.

One of the main reasons I hate g5 blades is because they do just that,,turn everything into mush when its wet,,Id rather have a longer cut blade of grass flying out the chute then mush..then u can double cut if you really need to

The g5s are good in the fall I guess,,but I wont be wasting my $$ on a set any time soon..been cutting grass since 1987 and have only purchased one set of the g5 style,,they have horrible lift from my experience.

Tom

 

[cruzenmike]

I would but I traded the SD in on a new Fastrak 54" Friday...so I no longer have it. I did get to mow with it after the mods but in my mind I was still thinking that this is still not over. It did do very well but one thing that still bothered me was the build up under the deck each time I mowed......just had enough of it! Do a search on here "54 raptor sd mods" this is where I got the idea from. I did cut the discharge chute flush with the deck opening, I think that was more help than anything.....opened up the flow with less restriction on getting the cut grass out, but it does throw the grass a lot futher and higher up, so keep that in mind before you consider it. But my real advice is upgrade to the next level which is the Fastrak, one time mowing with it you'll understand why I suggest it. No comparison between the two mowers.

I know it's more $$ but getting the job done means more to me. It only rains here 2-3 times a week and it's almost impossible to keep up. Never seen so much rain in normally a dry summer. My dealer gets a lot of complaints on the raptor line up, so much that he is considering selling the Fastrak and on up but will special order the raptor-sd if that is what the customer wants.

Good luck if your having issues....it will try your patience for a $4000.00 mower!!

Have you seen the recently released Raptor SDX? I too had been shopping the Raptor lineup from the Limited to the the SDX with the regular SD in the middle. After watching a video from GIE 2017, it was clear that the chute opening was quite small on most of the lineup below $4k. The SDX has the bottom edge cut off of the deck at the opening. I was having a hard time justifying the extra $400 to go from the SD to the SDX, but I can see that it might be worth it for some. I can completely understand everyone's desire to have a nice looking yard, but I just don't see why anyone should have to modify a machine, especially one this expensive, to make it cut well. Otherwise, some are asking too much of their machine! Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass, cut when dry or as close to as possible, slow your ground speed when you notice a change in performance of cut quality and keep your machine maintained and your blades sharp. If you let the grass get too long, cut on the highest setting and then an inch lower on your second pass.

 

[primerbulb120]

Never cut more than 1/3 of the grass, cut when dry or as close to as possible, slow your ground speed when you notice a change in performance of cut quality and keep your machine maintained and your blades sharp. If you let the grass get too long, cut on the highest setting and then an inch lower on your second pass.

There are some yards here in FL that you'd have to cut every 3 days to follow those guidelines. Even with weekly maintenance, I end up removing more like 2/3 of the grass length when I mow. Solution: sharp Gator G6 blades. They will cut wet, 8-inch grass and leave a perfect cut with no visible clippings.