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With the kind help/research of nwatson99, I see the difference between a FR691V Kawasaki engine and an FX691V being the FX comes with the addition of:

Dual stage canister air filter
Cast-iron cylinder liners
Metal engine cover
Heavy-duty shift-type starter
Twin barrel, internally vented carburetor with fuel shut-off solenoid

Due to my ignorance, I don't know which of these particulars is the most beneficial. I realize the FX often come with commercial machines.

Why do I want to be schooled on the differerences?

I may have to buy a new ZT mower, so I'd like to know as much about these engines as possible and how much more I can get out of an FX vs. an FR. I also don't if the FR is basically an FX without the five above extras, if you will...

I can certainly see the benefit of having a better air filtration, but how do Cast
-Iron cylinder liners benefit you?

Longevity of engine life?

I don't see the benefit of a metal engine cover, unless one is a traditionalist. It would seem (hey, remember, I'm just speculating..) a plastic cover is a plus in the weight department, so why would a metal engine cover be better?

Anyway, if some of you super knowledgable guys could provide a detailed breakdown of why the above extras that come with an FX engine is way better than what comes with an FR, I'd be most grateful and much more informed.

Thanks!

Zero, I will comment on the cast iron cyl liners from a general view. They are stable and rigid. When honed properly they facilitate break- in of rings. The cast iron grain holds oil film very well, which promotes long cyl life. Cast iron accepts vibration well.

Aside..I am interested in Kaw because I may buy the garden tractor version.

Motoman,

Due to my extreme ignorance, this sentence may as well have been worded in Swahili (which I actually know at least two words of) for me: "When honed properly they facilitate break- in of rings.

Does that mean if the factory did their job right or ...?

Or, am I responsible for the honing or is it a roll of the dice, or ...?

And thanks, I'm one of those guys who are willing to learn late in life, have an interest in this stuff, without anyone earlier in life who taught me a damn thing about engines or things mechanical in general.

I am a total neophyte.

I'm not, however a beginner to hard work.

That I have a Phd in....

Zero, Fear not , and glad you are learning. The cast iron cylinders are honed at the factory. Proper ring break in results in better sealing of combustion gases , more power ,less blowby into the oil pan. During splash of oil a film is held by the tiny (natural) pores in the cast iron which provides a good surface for the piston and rings to run over. It probably costs Kaw more to install the cast iron liners in (?aluminun block) the engine than just boring (aluminum? or cast iron). I am not familiar with the engine, so some guessing here. GM tried to be like Porsche back in the days of the Vega, and run directly on an aluminum surface. Not good. The fix was iron liners.

motoman,

Thanks for the help.

I'm still wondering about the other four items, if anyone else can chime in on them, I'd be most appreciative.

Thanks again motoman!

Zero, Well since no one else is talking I will wing it on the cover. I don't even know where the cover goes, but plastic is still prone to heat warping , drying and cracking while mild steel, for instance is not. If you search here you will hear people complaining about warped plastic intake manifolds. I like plastic , but it does have some problems.

And now for my most unsure answer, the two throat carbs. If an engine has two cylinders theoretically two throat carburetors are more efficient, allowing the tuner to adjust mixture strength slightly differently for each cylinder. In high performance engines intake tracts are tuned for torque/horespower and the carb throats are part of it. But that cannot apply to a low rpm tractor motor so I do not know what advantage there is except gas consumtion, perhaps. Internal venting is greek to me, perhaps a safety feature if the carb is flooding. Here we need the pros who know these air cooled engines well enough to tell you what advantages there may be. Maybe, my blathering wil give them incentive. I do know solenoid fuel cut offs are very common and so including that in an ad seems like fluff.

I am not a engine mechanic, but here is my opinion on the items you have listed:
Dual stage canister air filter: Better filtration and air flow
Cast-iron cylinder liners: These are best for the operation of the piston and heat dissipation, also cast is well known for holding oil in the pores of the material vs. other material will not.
Metal engine cover: A bonus for overheating and not warping, plus it is stronger and will not "dry rot" or break down from the heat.
Heavy-duty shift-type starter: Heavy duty starter is always better and handles the heat better.
Twin barrel, internally vented carburetor with fuel shut-off solenoid: The shut off solenoid is pretty much a sale for me, this is a awesome feature in the FX and I had to ask why the extra fuel line was for the FX engine which was to put un-used fuel back into the system from the carb.

Hopes this helps man and if I was you I would do the better engine and roll from there.

Go to kawpower.com and read what Kawasaki has to say about their different engine lines.

Mackie, Thanks for the lead. I looked at the owners manual on the 750FX , and three things stood out to me. A good looking , large aircleaner. The "oversquare" pistons must be a spillover from Kaw's motocycle design (piston dia larger than stroke). A bit surprising when torque is the object. Last an OIL COOLER!. I could not see any fan so perhaps some blast is provided from the fan. If B&S would put on oil coolers I bet their field failures would drop 30%. Maybe they need the turnover, but bad PR. motoman

Thanks to each and everyone that's contributed to this thread.

Until recently, I didn't know there are so many different Kawasaki engine models powering ZT mowers on the market.

I naively thought that if a Kawasaki engine is powering your mower, hoo whee, you were good to go. Yeah buddy, First class engine all the way! Not realizing there are many different quality levels within Kawasaki engines.

Now I wonder if an FR is light years lower in quality than an FX and is maybe on par with a B&S Intex, but the Kawasaki name goes a long way in marketing to the public...?

Or, no, even an entry level/basic quality Kawasaki engine is still way higher in overall quality than say a B&S Intex (or equal)?

Have you ordered the FX engine yet or what? :laughing:

motoman said:

Mackie, Thanks for the lead. I looked at the owners manual on the 750FX , and three things stood out to me. A good looking , large aircleaner. The "oversquare" pistons must be a spillover from Kaw's motocycle design (piston dia larger than stroke). A bit surprising when torque is the object. Last an OIL COOLER!. I could not see any fan so perhaps some blast is provided from the fan. If B&S would put on oil coolers I bet their field failures would drop 30%. Maybe they need the turnover, but bad PR. motoman

Click to expand...

Kawasaki engines larger in displacement than the FX 730 are called "big blocks" and some of them are having problems. I'm not sure which big blocks specifically, but a check on line would tell you. Briggs is now installing oil coolers on some models and my 30 HP Pro Turf engine has an oil cooler along with the Cyclonic Air Filtration System and so far I'm pleased with this engine. I installed it when my 26 HP Briggs Intek started giving me problems at 470 hours. I also have a Hustler X-ONE with a Kawasaki FX730V engine, great engine!! I had considered a Kawi FX engine when I repowered my Scag Tiger Cub, but at 2 1/2 times the cost of the Briggs, I went with the Briggs which was a direct fit. With the Kawi I would have needed new control cables and a muffler at $200!!!! Scag now installs Kawasaki FX engines on some models of their Tiger Cat line of machines and Briggs on their Freedom Z line. If it happens, my next machine will have a Kawi FX engine. My Hustler X-ONE is used for cemetery mowing, it is rear discharge and a mowing crew operates it most of the time. The Hustler has a 60" deck and at times is used in the new portion of the cemetery when a local farmer doesn't get in to hay it off. The Kawasaki FX730V has never lacked for power while mowing grass that sometimes gets 24-30" tall and at 5 acres does take some time to get thru, the first pass around the perimeter is a bear!!!!
Mad Mackie in CT:laughing::biggrin::smile:

The FR has cast iron cylinder liners, I think the differences are mostly external such as the air filter, carbs, starter...

Zeroturner said:

Thanks to each and everyone that's contributed to this thread.

Until recently, I didn't know there are so many different Kawasaki engine models powering ZT mowers on the market.

I naively thought that if a Kawasaki engine is powering your mower, hoo whee, you were good to go. Yeah buddy, First class engine all the way! Not realizing there are many different quality levels within Kawasaki engines.

Now I wonder if an FR is light years lower in quality than an FX and is maybe on par with a B&S Intex, but the Kawasaki name goes a long way in marketing to the public...?

Or, no, even an entry level/basic quality Kawasaki engine is still way higher in overall quality than say a B&S Intex (or equal)?

Click to expand...

Zero, Good questions and ones I cannot answer . By that I mean I am just locked into my one experience with Craftsman/Inek of which only the Intek has been a problem. And once (er, make that twice) fixed is still serving me with my 1 acre of grass. But I can not shake off the bad taste even though only the head on one cylinder was a problem and nothing else has been a problem with the Intek. If you stand way back industries tend to have all the "trade" secrets at their disposal and if the ads were devoid of make you probably could not tell B&S from Kaw, so maybe it's quality systems that are the difference. For instance , if Intek had a supplier with bad aluminum (wrong alloy or heat treat) and the part snuk through to my tractor it is a vendor quality problem which B&S did not handle. I have seen two such quality issues (head and sump tube) while the air cleaner is a design issue (later changed by B&S, I believe). I may be in the market for a "garden" tractor and looked at the Craftsman ($3060) and the Husqy $3300 with limited slip). I just am repelled by the Intek even though it's not called that anymore and Mackie says they are better now. So as I chatted up the Husqy dealer , imagine my displeasure when he volunteered that the commercial Kaws do push valve guides!!! WTF , is nothing sacred?? I noticed in today's local paper that Kubota is pushing a "sub-compact " (BX) tractor, but I guess it's 4 times the cost of the troublesome air cooled units (or even is AC). Like many have said there is probably an element of luck in any purchase. PS One remaining issue I forgot to mention. We should love hydraulic lifters, good to 7500 rpm, so are they vanishing in ac tractors? I notice the midrange Kaw still wants valve adjustments of .005," just like my Intek. motoman

Nwatson99,

No, not yet.

Currently, I'm doing my "due diligence" before my next ZT mower purchase. (assuming I buy another as they all seem plagued with one kind of problem or another)

And thanks Motoman and Mad Mackie for your input.

It seems there's no one greatest ZT.

If you look at all the problems discussed on the various threads, it would appear they're all problematic in one area or another...

There are no "Rolls Royce's" that stand out as "THE" ZT to buy...or if there is, it's so outlandishly expensive as to be affordable by only the very wealthy and the very wealthy don't cut grass - they let someone else cut it.

Zeroturner said:

Nwatson99,

No, not yet.

Currently, I'm doing my "due diligence" before my next ZT mower purchase. (assuming I buy another as they all seem plagued with one kind of problem or another)

And thanks Motoman and Mad Mackie for your input.

It seems there's no one greatest ZT.

If you look at all the problems discussed on the various threads, it would appear they're all problematic in one area or another...

There are no "Rolls Royce's" that stand out as "THE" ZT to buy...or if there is, it's so outlandishly expensive as to be affordable by only the very wealthy and the very wealthy don't cut grass - they let someone else cut it.

Click to expand...

Well tell me what are you looking at and what problems are you finding with the ZTs', have you looked at the John Deere Ztrak R series?

RaptorSD said:

The FR has cast iron cylinder liners, I think the differences are mostly external such as the air filter, carbs, starter...

Click to expand...

I agree with that as Kawi even confirmed that on the phone, as well as their website: Engines | Kawasaki - Engines, Replacement Parts, and Power Products

Plus the FR engines have internally vented carbs with fuel shut off solenoid..