Glad I bought my Raptor last year!

[RetiredGuns]

Kind of funny how this thread morphed into what blades to use and throttle speed. Threads tend to do that though...

 

[turboawd]

Turbo, would you mind sharing pictures of you discharge chute modifications?

Thanks.

that angled part of the opening would always get a buildup of grass which eventually pluggs up my deck so i cut it square and it helped a lot to prevent a plugged up opening.

here's a pic of a metal rod i had hit, but you can sorta see what i cut.

here's a before shot:

 

[Homer1]

I cant believe people still use their chutes.. First thing I pulled off.

 

[turboawd]

I cant believe people still use their chutes.. First thing I pulled off.

i usually tie mine up, but on windy days, i get a face full of grass if the shoot is up. then i put it down.

 

[jekjr]

I cant believe people still use their chutes.. First thing I pulled off.

I bought two auto side windows in two weeks because we were running with ours tied up. When a rock comes out from under a mower with the chute off or tied up it will many times come out rising. When it comes out with a chute down it comes out deflected downward. In most operations where things are congested the least bit we are again running with ours down. In wide open areas where we can safely do so we run with them up.

 

[bertsmobile1]

This is what Toro says on the subject:

What are the benefits of running your riding mower on full throttle?

-Cleaner cut on the grass
- More power, less likely to bog down
- Less stress on the engine
- Engine runs cooler
- Slow engine speeds can result in hot spots on the cylinder

In addition, many of these machines have hydrostatic transmissions that generate heat during operation. They have a fan that keeps them cool and the fan is driven directly by the engine. Running the engine less than full speed will frequently allow the transmission to overheat. The first sign is usually a lack of power on hills. Permanent transmission damage can result. By keeping the engine at full speed the operator will keep the fan at full speed. This will maximize the air flow for the transmission keeping it cooler and preventing premature failure.
Riding products should be at full throttle at all times.

The cooling is proportional to the volume of air passing over the engine and the speed at which it travels.
Your engine is designed to run with the 3600 rpm's worth air blowing over the engine.
Ditto for the drives & motors.
The slower a shaft moves the greater the point load so running at 3/4 speed will tend to load up bushes, does not make all that much difference to balls & rollers.
However with caged needle rollers running too slow ( lugging) can cause the cage to scuff on the outer race and break up.
Finally alternators output increases with engine speed and running too slow can drain the battery.
Boundry lubrication requires a minimum volume and pressure of oil to work effectively and running too slow will reduce both the volume & pressure of the oil feed to the big end.