Just think how I am doing with my 42" that had a 16.5 hp which now has a 21 hp on it. Just had to upgrade the deck belt as that 1/2" belt just couldn't handle the power. Started out barely able to cut slightly overgrown grass and now the walks thru 12+" grass.
Yes .
You can go too far down the bigger is better road
Oe of the local makes just kept on putting bigger & bigger engines in their mowers
Originally they were 7 x 24" , 8 x 30" 8.5 x 32
They ran standard polly V belts so were cheap to run and despite having the small decks can out cut most 42" ZTR's & run rings around any tractor style mower.
The name Fast Cut was quite accurate they are way faster than "the worlds faster mower" but that is of course if you accept that the USA is not the entire world.
Any way there things are great and a couple of my part time commercial customers use them particularly for rough cutting 4' tall weeds.
Plain belts , bushes on the deck lift cork plate varidrives so they ru forever and cost nothing to run.
Company got taken over by idiots who just kept on putting bigger engines in them
So the last model, before they went to the wall had a 26 Hp V twin driving the 34" deck
It ate kevlar belts and drive chains to the point that older models second hand were pulling higher prices than the current model new
I have slipped some 10Hp intecks into a few and those customers are pleased as punch with them .