Looking at Fastrak, Fastrak SD or SDX

[ed3303]

Hello, I am a new member and potential new Hustler owner. I have 4 acres with very slight hills, a pond and a creek bed. I had a Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle that I was very pleased with but have heard that Dixie Chopper is no longer the company that it once was.
I am looking to purchase within two weeks and am concerned that the 54" Fastrak may not be quite a heavy duty enough mower. The terrain is fairly rough and the grass around the pond and levee gets fairly thick. My dealer thinks the fastrak will be plenty, I just don't want to be halfway through the season and be disappointed with the performance of the standard Fastrak. Is it worth considering stepping up to one of the heavier Fastraks or would their capabilities be similar. The X-One and Supers are really more than I want to spend, but would be willing to go up to an SDX if it would perform better and potentially hold up better. My old Silver Eagle was a beast and the Turf Boss tires came in handy around the pond. I know that comparing Fastraks to DC Silver Eagles is apples to oranges, but I really don't want to spend 11-12k for my residential mower.
Any input is appreciated.
Ed

 

[mhavanti]

I went with the Raptor SD60 and have friends that have put them into commercial service and are beating the dickens out of them. No problems thus far. If you want to pay the difference between the RSD and the Fastrack, I'd say go for it.

I, personally, didn't think there enough difference in the bang to throw away the buck. It is, after all, only a lawnmower.

Run'em like you stole'm. If you break it, fix it.

 

[kraky]

I went from a raptor SD to a fastrack and can't believe how much better the traction is. That said I'm not sure I would want to be around any Pond situations. I'm not sure if an after-market luggy type tire would be better or not.

 

[Bergy1]

I looked at similar mowers and went with SDX 54". Have up to 5 acres, 1 watered. Did mulching deck so the outlying acres I need to go a little slower on. Does a good job. Parts are very hilly/steep and it seems to handle well. I went with the SDX for upgraded air filter and beefier transaxle with my hills.

 

[RhettWS]

Ed,

If you are around Denham Springs you can come look and ride on my Raptor SD. I have over 4 acres but I mow less than 1 acre. So far I am pleased with it.

I agonized over the models you are looking at as well as a Ferris. I had the money but decided to save it. If you actually mow 2-3 acres it might be worth it to get the one of those better models. I suspect any one of those Fastraks will do just fine for your needs.

No matter what you purchase there will always be that little nagging voice wanting more.

Rhett

 

[ed3303]

Thanks for the input everyone. I ended purchasing the 54" FasTrak today, had it delivered and had time for about an acre worth of mowing before dark. So far so good. Very pleased with power and comfort. I am ordering an OCDC from PowerChute Design and will give feedback once I get it installed.
Rhett, thanks for the offer. I am in Alexandria but travel through Denham fairly often.

 

[mhavanti]

Ed,

Enjoy your new purchase. You should get out what you put into it.

As far as the traction, I do have something to input. There can't be any more traction between a Fastrack and any other version if you're speaking about same GVW, same tire widths, same power to weight ratio, wheelbases, etc. There are two 54 Super Zs and a 54 X-One. None of them have any more traction than my RSD60 and I finish mowing my 3/4 acre in a few minutes less time than they do their 1/2 acres. I have a 250 foot 25 degree angle and theirs are all flat. I have a sprinkler system that makes the grass wet and I wait for the grass to dry before cutting.

However, I did, just for this thread, cut the grass wet and waited for it to get to 5 inches instead of 3 1/2 before I cut. The mower didn't have any signs of wandering along the angles and along the street has a short area with a fairly steep area to cut with a nice little 15 foot radius. Have to mow around a man hole on that steep incline. The mower did not care.

Hope the traction comment didn't sell you on the higher priced unit. Sorry I wasn't able to make the grass grow out more rapidly to do this test for you. No disrespect meant to Kraky. Just an observation and as an aside, I made a living doing the traction thing for many decades.

You may or may not follow motor racing. Autos, motorcycles and trucks. I designed chassis's, engines, intake and exhaust systems, ignition systems, breather systems for mud and swamp racers and rear axles for Fuel Cars on down to street racers. Here is where the traction comes into the equation: For mud and turf, if you're trying to launch a vehicle up a hill, you need horsepower as well as torque, to keep from cutting the turf, there is a fine line of tire width so you can get a bite and if the tire is too wide, it will spin. If it is too narrow, it will begin digging in and make a nice little rut, but then, you'll bury the unit. The Raptor SDs have very wide tires which in my opinion are best for your expensive sod due to less pounds per square inch of weight on the blades of grass. Adding weight doesn't necessarily make the traction better, it will, if the grass is wet cause you to spin more and do more damage to your grass.

I built quarter mile Wheel Standing Drag Cars known world wide, raced in Australia, New Zealand, England, Europe as well as all over the USA. I've attached a few of my productions since the early sixties. Traction is king for getting the job done and can even save your life on the side of a pond, drop off or hillside. Point to all this, the Raptor SD has the same traction as a Super Z.

Everyone is welcome to bring their mower here and we'll set up a scientific challenge to see if your mower has any more traction than mine. You may have more horsepower, you may have more rpm, but you don't have more traction than a Hustler Zeon with a full charge or a Raptor SD. Again, no disrespect meant to anyone. I speak from the scientific platform, not from personal reason to spend more money with the friendly neighborhood lawnmower salesman.

Hope you all have a great Father's Day 2016.

Max

 

[kraky]

No offense taken. But I still have to stand by my claim..lol. my house has a shallow ditch about 70 feet from the front of the house that I mow Crossways for one or two swipes. Then I like to make alternating straight lines up to the house. When I come down towards the ditch I had trouble turning around with the raptor SD.. sometimes even stopping would be a pretty good skid. With the new machine I never spin a tire and I actually can come down the hill fairly fast and stop without a slide.
Hard to know what it is... it could be the narrower taller Tire.... the extra 200 pounds on the fast track... perhaps slightly smoother hydros.... maybe just a little deeper tread on the tires who knows. A couple of months ago I was talking to a buddy who has a landscaping business and loves his John Deere compact tractors. He refused to take delivery of a certain brand of tire on his new tractors even though that tire size was the same as another brand and looked virtually identical. He said the difference in working on the side-hills and ditches was like being on ice or being on pavement with the two tires and he had no explanation for it either... sometimes things are just plain weird!

 

[mhavanti]

kraky, speaking of that situation, I can run any of the five Hustlers on my property that is much like yours. Every one of them have done exactly what you describe. We all have the same tires on our Hustler mowers.

I brought them all over from one time or another after they all said their's wouldn't spin going backwards up the hill and inclines. It turns out, the Super Z's spin as badly as my poor little SD. Now, with that said, I learned it was me, not the mower. I changed my methods and problem fixed. lol I called it "Operator Error" and I'm still learning different things that others have already learned.

I do run mine wide open and come to stops going down the hills. I've got a feeling I'm going to slide soon according to your statement! lol

Hope to hear more from you. Always a pleasure.

Max

 

[DK35vince]

As far as the traction, I do have something to input. There can't be any more traction between a Fastrack and any other version if you're speaking about same GVW, same tire widths, same power to weight ratio, wheelbases, etc. There are two 54 Super Zs and a 54 X-One. None of them have any more traction than my RSD60

Yet the FasTrak has a slightly longer wheel base, has larger diameter tires and is 200 lbs heavier than the Raptor SD
My Super Z has larger diameter tires, wider tires, longer wheel base and weighs well over double the Raptor SD.
Did I mention it mows my 8 acre yard in 2 hours