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Hello guys I'm new to this form I have a stupid question that I can't figure out. I have two hustlers and now this is my first bad boy. It's a 2022 ZT elite. For some reason I can't figure out how to speed it up it's not like my hustlers at all.

Do I have to adjust it at the bottom of the hydros or can I adjust the steering sticks to make it faster any advice would be appreciated.

rmeredith88 said:

Hello guys I'm new to this form I have a stupid question that I can't figure out. I have two hustlers and now this is my first bad boy. It's a 2022 ZT elite. For some reason I can't figure out how to speed it up it's not like my hustlers at all.

Do I have to adjust it at the bottom of the hydros or can I adjust the steering sticks to make it faster any advice would be appreciated.

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Have you consulted your operators manual? It should be in there.
Also, what hydrostatic transmissions are on the mower?

Manual

MParr said:

Have you consulted your operators manual? It should be in there.
Also, what hydrostatic transmissions are on the mower?

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On the road owners manual at home that's why I'm looking on this Bad boy thread for experience help. Thanks

Page 21
Lengthen the push rods. Pay particular attention, this also adjusts your tracking. So, you will have to match it up for your mower to run straight.

Page 19 on the link @sgkent posted.

Thank you both so much!! I appreciate it

Those rods also adjust neutral. If you have neutral and go to adjusting those rod it will throw your neutral off. You have to set neutral and then adjust the tracking. There are adjusting bolts to limit the travel of the lap bars so you can set the tracking. Back the bolts off so you have all the travel you can get then adjust the bolts to were they just touch the lap bars. Then get on a flat level surface push both bar forward as far as they will go. If one side is faster than the other set the tracking by slowing down the fast side to match the slow side.

We also need to comparing apples to apples here. The Hustler Super Z can travel up to 14 mph where the Bad Boy ZT elite can only go up to 7 mph. So which Hustler mower are you referring to?

Some ZTRs I work on are like snails when compared to the Super Z.

StarTech said:

We also need to comparing apples to apples here. The Hustler Super Z can travel up to 14 mph where the Bad Boy ZT elite can only go up to 7 mph. So which Hustler mower are you referring to?

Some ZTRs I work on are like snails when compared to the Super Z.

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StarTech said:

We also need to comparing apples to apples here. The Hustler Super Z can travel up to 14 mph where the Bad Boy ZT elite can only go up to 7 mph. So which Hustler mower are you referring to?

Some ZTRs I work on are like snails when compared to the Super Z.

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Well my hustler is an el cheapo hustler raptor SD and it goes 10.5. this elite goes only 5.5

Funny the specs are up to 7.5 mph.

Hustler Raptor SD specs

And these specs say up to and not that every mower will go this fast.

Now of course I don't have a radar gun to check a mower's speed either but apparently you have access to one.

The Bad Boy ZT Elite is a residential mower, equipped with Hydro-Gear ZT3100 hydros. A speed of “up to” 7 mph is just about right. If you want speed, you would need to move up to the Maverick and Maverick HD to start seeing an increase in ground speed. If you have a bumpy lawn, 7 mph is about all a human body can handle.

StarTech said:

Funny the specs are up to 7.5 mph.

Hustler Raptor SD specs

And these specs say up to and not that every mower will go this fast.

Now of course I don't have a radar gun to check a mower's speed either but apparently you have access to one.

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I do I'm a cop. Come on man I'm trying to get bad boy right. Not interested in Hustler feed back. Thanks though. You should know don't go by specs I have a 29 hp on my hustler.

Then with the Hydro Gear ZT-3100 you need the increase amount of forward movement of the control which may only possible by extending the point of the control arms Which make the arms a lot more sensitive to movement. Or put larger rear tires if the clearance is there for 24" tires instead of the 22" tires.

And the size of the engine means nothing as they are governed to 3600 rpm regardless of engine size.
hydro gear drives are very speed sensitive .
Spin them too slow and the oil tracks out the side causing erosion damage
Spin then too fast and they leak between the inlet & outlet holes on the valve plate and wear there
No mower maker puts out speed specifications for their mowers .
It is not some thing that technicians either fix nor adjust .
People just do not understand that they are mowers , not go carts, not ATV's, not cars
Mowers are very price sensitive so they are all made down to the lowest price possible
Thus nothing odd to see 2 seemingly identical mowers and have one go 20% faster than the other
Tight specks require hgh precision manufacturing and high precision manufacturing costs money

Maximum speed on a Hydro-Gear ZT3100 is 9 MPH. How much a mower weighs and how the manufacturers set up their mowers determines the actual speed.

The Hydro-Gear ZT2800 has a maximum speed of 8 MPH.

MParr said:

Maximum speed on a Hydro-Gear ZT3100 is 9 MPH. How much a mower weighs and how the manufacturers set up their mowers determines the actual speed.

ZT-3100® - Entry Level Commercial Grade Transaxle - Hydro-Gear

Hydro-Gear’s entry-level commercial transaxle is designed to give you reliable and quiet performance every time you turn the key.

www.hydro-gear.com

The Hydro-Gear ZT2800 has a maximum speed of 8 MPH.

ZT-2800® - Estate-Grade Residential Transaxle - Hydro-Gear

Our most rugged residential transaxle for machines up to 1000 pounds.

www.hydro-gear.com

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A transmission has a maximum rotational speed at the axel
The ground speed will be determined by the diameter of the tyres
To the transmission running a wheel that is one inch bigger diameter will put more load on the transmission so in theory might restrict the top speed but in practice
a bigger wheel is no different to towing

bertsmobile1 said:

A transmission has a maximum rotational speed at the axel
The ground speed will be determined by the diameter of the tyres
To the transmission running a wheel that is one inch bigger diameter will put more load on the transmission so in theory might restrict the top speed but in practice
a bigger wheel is no different to towing

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And, that’s why mower manufacturers have different speed numbers on units equipped with the same hydros. Different branded machines equipped with exactly the same hydros will have different sized tires and some will weigh a little more than others. That’s where some of the different ground speed are seen.

Plus the engine drive pulleys can be different diameters. Smaller drive pulleys will reduce the speed which the driven pulley is driven at.