Why Did John Deere Install 19.5 Hp in 2012 Z710A moweer?

[Been There]

I'm almost on the verge of buying a very clean.. 180 hours 2012 JD Z710A with 54" deck Zero Turn mower. Price is $4,350.00 However, there is one thing that keeps me from going all out to get this mower, and that is has 19.7 HP Kawasaki engine. From my searching the John Deere forums, this seems to be the only ZTR they installed a lower horse power engine, when most all others have at least 23 hp to 30 hp engines.

Any one out there have a answer why this was done.

 

[Mad Mackie]

The JD specs show the 19.7 HP engine with a 54" deck on a Z710A machine.
Bear in mind that these machines have the "7 Iron" stamped deck that some operators had uneven cuts with due to improperly stamped decks.
Have the seller do a sample cut for you to check out before putting down your money!

 

[Been There]

By question was.. Why did John Deere install a lower HP engine in these machines? The answer you gave didn't have anything to do with HP rating, as I don't think HP has anything to do with a mower making uneven cuts.

 

[Mad Mackie]

It's all about the money!
More HP costs more money!
Incorrectly stamped decks 7 Iron JD decks are a lack of quality control on the part of both the manufacturer and JD!
Ask John Deere why the Z700 machines were discontinued and the Z900 series machines although very similar to the Z700 series have higher HP engines!

 

[Been There]

Re: Why Did John Deere Install 19.5 Hp in 2012 Z710A mower?

One good reason for the higher horse power is the 60" or larger mower decks most name brand Zero Turn tractors now have. Some facts are, John Deere loves changing models to keep the JD owners knocking on the doors. In the lawn tractor series over the years, they change models for the same reasons. In fact most models used some off the same parts...enterchangable from one series to the next level.

Back to the question asked... I think the 19.7 HP Kawasaki on the Z710A was do to it only carried a 48" and 54" deck.

 

[cpurvis]

Try it out and see if it seems underpowered.

 

[bertsmobile1]

They fitted the smaller engine because it has a smaller deck.
Most mowers are way way way overpowered.
The selection of engines are done by determining the max load the mower needs then picking an engine that is 25% bigger.
And as the others have already mentioned it comes down to price.
99.9% of ride on owners have no idea how to access their purchase and buy on price.
10¢ cheaper and that is what they buy
Thus an engine that is $ 400 cheaper allows a big price advantage