Well since I have now mowed four times with the Z960R I feel I know it good enough to write up a little review and comparison on its performance.
This comparison is between a 2010 / Z930A and 2014 / Z960R.
2010 / Z930A
29HP Kawasaki Engine
60 7 Iron Deck
2014 / Z960R
31HP Kawasaki Engine
60 Mulch on Demand 溺OD 7 Iron Deck
I wrote this last Sunday, but things have changed since now and then so I now have time to post everything.
Engine:
The Z960R came with a 31HP Kawasaki engine and I never dreamed that 2HP would have made that much of a difference, but the power and torque from the 31HP engine feels like I am running a much larger engine. The Z960R engine will plow through 2 week un-mowed grass with ease and the engine still does not bog down like most others I have seen do.
The one thing with this engine I need more practice with is mowing my pond dam, my old machine I would just creep up the dam no issues, but the new 31HP engine while mowing slow like I have been for the past 4 years will raise the front end up in a minute with minimum forward pressure on the control arms, so if anyone else upgrades to the new model just be prepared for the additional power and torque of these mowers.
MOD Deck:
My thoughts on the JD MOD 7 Iron Deck, this deck is a very clean cutting deck and yes it works exactly as advertised you push the handle forward for MOD and that is exactly what you are getting this mower mows, mulches, and discharges the clippings back into the lawn with very few clippings exiting the discharge chute so yes it works when mowing around your home, buildings, landscaping, etc.
Now the MOD deck does not stripe as good and prominent as the 7 Iron deck, I spent several hours comparing different set-ups with the MOD deck and I was unable to get it looking like my old Z930.
The first three mows I performed with the MOD deck had the blades that came from factory TCU15881 which are High Lift blades and commonly used on 7 Iron and 7 Iron Pro decks.
Now the parts replacement list calls out different blades these designated MOD blades TCU18990 were installed and mowed with around the home, building, driveways, etc using the MOD feature with the different blades this machine still mows like a dream and works exactly as advertised.
If I was commercial business and mowing multiple yards say 2 acres or less this is the ultimate set-up to use especially around sensitive areas where you do not want grass clippings to be, I know I would at least have 1 if not multiple MOD decks in my fleet.
Now the Con to the MOD Deck:
We have a portion of our front lawn located between trees immediately in our yard in front of the house and Cleveland Pear trees which are located about 30 feet back from the road, this lot is 2.5 acres and then we have another lot behind our pond which is 1.5 acres where I have no obstacles or nothing stopping me from letting the machine eat while mowing these two areas.
I cannot mow with my machine at half throttle or wide open due to stragglers of grass and some uncut grass left in the lots, if I mow slowly I have no issues with uncut grass and have a beautiful cut æœinus the prominent striping?
I have studied the deck thoroughly underneath it and determined the baffles for the MOD chambers are too close to the blades, thus not allowing proper air flow and vacuum for the deck to lift and cut all grass and causing this issue.
Also the MOD doors that close to create the mulching chambers are manufactured with additional angle iron under the deck, this angle iron even though it is far enough from the blade tips will also have a slap effect knocking grass and where they are lower than the edge of the deck I also think this contributes to the issues I am having mowing at faster speeds.
Where I cannot mow at half or full throttle without any uncut grass like I could with my old 7 Iron Pro deck in these two fields I have filed a complaint with JD and given them two options to repair this issue.
Suspension Seat:
The new suspension seat on the Z960R, yes I can tell a world of difference with the ride, softness of the ride, and no hard bounce to it. The ride I experienced with the Z930 had the deluxe seat with the JD suspension kit added later after my injury and I was never able to dial in it to get a ride even close to what I have now.
The new seat on the Z960R you just dial in your weight and enjoy the ride, the back of the seat reclines to allow customizing of the rear seat angle and do not forget the lumbar adjustment to support your spine.
Changes made to the machine:
I did change out the front tires to pneumatic tires which I purchased from Green Farm Parts.
The tires I am very happy with the purchase, I have them inflated to 18 psi and they have eliminated the majority of the bounce from the front end which is very common while running the run-flat tires. When adding the pneumatic tires I had to check the pitch of the deck, my dealer sets all Ztrak decks to ï½¼ deck pitch so I set it back like it was.
Also added the light kit with a rear LED light so if I do get to mow at night I will have no issues mowing.
Overall Performance of the Machine:
I am very impressed with this mower, power, torque, and a few places I would actually slide a tad and have to use more compensation to help eliminate the slide is not there anymore, it seems as this machine has a lower point of gravity which stabilizes and handles better.
Controls are more sensitive especially with the travel so I am assuming the cross porting for the cooler hydraulic fluid is working keeping the trannies color and more responsive.
Update on Mower:
Z960R is in the shop, dealer worked this past week on the MOD deck trying to get it to cut properly and it failed.
Dealer tried multiple deck settings and blades to get the MOD deck to cut properly at higher speeds and all his attempts as well as mine have failed.
So my dealer has ordered me a Brand New Z960R with the 7 Iron Pro deck to replace my new machine with the MOD deck.
Now because the MOD deck mowing around sensitive areas did work so well, I have ordered the powerchute for my new incoming machine so I can still mow around sensitive areas with not blowing the full discharge clippings into those areas.
The ETA on my new machine is on or before July 16th delivered to me, plus the additional stuff I have placed on my machine will be transferred over to the new machine before delivery.
Oh and an additional note, I am without a mower awaiting my new one to arrive, my dealer has given back to me my Z930A I traded in to mow with until my new machine arrives, I know a lot of folks does not care for green but with dealers like this it is hard to stay away.
This comparison is between a 2010 / Z930A and 2014 / Z960R.
2010 / Z930A
29HP Kawasaki Engine
60 7 Iron Deck
2014 / Z960R
31HP Kawasaki Engine
60 Mulch on Demand 溺OD 7 Iron Deck
I wrote this last Sunday, but things have changed since now and then so I now have time to post everything.
Engine:
The Z960R came with a 31HP Kawasaki engine and I never dreamed that 2HP would have made that much of a difference, but the power and torque from the 31HP engine feels like I am running a much larger engine. The Z960R engine will plow through 2 week un-mowed grass with ease and the engine still does not bog down like most others I have seen do.
The one thing with this engine I need more practice with is mowing my pond dam, my old machine I would just creep up the dam no issues, but the new 31HP engine while mowing slow like I have been for the past 4 years will raise the front end up in a minute with minimum forward pressure on the control arms, so if anyone else upgrades to the new model just be prepared for the additional power and torque of these mowers.
MOD Deck:
My thoughts on the JD MOD 7 Iron Deck, this deck is a very clean cutting deck and yes it works exactly as advertised you push the handle forward for MOD and that is exactly what you are getting this mower mows, mulches, and discharges the clippings back into the lawn with very few clippings exiting the discharge chute so yes it works when mowing around your home, buildings, landscaping, etc.
Now the MOD deck does not stripe as good and prominent as the 7 Iron deck, I spent several hours comparing different set-ups with the MOD deck and I was unable to get it looking like my old Z930.
The first three mows I performed with the MOD deck had the blades that came from factory TCU15881 which are High Lift blades and commonly used on 7 Iron and 7 Iron Pro decks.
Now the parts replacement list calls out different blades these designated MOD blades TCU18990 were installed and mowed with around the home, building, driveways, etc using the MOD feature with the different blades this machine still mows like a dream and works exactly as advertised.
If I was commercial business and mowing multiple yards say 2 acres or less this is the ultimate set-up to use especially around sensitive areas where you do not want grass clippings to be, I know I would at least have 1 if not multiple MOD decks in my fleet.
Now the Con to the MOD Deck:
We have a portion of our front lawn located between trees immediately in our yard in front of the house and Cleveland Pear trees which are located about 30 feet back from the road, this lot is 2.5 acres and then we have another lot behind our pond which is 1.5 acres where I have no obstacles or nothing stopping me from letting the machine eat while mowing these two areas.
I cannot mow with my machine at half throttle or wide open due to stragglers of grass and some uncut grass left in the lots, if I mow slowly I have no issues with uncut grass and have a beautiful cut æœinus the prominent striping?
I have studied the deck thoroughly underneath it and determined the baffles for the MOD chambers are too close to the blades, thus not allowing proper air flow and vacuum for the deck to lift and cut all grass and causing this issue.
Also the MOD doors that close to create the mulching chambers are manufactured with additional angle iron under the deck, this angle iron even though it is far enough from the blade tips will also have a slap effect knocking grass and where they are lower than the edge of the deck I also think this contributes to the issues I am having mowing at faster speeds.
Where I cannot mow at half or full throttle without any uncut grass like I could with my old 7 Iron Pro deck in these two fields I have filed a complaint with JD and given them two options to repair this issue.
Suspension Seat:
The new suspension seat on the Z960R, yes I can tell a world of difference with the ride, softness of the ride, and no hard bounce to it. The ride I experienced with the Z930 had the deluxe seat with the JD suspension kit added later after my injury and I was never able to dial in it to get a ride even close to what I have now.
The new seat on the Z960R you just dial in your weight and enjoy the ride, the back of the seat reclines to allow customizing of the rear seat angle and do not forget the lumbar adjustment to support your spine.
Changes made to the machine:
I did change out the front tires to pneumatic tires which I purchased from Green Farm Parts.
The tires I am very happy with the purchase, I have them inflated to 18 psi and they have eliminated the majority of the bounce from the front end which is very common while running the run-flat tires. When adding the pneumatic tires I had to check the pitch of the deck, my dealer sets all Ztrak decks to ï½¼ deck pitch so I set it back like it was.
Also added the light kit with a rear LED light so if I do get to mow at night I will have no issues mowing.
Overall Performance of the Machine:
I am very impressed with this mower, power, torque, and a few places I would actually slide a tad and have to use more compensation to help eliminate the slide is not there anymore, it seems as this machine has a lower point of gravity which stabilizes and handles better.
Controls are more sensitive especially with the travel so I am assuming the cross porting for the cooler hydraulic fluid is working keeping the trannies color and more responsive.
Update on Mower:
Z960R is in the shop, dealer worked this past week on the MOD deck trying to get it to cut properly and it failed.
Dealer tried multiple deck settings and blades to get the MOD deck to cut properly at higher speeds and all his attempts as well as mine have failed.
So my dealer has ordered me a Brand New Z960R with the 7 Iron Pro deck to replace my new machine with the MOD deck.
Now because the MOD deck mowing around sensitive areas did work so well, I have ordered the powerchute for my new incoming machine so I can still mow around sensitive areas with not blowing the full discharge clippings into those areas.
The ETA on my new machine is on or before July 16th delivered to me, plus the additional stuff I have placed on my machine will be transferred over to the new machine before delivery.
Oh and an additional note, I am without a mower awaiting my new one to arrive, my dealer has given back to me my Z930A I traded in to mow with until my new machine arrives, I know a lot of folks does not care for green but with dealers like this it is hard to stay away.
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