What kind of mower can be used as a racing mower?

After I pay my car insurance fee next month I want to start saving up for a mower. But what kind of mowers can be used for racing mowers? John Deere's (and other new mowers) won't work, right?

Thanks

I try to use front engine, belt driven transmission. Look for a decent frame, no large cutouts. Transmissions can be the H-pattern peerless 600's, or any of the transaxles with a pulley on top and gear shift. Look for a clutch pedal on the left side, makes it easier.

Stay away from hydro's, and variable speed MTD's, or others with the single speed rear end, and variable belt drive. Also I use top pulley transmissions, and no side pulley ones. Vertical shaft engine. Here is a pic of my favorite one to use, craftsman's, 10-12hp.

Thank you. I will admit that it's a little over my head, haha.

So basically I'm looking for a mower with a clutch instead of multi-speed type trans? (like the one in my avatar, a 1-5 speed mower)?

Yeah, Pretty much look for what Stretch44875 Mentioned, Use a front engine Rider

NOT LIKE THIS

Look for a belt driven, pretty much all the newer tractors that aren't high end lawn tractors(Like some Cub Cadets) or Hydrostatics

Trans with a Gear Shift, like what you said a 1-5 Trans but if its a 1-4 or 1-6 they will do fine(even 1-3 High and Low speed do well to)

I dont know what he means buy a clutch pedal on the left(only reason I know is because most people are used to that)

Hydros normally have oil reservoirs and used hydraulic motors, They also have a Forward and Reverse Pedal on most of them to.

This is something you don't want.

Variable Speed MTDs have a clutch thing normally under the tractor between the seat and steering wheel and are like torque converters and have springs in them(Really similar to Snowmobile clutches)

This is the Variable Speed Clutch

Single Speed transmissions are usually found in ones with the variable speeds and rear engine riders

Top Pulley transmissions are what is on most tractors today, but if you look under the tractor and can see the pulley off to the left or right of the transmission its obviously a side pulley.

Vertical Shaft Engines are what they sound like, also on almost every newer tractor, If you find a Horizontal shaft engine on a tractor its normally old and not worth making into a racing tractor(normally worth restoring).

I guess thats my attempt at simplifying Stretch44875's reply.

One thing I would like to add in is look for one thats got a fairly strong frame, Look in the front end and see if the front axle is thinner then most(I know my tractor is a 1 1/2" front axle, its normally pretty common but I know the Ariens YT12 from the 1990's have ones that are 1/2" thick)

This is what Im talking about

And the Tractor hes suggesting for you to use is fairly good because parts are very cheap and common(almost any person who has alot of tractors will know what your tralking about or have one).

Thank you!

I mention the clutch on the correct side because we built one with the pedal on the wrong side, and it was crashed into a vehicle on it's first run, due to gas and brake/clutch being reversed. I moved it to the other side, but it was a pain.

As mentioned any front engined tractor should work - most racers use MTD's and Craftsmans - pretty much for the large open cavity inside the chassis

Ive made a few modifed tractors ( mostly stock but too fast for stock) out of a Craftsman, MTD and a Murray - the murray was the one i got running the fastest- and was the scariest to handle being 90% stock - using a 18HP twin briggs and using the shift on the go 6 speed , it propelled it over 30mph ( im sure it wouldve gone faster , but couldnt control it). Mine is a pan chassis ( one piece) - id suggest using the late model ones with a C channel chassis for more strength.

Im actually rebuilding it again after 3 years of sitting , this time its getting extensive mods to run and handle better . Im swapping the front axle and steering ( for now) to a MTD setup - might use stock MTD setup or go direct steer, not sure yet , building custom spindles , lowering seat position, and also will be chopping the chassis for the lowering of the stock trans further into the chassis, as well as a racing clutch setup ( two pulleys). My plan is running 10" golf kart wheels with low profile rubber . Motor this time will be a OHV single cyclender ( not sure what size it is, shroud was missing).


Wether you make it to actually race or for messing around with, like i have, dont take a stock tractor and make it fast, thats just a quick way to go to the ER , they wernt designed for anything over 5mph , stuff can break off if not properly prepped , not to mention stock brakes cant slow you down in a hurry if need be either. Stock steering needs to go - the steering in my murray had a ton of slop in it, no wonder it handled terrible- the front axle also needs to be locked - no swiveling.


Best bet would be to see what racers are building and do some research before buying something /building it .

In my group's experience (Me, Stretch, and some friends), the handling problems aren't usually due to steering slop. The problem is the angle of the front spindles. We fought with that forever and finally found the correct settings online. The stock front axles, depending on caster/camber/tow, can start to get really dangerous on the road at about 30mph.

Locked / Unlocked front axle is a personal preference IMHO. We leave ours swivel, but put in stops to limit the travel.

Edited to add:
BTW our tractors top out at about 45mph, so we have tested them at speed

Exactly - stock steering isnt designed for higher speed applications. I ran fat golf kart wheels on my murray ( was thinking stability) , stock steering and it was all over the place - wheel had a mind of its own over 30mph ( it was capable of higher speeds, just couldnt control it) . Keep in mind my tractor was literally 90% stock , cept for the tapered bering hubs up front , changed pulleys, larger motor and foot throttle.

It felt tight at first, but as i took it apart to rebuild it , thing had a damn near 1/8" play between the wheels and steering wheel , bolts were loose - damn lucky i didnt crash it , i liked buzzing around on it before, just didnt trust the thing to stay in one piece.

I tinkered with an MTD, seeing how fast it would go , with minimal effort I bolted the front axle solid as high in the chassis i could go, put lower profile tires on stock rear wheels , lowered seating position - just doing that made it handle TONS better - felt totally safe on that .

I should note, we did upgrade all the stock steering linkages on the mowers, then limited the front swivel travel. Some would handle decent at speed, others were all over the place. Took many years before we finally researched and fixed the problem with new axles/spindles, that had the correct caster/camber/toe. I can now run them up to the 45 mph, and take my hands off the steering wheel.

A tight stock steering system may be okay, but chances are it's not. I would say 20mph is about the limit for most stock steering, in good shape.

We've also lowered the front end some, and lowered the seat heights. After widening the front and rear, the mowers feel much better, no more 2 wheels around the corners.

Started out like everyone else, just changed the pulleys and let'er fly. It is easy to make a mower fast, it's harder to make it steer and stop.

My Uncle gave me his old mower. I've seen it but don't know what kind it is (it has some electrical problems) so I'll post pictures can I can take some!

I agree with Stretch - my first couple mods were that way- easy to get em up to speed- hard as hell to make em slow down w/o any brakes - ive had a few close calls on my murray and my craftsman.

Thats why this time im building it right - specially if i switch motors.

I'll keep that in mind. I don't need a 40mph mower but I wanna go faster then 8mph lol

What ever you do just stay away from hydrostatics and MTD's and you should be just fine

Does anyone use a MTD as a racing mower

W1ldyOvvnZ wrote:

Yeah, Pretty much look for what Stretch44875 Mentioned, Use a front engine Rider

NOT LIKE THIS

Look for a belt driven, pretty much all the newer tractors that aren't high end lawn tractors(Like some Cub Cadets) or Hydrostatics

Trans with a Gear Shift, like what you said a 1-5 Trans but if its a 1-4 or 1-6 they will do fine(even 1-3 High and Low speed do well to)

I dont know what he means buy a clutch pedal on the left(only reason I know is because most people are used to that)

Hydros normally have oil reservoirs and used hydraulic motors, They also have a Forward and Reverse Pedal on most of them to.

This is something you don't want.

Variable Speed MTDs have a clutch thing normally under the tractor between the seat and steering wheel and are like torque converters and have springs in them(Really similar to Snowmobile clutches)

This is the Variable Speed Clutch

Single Speed transmissions are usually found in ones with the variable speeds and rear engine riders

Top Pulley transmissions are what is on most tractors today, but if you look under the tractor and can see the pulley off to the left or right of the transmission its obviously a side pulley.

Vertical Shaft Engines are what they sound like, also on almost every newer tractor, If you find a Horizontal shaft engine on a tractor its normally old and not worth making into a racing tractor(normally worth restoring).

I guess thats my attempt at simplifying Stretch44875's reply.

One thing I would like to add in is look for one thats got a fairly strong frame, Look in the front end and see if the front axle is thinner then most(I know my tractor is a 1 1/2" front axle, its normally pretty common but I know the Ariens YT12 from the 1990's have ones that are 1/2" thick)

This is what Im talking about

And the Tractor hes suggesting for you to use is fairly good because parts are very cheap and common(almost any person who has alot of tractors will know what your tralking about or have one).

my tractor is a Ariens YT11 and the front axal is only 1/2" thick but its incedably strong and the only thing is my bushings are shot LOL

Not to be a bug but can I ask why everyone says stay away from hydros?

I know they aren't able to go very fast or anything but they can take a beating like any other tranny

Hydro probably can take more abuse than gear transaxles. But you can't overspeed them very much, and they don't freewheel. If you are flying along at 20mph on a hydro, and let off, it will lock the wheels instead of coasting.

For 10-15 mph, they may work very well.

Ok thank you.