series 3100 increase the forward travel speed!?

[william_wixon]

are there some adjustments to the hydrostatic transmission that would allow the tractor to have a greater forward travel speed?!?!

or, are there in fact some adjustments that can be made to the linkage that will increase the forward travel speed?!?!

is there any way to increase the forward travel speed of a series 3100 lawn and garden tractor?!?! i got mine in june. there were a few things that i was QUITE disappointed with it. overall i think it's the dog's nuts, SO much BETTER than my previous cub cadet model 1865 (i think that's what it was) i HATED that tractor WITH A PASSION(!!!). one of the things that i am disappointed with the 3100 is the forward travel speed. somehow it feels like i'm CRAWLING along when i'm cutting the grass. the entire time i'm cutting the grass i'm PUSHING down on the "forward" pedal, PUSHING AND PUSHING down to go faster but it just ain't happening. i removed the rear fender and have the tractor up on blocks so i can manipulate the forward and reverse control pedal linkage, i was trying to learn how they work and if there's any way to alter the linkage to increase the forward travel speed. i do not see any way to increase the forward travel speed by adjusting the linkage. now it seems to me the only possible way to increase the forward travel speed is to somehow make adjustments to the hydrostatic transmission. are there some adjustments to the hydrostatic transmission that would allow the tractor to have a greater forward travel speed?!?! or, is there in fact some adjustments that can be made to the linkage that will increase the forward travel speed?!?!

 

[OhioGuy]

Just a thought, try releasing and re-engaging the Hydro release on the rear of the tractor. These have been known to cause the problem in the reverse direction, maybe it can effect forward also?

Curt

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

The pedal linkages on the Cub Hydros are a balance between forward and reverse speed. You can adjust the linkage to give less reverse speed and gain some forward speed. I was dissappointed in the speed on my 3235 compared to my old 1450. I now have it adjusted so it barely creeps in reverse and gained all I can in forward speed.

Bob B.

 

[william_wixon]

i calculate 6.162997 mph, how does that compare to other manufacturers? to other cub cadet series 3000 tractors?

Just a thought, try releasing and re-engaging the Hydro release on the rear of the tractor. These have been known to cause the problem in the reverse direction, maybe it can effect forward also?
Curt

The pedal linkages on the Cub Hydros are a balance between forward and reverse speed. You can adjust the linkage to give less reverse speed and gain some forward speed. I was dissappointed in the speed on my 3235 compared to my old 1450. I now have it adjusted so it barely creeps in reverse and gained all I can in forward speed.
Bob B.

hi curt, good thinking, thanks for that tip. i checked it.

bob, thanks for your response. i was getting that feeling from manipulating the linkages, it did seem to me it would only allow a certain amount of forward travel and a certain amount of reverse travel and adding to one would subtract from t'other. i was hoping i could some how cheat it and make it go faster in both forward and reverse. after farting around with it earlier tonight it seems the only way possible to do that (not w/ the linkage) is to get inside the hydrostatic transmission and cut/mill some parts inside it, (or are there some adjustment screws?!) which i think is beyond my abilites, or maybe if someone makes other gears (bevel gear? pinion?) inside the differential which will probably be WAY more expensive than i'm willing to pay. don't guys "hop up" garden tractors for races?... (was wondering about aftermarket gearing) uh... well, then again, anything they'd have would probably be WAY faster than i'm hoping for.

for grins and giggles, and also to set a baseline to verify any changes i might've made, i wanted to clock how fast the wheels turned at full throttle and at the full travel, forward speed pedal. i had the tractor up on jack stands and put a strip of masking tape on both tires so i could count the rpm's. clocked it with a stop watch. i only took two samples, 98 and 97 rpm because i was doing it with the garage door closed because i didn't want to disturb the neighbors with the noise (it's late) and didn't want to kill myself with CO (taking the samples took a lot longer than just 2 minutes). the diameter of the tires, 66 3/4".

66.75 dia. x 97.5 rpm = 6508.125 inch/min. = 542.34375 ft/min., with that i get 6.162997 mph.

wondering how that compares with other guy's tractors. oh, obviously that's under NO load.
i was curious to see if Cub Cadet quoted at their website the forward and reverse speed, they do, i wonder if either a. they're exaggerating, b. rounding off or c. if my tractor isn't functioning correctly. they say 0 - 8.0 forward and 0 - 4.0 reverse.

 

[JTKub]

6.2MPH would be quite fast. Like Bob says, you can shorten the forward rod some, but you will take away the range of motion required for max reverse speed. Another simple thing to look for is make sure the rubber foot well pads are not hindering full pedal movement. FWIW, I have read of several slow ground speed complaints on the 3K series over the years. Dunno if a 'one size fits all' solution has been made.

Joel

 

[Bob_Bainbridge]

I believe my 1450 did 8 mph forward which we often used when in a hurry to get done. I was dissapointed in the speed of the 3235 although it probably shouldn't run any faster to still get a decent cut.
Bigger tires would be one way to increase speed.

Bob B.

 

[Undercover]

I have a 3235 and i always thought it was a little slow.In fact it seems slower than my gt1554 (never raced them).I just always figured it was a illusion because of the comfort and how much better the 3235 is put together?

-------------------------------------
Cub Stuff
NEW SWE 930.....love it
04 GT3235 60"deck
07 GT1554
08 CC500
08 CC4175

 

[william_wixon]

6.2MPH would be quite fast. Like Bob says, you can shorten the forward rod some, but you will take away the range of motion required for max reverse speed. Another simple thing to look for is make sure the rubber foot well pads are not hindering full pedal movement. FWIW, I have read of several slow ground speed complaints on the 3K series over the years. Dunno if a 'one size fits all' solution has been made.

Joel

thanks joel. like undercover said, i owned a 1864 and cut my grass here for years and i can tell this 3100 is slower. i suppose 6.2 being fast is subjective. the specs at their website says it runs at 8. thanks, by laying under the tractor and fiddling with the linkage for hours i can see the linkage has unimpeded travel. i just spoke with my dealer and called the cub cadet ("white outdoor products") number i found here on this discussion group and now i'm starting to feel VERY frustrated. both the guys i spoke with were friendly and "helpful" but the answer i'm getting there's nothing i or they can do to increase the, what for me is VERY frustrating (slow) forward travel speed.

 

[william_wixon]

I believe my 1450 did 8 mph forward which we often used when in a hurry to get done. I was dissapointed in the speed of the 3235 although it probably shouldn't run any faster to still get a decent cut.
Bigger tires would be one way to increase speed.

Bob B.

it feels like my (loathed) 1864 went faster than this 3100, never took the trouble to count the rpm's and do the calculations to find the actual mph. there are spots on my lawn where the grass grows hardly at all and i want to SPEED at FULL SPEED through those sections to get to where the grass does grow high. and, i like to be in control of the machine, not have it control me, i can tell when i'm cutting the grass when the engine is bogging, when i'm cuttting too fast for the engine to keep up, and when the forward travel speed is affecting the quality of the cut, then i slow down as much as necessary to get the quality of cut i desire, not have the tractor dictate to me how fast it wants to go. there are other discussions where people write about the sad state of affairs we've come to where corporations have to add on ridiculous features to cover their a**. to me this feels like some knid of designed in limitation. like, they were wanting to get a favorable review in consumer reports or something on the comparisons of their quality of cut in relation to other manufacturers so they just deliberately limited the forward travel speed so the reviewers couldn't run the machine so fast as to reduce the quality of cut, or something. this is very frustrating. i'm afraid bigger tires would affect the ALREADY TERRIBLE deck height adjustment. the deck only goes up and down an inch? two inches? haven't measured it but when i actuate the deck height adjustment i'm like "THAT'S IT?!" i said in my original post, i DO LIKE this tractor, except for a couple MINOR things and was hoping as a u.s. citizen i could adjust those things (i already adjusted the throttle lever to my satisfaction) to my satisfaction, at home, in the privacy of my own garage, without the dealer or the manufacturer knowing about it.

 

[william_wixon]

I have a 3235 and i always thought it was a little slow.In fact it seems slower than my gt1554 (never raced them).I just always figured it was a illusion because of the comfort and how much better the 3235 is put together?


yeah, me too, my (DESPISED) 1864 went (by my perception of having used it for 15 years) faster than this 3100. there are spots in my lawn where the grass doesn't grow hardly at all and i want to be able to DECIDE FOR MYSELF whther or not i want to ZIP through those sections at MAXIMUM speed. (i'm sorry guys, i'm not yelling at you, i'm "yelling" at frustration, i am digging in my heels because of the "no"s i'm getting from the dealer and manufacturer.) or, i have 6 acres, i want to be able to ZIP from one project at the front of my property to some other project at teh back of my property at FULL SPEED. i'd think even 8 mph wouldn't be fast enough, but if 8 is all i can get that's better then this crawl at 6.2 mph. funny, "...illusion because of the comfort level..." actually i felt that way too, when i first started using the 3100 i was like "AAAHHHH!!!" it was SO much more relaxing than using that 1864. i LOVED this 3100. just a couple minor complaints, i was hoping i could take care of them myself, not trouble the dealer with piddly silly litte crazy squawks.