SnapperPro ZTR 26HP Briggs or 19HP kawasaki?

[LazyBoy]

My local dealer who is also my neighbor is cutting me a good deal on a SnapperPro S50, he has 2 in stock one with the Briggs 26hp and the other with the 19hp Kawasaki, now what would be a better choice? I don't mow thick grass but mostly light stuff and small scrub brush in a 2 acre pine grove. And does Snapper think the 19hp Kawasaki is just as powerful as the Briggs or are they just giving a more efficient but more expensive option? I can get the Briggs for a few hundred less. And for those that don't know the Snapper Pro line of mowers are pretty much just renamed Ferris mowers with the suspension removed.
http://www.snapperpro.com/s50x.php

 

[Will_C]

I won't say anything bad about the Briggs, but I have a 23 hp Kawasaki on my Toro Z mower, and it has been trouble free. My brother has the 19 hp Kawa on his mower. It is 7 years old, with around 750 hours use, with no problems.
FWIW,
Will

 

[Baucom]

Since the Briggs is the ELS & not a Vanguard, I'd pay the extra for the Kawasaki. I assume this is the 48" version, so 19hp won't exactly be overkill, but it'll be very capable. The B&S ELS is not a commercial engine like the Kawasaki, but in the end it's your money and you have to do what you think will satisfy you best...

 

[LazyBoy]

I was going to go with the Kawasaki unless I was told it just wasn't powerful enough. I was mainly wondering why the extreme difference in power between the two different mowers if 19hp was enough?

 

[bp fick]

I was going to go with the Kawasaki unless I was told it just wasn't powerful enough. I was mainly wondering why the extreme difference in power between the two different mowers if 19hp was enough?

Comparing engine to engine, on hp rating alone is tough. There is so much marketing involved, as in a LARGE hp number impresses a lot of people. The trouble with this methodology is that the hp # can be manipulated too easily. Super high RPMs, versus one rated at a lower RPM, etc. A more important number might be torque, or power band, but that is seldom reported in a way that helps the consumer. A "lower" hp rating versus a "higher" hp rating just doesn't tell the consumer the whole story, sadly.

 

[Baucom]

I was researching those 2 engines a bit earlier this a.m. The B&S is 724cc and doesn't list the torque. Kawasaki is 585cc and has 36.6 lb-ft of torque. Unfortunately for the consumer, I feel that B&S & Kohler are the worst for "inflating" hp figures to impress people who buy strictly based on the "numbers". You don't see the high hp numbers claimed by small displacement engines built by mfgs who only build commercial engines. I know it's apples-to-oranges, but Dad has a JD 345 with a LC Kawasaki 20hp running a 54" deck. When I was still there, I never had that engine hurt for power even in tall, wet, grass. I can't say the same for the 23hp Kohler Command on my MF with a 54" deck.

 

[Ron D.]

BP Fick is right on about the torque. I just purchased a zero turn and got the 19hp kawa. In my research, the B&S engine had only about two-thirds of the torque rating that the Kawa's had of like hp.

Looking at engine specs, the 26 hp ELS Briggs has 33 ft lbs of torque at 2,600 rpm, the 19hp kawa has 36.6 ft lbs of torque at 2,000 rpm.

From all my reading, the lawn pros like the Kawasaki over the Briggs.

 

[bp fick]

Exactly!!!

Notice the difference at which the two RPM the engines post their ratings?

Man, always go with the one which has the "grunt" at the lower RPM. That is a life motto, and you always love driving it better. I don't care if it's a truck, a tractor, or whatever. They are more fun with grunt down low. If the power comes alive in lower RPM and the Kaw does, than it also lasts longer. Think about. Why rev the crud out of something to get it work?

 

[Ron D.]

Just like in muscle cars. Torque gets you to the next red light faster than hp. That's kinda off the subject, but I couldn't help it.