Why don't compact tractors make more power??

[Cyclone Jake]

I did hear about one fellow who used his 1000cc boxer motor from his BMW motorcycle to build a snowblower. An 80hp walk-behind snowblower is not a machine to be trifled with.

How about a walk behind snowblower with a 454 ci big block?

The Original V8 snowblowers

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Now that's one that would really needs a ROPS.

And a parachute!

 

[DreaminGreen]

I had a metro for a couple years, 1.3L suzuki, 70 squirrel power, it really was'nt that bad. Well when you consider that it's sort of like a quad with a body on it, the power to weight ratio was'nt too bad.

 

[DreaminGreen]

Could I add these to the snow blowers.
YouTube - Zaugg Snowbeast and Bulldogg Snow Blowers

 

[orezok]

I believe that the average compact car uses less than 20 HP to cruise down the freeway. Now a Samauri with a a probable cd of .5 to .6 or higher will require more HP.

 

[biggerten]

..... it could do a lot more if it was about 500lbs heavier.

Eat more potatoes. And pie, with ice cream.

 

[Charlesaf3]

And that Samurai rating is without the drop for altitude... When I lived in Denver I had to stand on the pedal of my gfs civic to get it up the front range without getting rear ended.

 

[Wombat125]

And that Samurai rating is without the drop for altitude.

Amen. I've heard 3% loss for every 1000 feet above sea level. I live at 6600'. So I'm already in the -20% penalty box.

 

[jcmseven]

Even as modest as the CUT numbers sound, they are a far cry better than the older tractors, many of which pulled around over 4,000 pounds in just machine weight with much less than 20 horsepower. I recall when I was a kid, our school had an International LowBoy tractor for mowing. It was not that large but very heavy and had around 18 horsepower. I suspect with mower it weighed nearly 2500 (or more) pounds and was advertised as being a very powerful mowing "CUT" type tractor. Now, one can go to Lowe's and buy a tractor he/she can about hand lift into the truck that has more than 18 horsepower. As a poster mentioned, it is all about torque and gearing. One can get a lot done with a lower powered engine that is diesel if it has low enough gearing, big enough tires and enough chassis weight to harness the power. I have had the priviledge of owning both a 4310 and 3720 JD. They are the same size and weight and have the same chassis. The 4310 was 32.5 flywheel and 25 PTO HP; the 3720 was 44 and 35.5. They would do exactly the same thing. The ONLY difference was the speed with which they would do PTO work, nothing more. The 3720 would not pull a bigger box blade, nor load dirt or mulch any faster as it was traction-limited. In my opinion, the 4310 would actually PULL more, despite its lower HP as it did not overwhelm the tires as much. In this case, as in many others, raw horspower is not that easily accessed or used.

John M

 

[rtimgray]

I'm on board 100% with Wombat on the Samurai comment. I've had my 88 1/2 model since 92, and I loved it, but it was a DOG. You literally had to wind it up to shift gears and keep going. In 1999 I had developed some pretty had oil leaks and other engine problems and I swapped in a new 1.3 (still carburated) engine, but I did install a Mikuni(?) carb and Hawk Strictly Suzuki intake. I'm guess that the hp went up at least 10 to 20 hp, because since then, I can mostly drive it like normal, use 5th gear and achieve speeds of up to (and including) 65 mph on level ground. I've had it as high as 70, but I don't like to go that fast in it.

I also don't drive it any further from the house than I can walk back.