Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

FWIW, I bought my 1st 2 stager - Honda unit - without ever demoing a unit that had Hydrostatic Transmission.
Just short of the fact that it's variable infinite speed, can anyone just give me a laymens primer on the benefits of a Hydrostatic Transmission ?


BTW, how often if any do you do a OCI on the hydro transmission.

I was just surprised how much ~harder~ is is to move when not engadged as opposed to ~regular~ geared transmission.
I was at the local orange borg last night and wheeled the Organge buckets around and they wheel so much with ease...

aa335 wrote:

If you are on dirt or even pavement you can yank the e-brake to start you into the turn. Many AWD cars don't like to drift. It sure doesn't hurt Subaru's but might wear the brakes faster but yeah you have to let off the gas when you do it. We have RallyX events here and you'll see quite a few of them doing that. The FWD's lke to rotate if you use a bit of brake.

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Is there a difference in this behavior between a front wheel and rear wheel drive biased AWD car? I have a '07 G35X with the ATTESA-ETS system that seems quite drift-able if pushed but I wonder if that is the case since it is effectively a RWD car most of the time aside from slipping conditions and starts up to about 12MPH?

snowmachine wrote:

You won't be drifting at 12 mph. Sliding but not drifting. FWD will drift on dirt quite nicely. Here in NH we have one of the largest Rally schools in the USA and they start you out with FWD cars. FWD will handle differently than RWD versus AWD. The dynamics are completely different. For example when the Japanese drift racers were trying to get a stock Miata to drift, it just did not want to go until they used the e-brake to get it to rotate. We do have Ice racing up here if it gets cold enough so I'm looking forward to doing that. It's like RallyX/AutoX on ice. Your car is similar to the BMW 335 which has a similar system. No idea how well they drift. In NH it's hard to buy a RWD only BMW since we get a fair amount of snow. For AWD I'd get a Subaru like my old WRX. But Subies tend to push rather than rotate especially on pavement. If the driver is good you can drift anything. That's what Team O'Neil will tell you.

 http://team-oneil.com/

Steve_Cebu wrote:

Is pushing considered understeer?

snowmachine wrote:

Yes, the best description is Understeer is when you see the wall before you hit it and Oversteer is when you don't. Most cars setup today are setup for understeer intentionally. I remember the old Porsche 911 air cooled models that would swap ends in the blink of an eye on a corner if you let off the throttle in a turn. Nasty!

Thankfully my snowblower pulls rather than pushes.

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Ah, those early 911 were known for being "widowmakers" for a reason.  Before the whale tale, they were even more hairy to drive.  They should be standard issue for lawyers.  :)

Not for the faint of heart.  If you're going into the turn too hot, better plant your foot on the gas and stay committed to the turn. 

So tell me Steve, how does your snowblower pulls?  :)

aa335 wrote:

Yeah but those old 911's had soul (probably from the death of the previous owner) But they were fun to drive.

My snowblower pulls so well that I hear a local biker gang is going to get 2 Toros and chain people they don't like between them and blow snow in opposite directions.... Painful!  Might just be a rumor tho.

Sounds like something from a Mad Max movie.

I bet the hydrostatic transmission might pull better than those ole friction disc types. 

aa335 wrote:

I'm sure they do pull better for an extra $800+ they should cook me breakfast in the morning too.

Honda does make good stuff, dead reliable and feature free. Less stuff to break means more reliable if it's built well. I did hate the rear skid shoes on my 928TAS. I prefer side skid shoes. But it was built like a tank, albeit harder to turn.

Steve_Cebu wrote:
Clarification, that's ONLY $500 for the hydro transmission and $300 for the unique Honda red paint! 

Still can't cook me breakfast either, but it can put the snow on my neighbor's driveway.  He's got a Hummer H2 and I've been tempted to snow wall him in.  It's never been offroad and has made more Starbucks coffee runs than I can remember.  :)