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chefwong


Joined: Dec 18, 2004
Points: 175

What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Original Message   Nov 10, 2010 1:48 pm
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...
Replies: 17 - 26 of 59Next page of topicsPreviousNextNext page of topicsAllView as Outline
snowmachine


Location: Washington State
Joined: Nov 12, 2008
Points: 268

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #17   Nov 14, 2010 9:31 am
Steve_Cebu wrote:
For AWD I'd get a Subaru like my old WRX. But Subies tend to push rather than rotate especially on pavement.

 http://team-oneil.com/



Is pushing considered understeer?

HTTPs://ouppes.com
Steve_Cebu


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #18   Nov 14, 2010 2:21 pm
snowmachine wrote:
Is pushing considered understeer?



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.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #19   Nov 15, 2010 4:37 pm
Steve_Cebu 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.


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?  :)
Steve_Cebu


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #20   Nov 15, 2010 6:08 pm
aa335 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?  :)



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.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #21   Nov 15, 2010 10:57 pm
Sounds like something from a Mad Max movie.

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


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #22   Nov 16, 2010 4:29 am
aa335 wrote:
Sounds like something from a Mad Max movie.

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



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.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #23   Nov 17, 2010 5:56 pm
Steve_Cebu wrote:
I'm sure they do pull better for an extra $800+ they should cook me breakfast in the morning too.

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.  :)
Steve_Cebu


Joined: Dec 17, 2009
Points: 888

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #24   Nov 17, 2010 9:33 pm
aa335 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.  :)



Hummers are too big to go offroad. There are far more capable vehicles out there. I don't know if they have hydrostatic trannys tho.

My old Landcruiser was a 1984 with a turbo dioesel engine in it. It would shame any Hummer made. I have pics of it but would have to find them.

I don't miss my Honda, I like my Toro too much but the Honda was a good machine.

"If you have more miles on your snow blower than your car, you live in New England."  "If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in New England."
chefwong


Joined: Dec 18, 2004
Points: 175

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #25   Nov 18, 2010 9:03 am
An interesting observation....I've moved the HS724 plenty of times with the engine off/transmission disengaged.

There was a link to a video on youtube that showed how *productive* one could be with wheels when just going straight, pulling the unit backwards in one heap, then make another forward pass,  rinse and repeat.
I guess to do this on the Honda, it's not easily done in this fashion due to the hydrostatic transmission.

Just yearning for more info, to get a better idea of the pros and cons of various things while figuring out what are the best methods of importing ~old blue~ back stateside.......
aa335


Joined: Nov 29, 2008
Points: 2434

Re: What is/are the benefits of hydrostatic transmissions ?
Reply #26   Nov 18, 2010 10:20 am
chefwong wrote:
An interesting observation....I've moved the HS724 plenty of times with the engine off/transmission disengaged.

There was a link to a video on youtube that showed how *productive* one could be with wheels when just going straight, pulling the unit backwards in one heap, then make another forward pass,  rinse and repeat.
I guess to do this on the Honda, it's not easily done in this fashion due to the hydrostatic transmission.

Just yearning for more info, to get a better idea of the pros and cons of various things while figuring out what are the best methods of importing ~old blue~ back stateside.......

I'm sure if you want to, you can rig a bicycle brake lever to that transmission to make it easier.  That might be worthwhile with the wheeled unit, I wouldn't do it on track unit since it's still quite a bit of effort to move it.

Also, another method to try with your wheeled snowblower is lift up the rear and put more weight on the skids when pulling back.  You can let the wheels glide over the thin layer of snow.

Try them all and see which method works for you.  Your 724 is a pretty lightweight and being wheel, not track, may be easier to do.  Us people with tracks snowblowers have no choice but just have to flick the speed selector lever forward and reverse.  :)

Good luck on getting ole blue
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