Cub Cadet Z-Force SX 48 Zero Turn

This thing is a beast!! – After much research for a versatile zero turn that could handle hills safely, we decided on the cub cadet Z Force SX48 zero turn . And it’s an absolute beast…. The Kawasaki engine is so powerful it drives through higher grass than expected with no power drop off. We are on a steepish hilly area of an acre that is very tricky but due to the design… Read more

this eats it up!! The front wheels turn with the zero turn back wheels via a steering wheel not levers. This makes steering far more accurate and safe and the front wheels grip the surface allowing for safer incline mowing. Normal lever steering on zero turns has like shopping trolley wheels that don’t do much…. The steering on the Z force grip far better, allowing a safer ride. Seat is so comfortable also with side arms to rest on. Starts easier first time. This Z Force has dual tanks…. Sooo good, switch over is easy and this feature almost sells it alone. Deck is fabricated and includes a hose connector for cleaning. If you are looking for a tough tough zero turn that can climb inclines then this is it. Well done Cub Cadet just brilliant.

Hydrostatic locked up – After 3 years of owning this machine the LH side hydro gear box locked up in reverse. Because it’s now attached to a lawn service ( it was purchased for privet use) I was told that the warranty on the machine was only 12months & not 3years. It should not matter weather it’s for privet use or not.. cub cadet should have more faith in their machines & not kick you to the curb once they take your money. Show details

Hard work made easy – Both my wife and I use this mower on our farm. As she is a lot shorter than me it is impressive the amount of adjustment available to the user when operating this machine. We bought this mower as it has a steering wheel as opposed to lap bars, we both like the idea of the steering wheel as we are getting older and the terrain we are mowing is… Read more

sloping and a little rough in places. We like the reassurance of a steering wheel we can hang onto in these places as we thought we could make mistakes with the lap bars when bumping along and the steering wheel is a given as we both drive a car daily. Performance wise the mower does everything we want and I have mowed the same areas with our 75hp tractor and slasher and the mower and I can use the mower to get into area the tractor won’t fit and it’s performance, although not as good in really long grass is surprisingly not far behind the New Holland. We recently fitted the mulching kit and this leaves the lawn clean with no wind rows. The Z Force is the top of the domestic range of zero turns with a steering wheel and we are glad we did not buy the commercial model next up as we now know we didn’t need it. We mow 1/2 a hectare and with twin 10lt fuel tanks there is no stopping to refuel. I guess the best recommendation for anything you buy is, “would you buy another one” and the answer is a positive yes.

So good! – Steering set up is amazing, I mow slopes and rocky terrain with a lot of fallen branches I try not to mow big rocks or timber but it happens and so far it’s faultless, I was replacing blades on my last mower every single time I mowed, two tanks is handy and it’s built to ridged i can lift a wheel though drains and the frame doesn’t flex, and for a… Read more

mower with out the suspension others offer it is so comfortable. I have only had this machine for 15 hours use but I’m hard on gear i LOVE IT if anything changes I will be back to inform you

A tough, maneuverable ride-on lawn mower – With a steering wheel, more weight on the front wheels and a smart drive system of commercial quality, this is an excellent machine, made in the USA. This week, I bought a Cub Cadet mower with a steering wheel because we have some steep areas to mow. Our old mower was a zero turn with lap bars and could not be controlled when on sloping ground. I… Read more

had become very good at driving it and that caused me to take it into situations that were dangerous. I got too cocky. So, I made the hard decision to stop doing that. I sold the old mower and invest $9,799.00 in a mower that is safer and designed to mow sloping ground.

I took it for a run for the first time today and was impressed by its rigidity, power, cut quality, ride comfort and ease of operation. I mowed for around one and half hours. My plan is to update this report as time passes, to create a record of how this new mower performs and what I learn as I go, might help others.

January, 20, 2022. UPDATE. My Cub has over 40 hours on it now and I'm able to provide more information on how this machine functions, including its pros and cons.

I'll cover the cons first because that's a very short list. Steering can be heavy in some situations, but to alleviate that problem, front tyre pressures in particular must be maintained according to the service manual. It would be good to have a lap seat belt to keep me on the seat when mowing slopping ground. That's the end of the cons.

One of the main benefits from owning this mower is the time I spend mowing. I mow the same area in less than 2 hours while on my old mower, it took almost four hours, plus three quarters of an hour using a self propelled machine to mow a slopping bank at the front of our house. This area was too steep for the old mower. In addition, I'm able to mow a much larger area: 50 square metres on the approach side of our house, plus both sides of our road which is 300 metres long. I run up each side of the road three times. Fuel consumption for all this work is around 15 litres which I consider very good because our ground isn't level and tends to be rough in areas. The mowing deck is remarkably tough. I bought a spare set of blades which I haven't needed to use. I jack the mower up on a trolley jack, then get under the deck with a 100mm grinder and sharpen the existing blades - on the mower. I've done that once in 40 hours. Cleaning under the deck is easy using our garden hose on the jet setting. Ride comfort is really good. The seat and driving position would be hard to beat. I don't use the arm rests. Mowing sloping ground - all I can say is this mower is remarkable. It will go where I steer and doesn't slip or slide of the line I want. A seat belt would be nice in these situations, but I use the floor plate under my left foot to push my weight back into the seat. Cut quality is excellent, but depends on two things. The blades are sharp and the grass is dry, plus I don't drive too fast mowing tall grass. Engine is Kohler 7000 Series 24hp and is well matched to the three blade 48" mowing deck. I use only Mobil 1 5W-30 engine oil.

Let me know if you have any questions.