FWD mowers: are there any advantages????

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WhyMe

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I see that FWD mowers seem to outnumber rwd ones when i hit the HD or Lowes. Many moons ago my parents had one and whne i used it, it would have a lot of wheel spin in wet grass. FWD in cars seems to work in cars, as the weight of the engine helps out the traction.

So are there any advantages to a FWD mower taht i am missing?
 
Interesting, not sure if it is related, but when I was walking to the garden center at HD yesterday, I noticed that some of the self propelled said better for areas with lots of stuff in the way that you need to navigate around, while others say good for hilly terrain... They all looked the same to me...

Since the engine mass is really prety centered, unless there was a full bag on the back, I dont see how it could make much of a difference... But maybe RWD/FWD has something to do with what you may encounter and what terrain you mow???
 
They are easier to maneuver if you're not using a bag.

The only downside is if you use a bag. Once the bag gets about half full it takes enough weight off the front wheels to render the self propel useless. I did have to borrow a fwd mower a few years ago and I was having to empty the bag about every 3-4 passes just to keep enough weight on the drive wheels. However, most of the time I mulch or side-discharge so in that case the fwd would not have been a problem.

I would also imagine it wouldn't work very well on hills.
 
Once you've used a good rear driver, you'll put that front driver on the curb(or at least on Craigslist)...

Some have mentioned the RWD Snappers would spin on hilly terrain and while that may be true, the real differential allows for ease of turning while the power is still applied... The FWD ones I've used tended to mow like I was chasing a snake vs the steady track of RWD(again older Snapper)...
 
Seems to be personal preference. For our family, we have been mowing 1 acre for over 50 years with front wheel drive. The simplicity of pushing the handle down to get close to a tree or rock has always been our choice. I tried a neighbor's RWD mower and found it to be difficult to control in similar circumstance. It seems from comments above that you should try both and find one that suits you best. FWIW--Oldtommy
 
Originally Posted By: TFB1
Once you've used a good rear driver, you'll put that front driver on the curb(or at least on Craigslist)...

Some have mentioned the RWD Snappers would spin on hilly terrain and while that may be true, the real differential allows for ease of turning while the power is still applied... The FWD ones I've used tended to mow like I was chasing a snake vs the steady track of RWD(again older Snapper)...


Used my new/old snapper for the first time last week, and I tend to agree with you, I love the way I can just hold the drive lever down when turning and don't have to let it go at the end of every pass. My yard is flat how ever, so I can't comment on how it works on a hill. I had a Honda Harmony 215 given to me with a cracked deck, I'm sorely tempted to repower my snapper with the GXV 140 off of it, but need a carb and air cleaner for it first;)
 
They are cheaper to purchase. You can raise the front wheels off the ground during transport to save wear on the drive wheels.

Rear wheel drive = better traction in most situations, you can self propel the mower with the front raised up to tackle really high grass.

Toro personal pace gives RWD traction and you natually let off the drive for turns. It's my favorite drive setup. Just push down and it goes, push faster and it goes faster.

All the good quality mowers are rear wheel drive. I haven't seen one that isn't a cheapo special that has FWD.
 
To clarify the snapper wheel spin thing:

Anything really steep to where the mower would shift most weight to one side, the other could spin and not propel the mower. Open differential makes it easy to turn with the drive still engaged. Any terrain that would have only one wheel in contact would force me to push the mower myself till both wheels had contact. Poor me, i had to push the mower for a few really hard to mow spots.

Toro's drive is my favorite over snapper but its a good setup.
 
I used FWD for years - same reason as most: my yard is odd-shaped with lots of obstacles. I used my brothers (older) toro once with RWD - you had to disengage the RWD just to turn around.

as others have said, FWD is cheaper. (not sure why) and I never had a problem with traction with FWD. granted, I dont bag..

I just got a snapper with the React RWD system. WOW. that system is smart. it almost has AI - it knows exactly how fast you wanna go and never pulls. I imagine that the new Toro system is similar?
 
Big hills? Mow in square or circle type pattern? Rwd is for you.
Flat surface? Mow in professional stripe pattern? Fwd is for you.

I can turn my fwd 180° in probably less then 2 seconds leaving the wheels engaged entire time.
 
What dareo said!

I have a '04 Toro Personal Pace mower and it is vastly superior to a fwd mower - it's really a night and day difference.
 
I just saw AWD mover at Lowes couple days ago. You can choose fwd,rwd or awd. Also had garden hose socket to connect over blades for easy cleaning. It was priced around $500. That should be nice and fun mover. Forgot the brand,but I think it uses Honda engines.
 
The awd: Husqvarna 22-in Self-Propelled All Wheel Drive Gas Push Lawn Mower.

Looks like a good idea for tough hills. The only cons i see are:

No pressurized lubrication, so on severe slopes you could have oil starvation. Most mowers suffer from this, but an AWD should have it covered.

heavy weight AWD

Complex belt system

Lots of engine power (Gas useage) going to the AWD

Just the consumer grade honda engine, good but nothing special.

For only five bills its worth a shot. Unless you have been spoiled by using a 30" mower.
 
Originally Posted By: dareo
Toro personal pace gives RWD traction and you natually let off the drive for turns. It's my favorite drive setup. Just push down and it goes, push faster and it goes faster.
Quoted for truth. I
FWD is great for kids' tricycles...and...um...that's about it.
 
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