Are hydro's normally faster then gear drive?
 

I was driving around my 108 and 127 a few days ago. The 108 has a 12hp in it now. That 127 was hauling pretty fast. I realize the engine in my 108 needs some love but even if it was running well I dont think it would make up the difference. Are the trans geared different? Does the pump step up the rpms?

Pretty sure the answer to your question is yes. Hydros are slightly faster.

gear drives in 3rd 6.9 mph
hydro's 8 mph

Yes, the hydro's are a little faster. No, it doesn't "step up the RPM's". They are just geared a little different. It's actually pretty interesting to look at all the different models and the speeds. They aren't as similar as you may think. They don't vary much, but they do list differently.

Yeah I was wondering about gear options. There is a thread on hear about a 106 I think that was rebuilt. I think he called it his own version of a super. Insane build, very slick. Well where im going with this is he said he had a low 2nd gear in his trans. That lead me to believe that there must have been some options when you bought these correct?

No, but over the years some gearing changes were made. Mostly because of engines and tires. There are 2 or 3 second gear ratios. I don't remember there being any others for 1 and 3. Also, MWSC makes all kind of gears for pulling. There are options. But there weren't "choices" when you bought new.

Huh pretty interesting. Thanks :-)

Yep they are normaly faster. Unless of course you have a machine like my old 100 that decided to grenade its governor right as we were gettin ready to race em...that was interesting

Did you win? :biggrin2:

There were 3 different second gear ratios that IH Cub Cadets used. Early Cub Cadet 70 and 100's with serial number range of 65458 to 96765 had a 16 tooth 2nd gear. The gear would fail sometimes. It was a little on the slow side when you mow the grass. The later 70/100's serial number 96766 and above had a 19 tooth gear. The 19 tooth gear was used until the wide frame series came to the market. Cub Cadet went to a 17 tooth 2nd gear.

Speeds for the
16 tooth-3.0 mph
17 tooth-3.5 mph
19 tooth-3.9 mph