How can I speed up my lawn mower?

Mowing the lawn is time-consuming, that’s no secret. Maybe you don’t particularly enjoy the activity, or maybe you’re just in a hurry. It’s only natural to look for ways to make a lawn mower go faster so you can get back to enjoying your afternoon. There are a few simple tweaks you can make, as well as some more complicated projects and modifications that’ll get your mower cutting as efficiently as possible. In this article, I aim to show you some of the most common ways of how to make a lawn mower go fast.

If you’ve been wondering how to mow the lawn faster, one way is by making modifications to parts of your mower, such as the governor spring, tires, and pulley wheel. These modifications can increase the speed of your mower. You can also make it go faster with some simple additions to your lawn mower maintenance routine such as checking the oil and keeping the tank topped up. Some of these tricks are easy to implement, taking only minutes (after a trip to the hardware store, but I love those). Others are complicated projects that should be started at your own risk. Are you ready to make your lawn mower go faster? Great—read on to find out how!

Changing your Mower’s Air Filter

The first and most simple way to make your lawn mower go faster is to replace the air filter. Over time, these get clogged up, allowing dirt and refuse to enter your engine—causing damage, and startup problems of various kinds. Also, a clogged filter will prevent your engine from getting enough oxygen flow, causing it to run inefficiently, which in turn makes your lawn mower slow.

A fresh air filter will increase the speed of your lawn mower, especially if you’ve owned and used it for a long time. You can find new air filters for your lawn mower at your local hardware store or online—check your owner’s manual for reference.

Checking and Changing the Oil

Check the oil level and quality regularly. This is an important step in keeping your mower’s engine running at maximum efficiency. This is because oil degrades with time and use, and will eventually start damaging the engine if left unchecked.

For a push mower, it’s recommended to change the oil every season, or after roughly 50 hours of use – whichever comes first. The same goes for riding mowers, though they will run for around 100 hours before needing an oil change. I’d also recommend changing the stock oil of your mower for something of higher quality after the first 5 hours of use.

To simply check the oil level, unscrew the dipstick from the oil reservoir. Wipe the readings and replace the cap. Always top up the oil by pouring slowly, being careful not to overfill the compartment. For a full oil change, it’s best to consult the owner’s manual for their intended method, though for most push mowers you simply tip the machine on its side and place a plastic dish to catch the oil in before disposing of it responsibly (recycle if you can!).

Changing the Length of the Governor Spring

Something else you can do is change the length of the governor. It’s a small spring that controls the fuel flow to the engine. Increasing the spring’s length will allow for more fuel to flow to your engine, thus making it go faster.

Similarly, removing the governor entirely will significantly increase your lawn mower’s horsepower. To adjust the governor, you may need to remove the starter insert and flywheel housing (don’t forget to replace these, that’s important). Once the spring is removed, bear in mind you are now operating the machine outside of its recommended use-case scenario. Be cautious and stay safe.

Keep the Tank Topped Up

This may sound obvious to some, but it’s good to know that if your tank isn’t full, your mower isn’t operating at maximum capacity—so keep it topped up. This is because as your tank empties, the available volume of air in the tank is increasing—and fuel fumes are evaporating into this air—decreasing fuel efficiency. Just don’t overfill the tank.

You can also opt for some high-octane fuel, just make sure you empty the tank before using a different kind of fuel. As usual, always refer to the owner’s manual to gauge the types of fuel that are compatible with your lawn mower.

How To Make A Riding Lawn Mower Fast

How about riding mowers specifically? There are a few tips specifically suited to making a riding mower go faster.

Sharp Blades

The most important thing you can do to increase the speed of your riding lawn mower (any mower, really!) is to keep the blades sharp. This sounds simple, but it’s easy to forget. A sharp blade cuts with less resistance, leading to less friction as well as helping prevent grass buildup on your blades as you mow for extended sessions.

Bigger Tires

One of the most common tweaks is to install bigger tires. With bigger tires, you cover more ground per wheel rotation, translating directly into increased speed. You should make sure the tires on the mower are the same width. This will make the mower respond quicker and maneuver smoothly.

Better Airflow

In addition to making sure the air filter is clean, you can opt to remove the hood of your riding lawn mower entirely! Doing so will drastically increase the airflow to your engine, giving it some extra juice.

Reduce Weight

As an added bonus for removing the hood from the previous trick, you have now significantly reduced the weight of your machine, which helps it go faster. Remember to replace the hood between uses to help keep the engine clean, especially if you keep it outside.This trick doubles as a legitimate argument for why my older teenager should be mowing the lawn for me sometimes. He’ll be faster at it because he’s smaller than me, it’s simple physics!

Bigger Pulley

The real modification, however, is the infamous pulley mod. By changing your pulley to a bigger one, you can substantially increase the speed of your mower.

Is A Bigger Pulley Going To Increase My Mower Speed?

You can change the size of the engine pulleys on your riding mower to increase the speed. This is a relatively complex procedure—more of a weekend project than a quick tweak. If you’re considering this, you should definitely consult your manual, as well as have a wide selection of tools on hand. Every mower is different, and you may need to make some major modifications.

One pulley is connected to the engine, and the other pulley is behind it. By installing a bigger pulley (and matching belt), you will increase the speed of your mower—just bear in mind this will most likely void your warranty. Not to mention, there are obvious safety concerns when operating your machine outside of its intended range.

That’s all Folks!

All in all, it’s completely possible to increase your lawn mower’s speed. You can do so with some simple additions to your maintenance routine, or you can venture into the more advanced methods such as adjusting the governor spring or looking at increasing the size of your pulley wheel. If you’re unsure about your ability to make these modifications yourself, or if you’re concerned about the safety of it all, you can consult a professional to make the modifications for you. If you have any other tips & tricks on how to make your lawn mower go faster, share them with the community in a comment below!