Green Tractor Talk banner

X380 review

16K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Huntfishcamp 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi Folks,

I just wanted to provide an initial, non-technical review on my new x380.

For starters: I bought it with the 48" deck. Added the manual mulch kit, brush guard, aerator/dethatcher combo tool, and the 10P trailer. All in, it was $5,300 delivered to my doorstep, fully-assembled, with all the mentioned accessories. Invoice showed $600 in discounts and I also got two free camo hats :thumbup1gif: Probably 2k more than what I initially want to spend, but after much online research and speaking to the rep at Sun South, I was convinced to make the bigger investment. I think it's also to call out that I'm a big man, 315 lbs, 6'4", and so I wanted something a little beefier (frame, engine and transmission) to haul my big rump around :laugh:

Anyway, my intended use is primarily lawn mowing. I have just over a 2-acre lot with a full acre of mowable lawn. Majority of the lawn is flat, but I have one strip in the front of my house that is somewhat steep, I actually have to lean when mowing. Other than mowing, we will use the 380 to haul various landscaping stuff around the house on an occasional basis. And, I intend to aerate the GA clay at least twice per year.

So far, I have mowed with the tractor 4 times already, aerated once, hauled mulch twice, and given the kids rides a few times as well. I now have 8-hrs on the machine.

Enough with the fluff, let me get to my review.

Overall impression: I'm by no means an expert, in fact, this is my first ever riding lawnmower. BUT, in my opinion, I find the x380 to be very well built and designed. It runs and handles very well. And quiet, too! Again, with my size, I fit really well on the seat and leg room is sufficient. Startup with the choke is very smooth. I'm extremely impressed with the turn radius of this machine. In fact, just drove my father-in-law's x584 with the 4-wheel steering and I found my 380 to turn just as sharp. With my large rump, I've found the power to be more than sufficient, even when hauling a the loaded trailer or slightly up a hill. The deck was very easy to level, and it produces a beautifully manicured cut on my bermudagrass. In fact, I mowed at full-speed once just to test it, and the mower deck kept up and didn't miss a blade. The blades cut very close to the edge of the deck and make it easy to trace your mowing pattern. The mulch kit works nice too. It does shoot out some grass, but very minimal.

Just a few observations:

I just performed the break-in 8-hr oil change. The location of the oil filter is not ideal, especially for folks with bigger hands. Was somewhat of a pain to get off and put back on. But, the 8-hr break in change was definitely needed. I bought the x380 all-in-one maintenance kit and used the components provided.

Throttle: Owner's manual calls for you to start the engine on half throttle. That's not the way I was taught to start engines, you always start them on low and then throttle up. When I've followed the suggested method, engine fires up fine but exhaust shoots out an initial whiter cloud of smoke, so I've resorted to firing it up on low throttle like i'm used to and no issue.

Ignition: I've noticed very rare circumstances where if I turn the key all the way, it has a delayed start. Almost like no connection is being made. Instead, I turn key one click to system check, then another click to start and no issue.

Seat: the JD seats seem to be a common complaint. With the limited time I've used this machine, I'm already start to nice wear creases in the seat. Perhaps that's normal. I guess I should buy a cover if I want longevity. However, despite my size, I do find the seat to be comfortable.

Mower deck: it did not come leveled. I had to adjust it fairly significantly upon arrival. However, after 8-hrs of use, it has held true to level, even after I once snagged the deck on a small tree stump.

Brush guard: it will rattle a little bit when the tractor is rolling, but otherwise it's solid steel and definitely performs.

Cupholder/side storage: perhaps trivial, but I noticed that some of the other JD's have a lid on the black storage part by the cup holder. Mine doesn't have one. Wish it would as I find my keys or phone or whatever else I put in there bounces around quite a bit and could actually bounce out.

Side note on the JD magnetic trailer pin. I was using it while pulling my aerator weighted down with 4 cinder blocks. It was somewhat bumpy. The magnetic pin did not hold and the aerator came off a few times.

Any comments, questions or concerns, please feel free. I hope this review was helpful!

Thank you!

Land vehicle Vehicle Tractor Riding mower Motor vehicle
 
See less See more
1
#2 · (Edited)
...engine fires up fine but exhaust shoots out an initial whiter cloud of smoke, so I've resorted to firing it up on low throttle like i'm used to and no issue.

Seat: the JD seats seem to be a common complaint. With the limited time I've used this machine, I'm already start to nice wear creases in the seat. Perhaps that's normal. I guess I should buy a cover if I want longevity. However, despite my size, I do find the seat to be comfortable.

JD magnetic trailer pin. I was using it while pulling my aerator weighted down with 4 cinder blocks. It was somewhat bumpy. The magnetic pin did not hold and the aerator came off a few times.
If you're using the choke for cold starts, I was told to begin cranking first and THEN push the choke lever. That reduced the smoke for me.

Your seat WILL crack. Folks here tell me it's covered by warranty, so keep your eye on it. I sent the dealer a request yesterday and will let you know if there are problems getting it replaced.

I highly recommend this hitch pin. I have both 1/2" and 5/8" versions.
https://amazon.com/Master-Lock-Stainless-Receivers-1465DAT/dp/B000COX0MY/
 
#3 ·
I just wanted to provide an initial, non-technical review on my new x380.
Thank you for the nice thorough review.

Throttle: Owner's manual calls for you to start the engine on half throttle. That's not the way I was taught to start engines, you always start them on low and then throttle up. When I've followed the suggested method, engine fires up fine but exhaust shoots out an initial whiter cloud of smoke, so I've resorted to firing it up on low throttle like i'm used to and no issue.
All the Kawasaki engines like to smoke a bit if fully choked. My X500 did the same thing and someone suggested to first crank the engine for about 2-seconds with no choke and then while still cranking briefly burp the choke. This has completely eliminated any smoke at startup.

Seat: the JD seats seem to be a common complaint. With the limited time I've used this machine, I'm already start to nice wear creases in the seat. Perhaps that's normal. I guess I should buy a cover if I want longevity. However, despite my size, I do find the seat to be comfortable.
JD lawn and garden seats are an embarrassment. My old 175 Hydro seat lasted 15 years before developing any cracks. The X500 seat only lasted two years despite being stored indoors. The dealer replaced the seat under warranty but I thought it would be a good idea to install a seat cover to hopefully extend the life of the new seat. Imagine my surprise when I removed the seat cover after a year and saw my new seat looking like THIS.



Cupholder/side storage: perhaps trivial, but I noticed that some of the other JD's have a lid on the black storage part by the cup holder. Mine doesn't have one. Wish it would as I find my keys or phone or whatever else I put in there bounces around quite a bit and could actually bounce out.
I believe most of the X300-series have the open storage bin whereas the X500 models have the lid.

Side note on the JD magnetic trailer pin. I was using it while pulling my aerator weighted down with 4 cinder blocks. It was somewhat bumpy. The magnetic pin did not hold and the aerator came off a few times.
Wow! That is a surprise. I've been wanting to get one of the JD magnetic hitch pins. I'm currently using a 4-1/4 inch hitch pin and I never use the hairpin. Despite working on rough ground I have never had the pin come out while pulling a 17P cart, 900 lb lawn roller and 5-foot harrow. I think the longer length keeps it from vibrating out. Maybe I should just stick with what I have. :)

 

Attachments

#4 ·
Huntfishcamp, thank you very much for that informative review!:thumbup1gif:I just got an X390 a little over a week ago, but haven't used it yet.
 
#5 ·
Huntfishcamp, thank you very much for that informative review! I just got an X390 a little over a week ago, but haven't used it yet.
You may be the only one on this forum that can have a tractor for a full week without using it!!

:dunno:
 
#6 ·
Congrats on the new lawn tractor it's should last you a long time.

The "delay" with the ignition is a function of the control system booting up. It's checking everything before allowing the starter to function. When you click to the first position then onto to the start position that breif pause is enough time for the onboard computer to start up. The EFI engines have this more pronounced as the fuel pump has to pressurize the fuel system before the engine will fire.
 
#7 ·
I just wanted to provide an initial, non-technical review on my new x380.
Thank you for the nice thorough review.

Throttle: Owner's manual calls for you to start the engine on half throttle. That's not the way I was taught to start engines, you always start them on low and then throttle up. When I've followed the suggested method, engine fires up fine but exhaust shoots out an initial whiter cloud of smoke, so I've resorted to firing it up on low throttle like i'm used to and no issue.
All the Kawasaki engines like to smoke a bit if fully choked. My X500 did the same thing and someone suggested to first crank the engine for about 2-seconds with no choke and then while still cranking briefly burp the choke. This has completely eliminated any smoke at startup.

Seat: the JD seats seem to be a common complaint. With the limited time I've used this machine, I'm already start to nice wear creases in the seat. Perhaps that's normal. I guess I should buy a cover if I want longevity. However, despite my size, I do find the seat to be comfortable.
JD lawn and garden seats are an embarrassment. My old 175 Hydro seat lasted 15 years before developing any cracks. The X500 seat only lasted two years despite being stored indoors. The dealer replaced the seat under warranty but I thought it would be a good idea to install a seat cover to hopefully extend the life of the new seat. Imagine my surprise when I removed the seat cover after a year and saw my new seat looking like THIS.



Cupholder/side storage: perhaps trivial, but I noticed that some of the other JD's have a lid on the black storage part by the cup holder. Mine doesn't have one. Wish it would as I find my keys or phone or whatever else I put in there bounces around quite a bit and could actually bounce out.
I believe most of the X300-series have the open storage bin whereas the X500 models have the lid.

Side note on the JD magnetic trailer pin. I was using it while pulling my aerator weighted down with 4 cinder blocks. It was somewhat bumpy. The magnetic pin did not hold and the aerator came off a few times.
Wow! That is a surprise. I've been wanting to get one of the JD magnetic hitch pins. I'm currently using a 4-1/4 inch hitch pin and I never use the hairpin. Despite working on rough ground I have never had the pin come out while pulling a 17P cart, 900 lb lawn roller and 5-foot harrow. I think the longer length keeps it from vibrating out. Maybe I should just stick with what I have. ?

Thanks for the comments! Another fella above suggested the same thing about the choke so I’m definitely going to try that next time I fire it up.
 
#8 ·
...engine fires up fine but exhaust shoots out an initial whiter cloud of smoke, so I've resorted to firing it up on low throttle like i'm used to and no issue.

Seat: the JD seats seem to be a common complaint. With the limited time I've used this machine, I'm already start to nice wear creases in the seat. Perhaps that's normal. I guess I should buy a cover if I want longevity. However, despite my size, I do find the seat to be comfortable.

JD magnetic trailer pin. I was using it while pulling my aerator weighted down with 4 cinder blocks. It was somewhat bumpy. The magnetic pin did not hold and the aerator came off a few times.
If you're using the choke for cold starts, I was told to begin cranking first and THEN push the choke lever. That reduced the smoke for me.

Your seat WILL crack. Folks here tell me it's covered by warranty, so keep your eye on it. I sent the dealer a request yesterday and will let you know if there are problems getting it replaced.

I highly recommend this hitch pin. I have both 1/2" and 5/8" versions.
https://amazon.com/Master-Lock-Stainless-Receivers-1465DAT/dp/B000COX0MY/
Thanks for the advice! I’ll definitely have to check out that hitch pin!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top