Briggs oil vs synthetic car oil

BMW Dom

BMW Dom

Joined
Oct 6, 2020
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So I have been mowing a few lawns around the neighborhood with my Toro Super Recycler, and I have been using Briggs and Stratton SAE 30 oil for a few years since I bought the mower used. I am wondering if I should stick to the Briggs SAE 30 conventional, or if I should use the Briggs synthetic, or if I can just use a 5w-30 synthetic. I have been reading a little too much into oils and their ZDDP amount for small engine oil. Do "lawn mower" oils have better additives, which will make my mower last longer or not? I watch the LawnCareNut on YouTube and he uses Mobil 1 10w-30 in Florida. I live in the northeast, mowing about 3 hours a week. I change oil 3 times a year in my lawn mower.
 
I personally use synthetic engine oil in a 17.5 hp craftsman lawn tractor. I change the oil at the end of the season which will most likely be in October.

Royal Purple HMX 5w30
 
Truth is the engine will run on just about anything and still the engine will likely last longer than the mower, meaning no lubrication related failures.

If you want the best protection, I don't think you're going to find it in passenger car motor oils, at least not the garden variety.

The Briggs oil is good choice as it doesn't have the ZDDP limitations placed on newer API specs intended for cars. That said, there's probably better alternatives for less $. I use HDEO 10w-30 or 15w-40 in my air cooled engines. The HDEO 10w-30 tend to have a higher HTHS viscosity and more ZDDP anti-wear additives.

If you want to use synthetic PCMO oil, go for it, it won't hurt anything, but I personally don't believe it's the best oil for that application.
 
My John Deere JS36 with a Briggs has seen nothing but M1 5w30 or recently M1 10w30 HM. The mower is 11 years old and uses some oil in the recent years hence the switch to M1 HM. As a result consumption is down this year. It has mowed 2 lawns multiple times per week for most of its life. Motor still runs strong...

Just my $0.02
 
I maintain about a dozen mowers, garden tractors and generators. They all get SuperTech conventional 10w-40 or 10w-30. Whatever I have on hand ( I buy it in the 5qt jug). The oldest is a garden tractor (mine) at 17 years old. No leaks, smoke or oil usage throughout the season on any of them. These engines are pretty simple and crude and don't require overthinking.
 
I was under the impression that the Briggs oil is really good stuff but don‘t have the data on hand to back it up at the moment. That said, I run a variety of oils in my OPE. John Deere 757 gets Schaeffer 15w40, generator gets T6 5w40, gas air compressor currently has Mystik 15w50 for summer use with limited air flow in the back of my truck. Most of my other stuff has Phillips Shield Choice 10w30. It goes on sale for $1.99/quart at the local farm store a few times a year. I guess my point is whatever you put in will likely be fine however I see no issue with what you’re doing and see no reason to change now if it’s working for you.
 
mattwithcats said:
Shell Rotella T6 in 5W-40...

Tough oil, very easy to find...
Click to expand...

+1

There is nothing wrong with the Briggs and Stratton oil at all, there is just nothing special about it. The claim of "formulated for small engines" is really just marketing. Any HDEO like Rotella T 15w40, T6 5w40, Walmart Supertech 15w40 or any synthetic 5w30, 10w30, etc will work excellent and can often be found much cheaper than the Briggs branded oil.

The most important thing regarding oil and small engines is to change it often and keep it full. Brand and viscosity are not as critical.
 
92saturnsl2 said:
Truth is the engine will run on just about anything and still the engine will likely last longer than the mower, meaning no lubrication related failures.

If you want the best protection, I don't think you're going to find it in passenger car motor oils, at least not the garden variety.

The Briggs oil is good choice as it doesn't have the ZDDP limitations placed on newer API specs intended for cars. That said, there's probably better alternatives for less $. I use HDEO 10w-30 or 15w-40 in my air cooled engines. The HDEO 10w-30 tend to have a higher HTHS viscosity and more ZDDP anti-wear additives.

If you want to use synthetic PCMO oil, go for it, it won't hurt anything, but I personally don't believe it's the best oil for that application.
Click to expand...


So, would my best option be just to continue using the Briggs SAE 30 conventional? I probably put around 150 hours a year on this lawn mower, I expect the deck to outlast the mower, I will probably do an engine swap when the engine fails.
 
Ive used the Briggs 5w30 Synthetic for my Tecumseh 10hp snowblower engine for the last 10 years. Never had an issue starting in cold weather and I get no noticeable oil consumption even during the years where I've given it heavy use.
 
2003 Troy Bilt with B&S 6.5hp, been using Mobil1 15W50 since the first oil change. Dumped every fall before storage. Working great.
 
I'm worried a 15w-50 would be too thick for a lawnmower. I can get the Briggs synthetic for $7 a quart. Maybe I should switch to that, in the spring, or should I just use Briggs conventional straight 30? I'll try to find a manual for my engine on the internet and I'll see what is says.
 
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