HIPA tune-up kit for Honda GCV160

[charbaby]

My Question:
Is anyone familiar with these HIPA Tune-up kits for Honda GCV160 lawnmower engines?
They're sold on Amazon with 1 spark plug, 1 air filter & 1 fuel filter for ~$9.
Should I stay with OE Honda parts?

Just Babbling:
My 2008-09 TroyBilt w/Honda GCV160 still starts first pull and runs beautifully but I figure it's time for a tune-up since this is my 18th cutting season with this mower and have never changed the filter(s) or plug.
Oil has been changed every season and air filter blown-out before ever cutting and debris cleaned out around the carb area and I always use fresh fuel & Sta-Bil. I have adjusted the valves about 2 summers ago. What a great engine!

The engine has been well maintained & cleaned with regular OCI's and fresh fuel however, I have not needed to replace any parts.
I do need to replace the blade(worn out & slightly bent) & blade adapter(cracked/chunk removed) as both have seen their better day so, I figured I put a bit of money in the engine.

 

[hemitom]

I would stick with Honda parts !
spark plug is likely of questionable quality as well as the filters.

 

[joegreen]

I’m not saying there is any issue with the spark plug but i have read before about cheap spark plugs having a piece break off into the cylinder when it’s running.

 

[Nukeman7]

HIPA brand OPE parts are serviceable, but I would not use any Chinese made spark plugs. You'd be better off changing to a new NGK plug and getting a replacement air filter. I'd not change the fuel filter unless it looks clogged or degraded.

 

[mdtn952]

You tuber Taryl Dactyl seems to approve of their quality, for the price, but like others I would not use the bundled spark plug.

 

[charbaby]

EDIT:
I am going to order the filter(s) and spark plug kit as I need its cost to get free shipping on the other parts that I need even more. I will keep my old filters & plug in case these new parts don’t perform well in this engine. Reviews aren’t too bad on the HIPA parts so, we’ll see!

 

[Convert]

You can use the Hipa info on Amazon,

Here's their direct link outside of amazon

https://www.hipastore.com/

I've used Hipa kits many times and never had any issues.

The Hipa site offers many options as you may find additional kits that might be benificial to your other equiptment

TOMB
AKA CONVERT

 

[jeepman3071]

For tune up parts I would go with OEM Honda, Stens, or Rotary if you can. The spark plugs I'd go with NGK (or Honda which is made by NGK in a Honda box). Some of the Amazon no-name brand fuel filters and air filters don't fit right and can cause issues. I've had air filters that didn't fit right and weren't going to seal properly. Not worth the $5 savings to pull dust into your engine and ruin it.

 

[shortyb]

Go OEM Honda. I've tried those HIPA fuel filters and they were a very loose fit compared to the genuine Honda ones. The plugs? Not a chance. Whats that old adage? You can pay me now or pay me later .

 

[charbaby]

Well, everything worked out well. Everything fit well and the engine runs well. Even the no-name spark plug.
However, when I changed the cutting blade and blade adapter, this blade adapter,(which looks identical to the broken one that I removed), doesn't fit over the shaft & keyway. So, I put back the old adapter, slapped on the new blade, cranked it down 40 ft.lb. and the mower cuts fine.

 

[97prizm]

My Question:
Is anyone familiar with these HIPA Tune-up kits for Honda GCV160 lawnmower engines?
They're sold on Amazon with 1 spark plug, 1 air filter & 1 fuel filter for ~$9.
Should I stay with OE Honda parts?

Just Babbling:
My 2008-09 TroyBilt w/Honda GCV160 still starts first pull and runs beautifully but I figure it's time for a tune-up since this is my 18th cutting season with this mower and have never changed the filter(s) or plug.
Oil has been changed every season and air filter blown-out before ever cutting and debris cleaned out around the carb area and I always use fresh fuel & Sta-Bil. I have adjusted the valves about 2 summers ago. What a great engine!

The engine has been well maintained & cleaned with regular OCI's and fresh fuel however, I have not needed to replace any parts.
I do need to replace the blade(worn out & slightly bent) & blade adapter(cracked/chunk removed) as both have seen their better day so, I figured I put a bit of money in the engine.

I'd get a fine wire plug or an E3. The E3 plugs aren't a gimmick. I drained my tank and tried several spark plugs. The E3 ran 20 percent longer on the same amount of gas.

 

[charbaby]

Thanks 97prizm
I've used E3 plugs in the past on B&S engines and was very pleased indeed.

This purchased new in 2009, (MTD)TroyBilt w/HONDA GCV160® from Home Depot still has the OE NGK plug and starts 1st pull. Maybe 3 pulls at the start of season.

This is my 17th season with it and I have never had a mower engine this good. Last year I swapped decks to a newer/used deck from a(MTD)Craftsman and adjusted the valves. These little GCV160's are amazing. No gimmicks, no self propelled, no blade engagement.

This little HONDA® engine also has the OE air filter as well that I have kept clean(blew out before each use). Never changed the fuel filter. Didn't even know it had one.

Although I had planned on a new air filter & plug at some point soon, I bought the air filter, spark plug, fuel filter kit to bring up my purchase of the blade & adapter kit to the point of free shipping. And I would have needed them soon anyway. The blade is past sharpening and the adapter is cracked thus, the new parts.

 

[nbpt100]

Great engine. Extremely reliable with plastic cam, timing belt and all. Not as powerful as the Briggs Quantum but you are only cutting grass. The 4.4HP it puts out is more than enough in most cases. I know of one landscapper who has complained about the GCV160 being under powered when he is cutting 8 inches of grass. But that is unusual. The Briggs flat Quantum air filters fit the Honda and are always a few dollars cheaper. I buy the Briggs filters for my mower fleet to keep it simple.

 

[charbaby]

I once put in a new B&S air filter into this GCV160 from one of my other mowers and the Honda ran poorly. So I put back the OE Honda after cleaning it with compressed air and there it stayed til the other day as mentioned above. IDKY but the Honda ran perfectly with its own dirty filter better than with a new B&S filter.
Thus far the GCV160 is running well with the new after market HIPA filter.

I also had an older(1998)Briggs Quantum engine 6.5HP(190ish cc)and though it was strong/torquey, it didn’t start as easily nor run as smooth and the carb was my biggest complaint with the Quantum. Maybe the Quantum is stronger than the smaller GCV160 but no comparison to Honda’s larger 190 something cc mower engines!
No comparison, None!

 

[Not Sure]

While I have used Hipa stuff in the past it has been limited to stuff like fuel line for handheld stuff and those fuel fitters that go in the end of said line in the tank. This was only on old no name stuff like a 30 year old weedeater trimmer or a craftsman hedge trimmer or some other old throwaway machine.

Personally I wouldn’t use their spark plugs, and would be very hesitant to use an air filter that wasn’t OEM or brand name.

As for inline fuel filters I wouldn’t use no name ones like this. I probably have a box full of these inline filters, no name spark plugs, and other crap that comes in some of these Amazon special carb kits. I don’t use them.

I’d go OEM or at least brand name aftermarket like Stens, Oregon, or something for these parts.

The only time I use this cheap Chinese stuff is when OEM and name brand aftermarket is no longer available, or it’s a cheap crappy machine that isn’t worth spending any money on. Even so I wouldn’t even think about using a no name spark plug.

What are you saving here? A NGK or Champion plug costs about $5. An OEM or quality aftermarket air filter maybe $5-$10? As for the fuel filter maybe $5 at most? So you’re saving $5 or maybe $10 here? You said the original spark plug, air filter, and fuel filter have lasted you 18 years! So what’s that work out to a dollar a year? I highly doubt the Hipa crap will last even a quarter as long as the OEM stuff did. I am willing to bet the first time you go to blow out that Hipa air filter it’s going to rip or get a hole in it. Anyway in the long term it’s going to be more expensive to use the crappy parts.

This reminds me of a guy who bought a no name drill from one of the usual suspects. Sure this thing cost like $10 brand new vs $150 for the Milwaukee, Dewalt, or other name brand drill. Well that $10 drill was the most expensive drill I’ve ever seen! It burned up in less than 20 holes! It cost $2 a hole to use that $10 drill!

 

[someonesomewhere]

Just adding that for those looking for NGK plugs for their OPE, **do not buy them off of Amazon**. Apparently counterfeiting spark plugs is a lucrative business, and there's no guarantee what you'll get via Amazon. Rock Auto is pretty safe, all the NGKs I've bought from them in the past decade have been the real-deal genuine NGKs.

 

[Not Sure]

Just adding that for those looking for NGK plugs for their OPE, **do not buy them off of Amazon**. Apparently counterfeiting spark plugs is a lucrative business, and there's no guarantee what you'll get via Amazon. Rock Auto is pretty safe, all the NGKs I've bought from them in the past decade have been the real-deal genuine NGKs.

Not just spark plugs but OEM parts for everything from cars to excavators! As a mechanic Ive seen a rash of counterfeit OEM parts in recent years installed by customers. Some of them are almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing even as an experienced mechanic unless I have a genuine one to compare it to. I’ve chased my tail more then once due to counterfeit OEM parts customers have installed that they got online. Use reputable vendors for parts, it’s easy to get fooled as some of these counterfeit parts and their packaging is very close to the genuine ones.