Small engine makers went to the torque rating because some of them, may all of them, were exagerating their horsepower ratings.
A 6.75HP Briggs is now 6.75 torque rated= actually about 5.5 real horsepower.
That plus they are now all limited to about 3000 rpm due to safety concerns(blade tip speed).
Honda vs. Briggs and Stratton
- Thread starter Superbuick96
- Start date
Ive got a toro super recycler with a briggs 6.75. I have been really happy with it and it will mulch just about anything I throw at it.
Originally Posted By: rmattingley
Ive got a toro super recycler with a briggs 6.75. I have been really happy with it and it will mulch just about anything I throw at it.
(J/K)i just bought a lawn boy with the honda engine and like it so far. i mowed in wet grass and it did not bog down. only have 10 hours on it right now. found air filters at home depot. i did ask a buddy of mine who sells husquvarna, he said he owns a lawn boy with the same honda and would not have anything else.
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The Honda air filters look to be the same size as the B&S ones but are twice the price at Home Depot.
Air filters for Hondas are $5 at Wal-mart.
Superbuick96
Site Donor 2023
Originally Posted By: dugw
i just bought a lawn boy with the honda engine and like it so far. i mowed in wet grass and it did not bog down. only have 10 hours on it right now. found air filters at home depot. i did ask a buddy of mine who sells husquvarna, he said he owns a lawn boy with the same honda and would not have anything else.
After hours of reserch my engine choice is the Honda GVC 160, still a little undecided between the Troy-Bilt, or Husqvarna. Thought I was going Husqvarna but they seem kinda limited as far as market share in the US, wondering if parts will be hard to come by?
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Originally Posted By: dwendt44
Air filters for Hondas are $5 at Wal-mart.
Troy bilt used to have a rep for being good - I believe they are now owned by another parent company with a less than steller rep. would you consider the honda engine on a lawn boy? (circa home depot)
Originally Posted By: tomcat27
I believe they are now owned by another parent company with a less than steller rep.
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I have several Honda mowers and all are over 15 years old. All start on the first pull and go through anything. But then again two of them have the GXV160 and one has the GXV120 engine.
My neighbor became ill and couldn't mow his lawn for a while. By the time I got to it, it was about a foot tall. Went through it with no problems and no clumping of the grass.
But the engine will run forever if you maintain it. What you should be worried about is the drive train and all the other parts including wheels and transmission. These will wear out much faster than the engine.
That's nothing. I used a mower with a B&S 4HP Quantum XM engine to mow down a bush. It's only 16 years old though. I also mowed the grass at the foreclosure next door, which was at least a foot tall.
With the bigger stuff I will take the briggs Vanguard everytime. The smaller stuff I think Hondas are better but that is only because Briggs does not make a top end engine in that size.
Just my opinion of course and I may be wrong.
Heck, I have a briggs 3.5 that was bought in 1976 and it smokes like crazy but still runs. Somebody on this forum once ripeed me for poluting the air. lol. Go figure.
Im still going to stay with the Vanguards on the bigger stuff and Honda on the smaller engines. Take care of them and both will treat you right imo and it wont really matter one way or the other.
IMO, it's no contest. Honda engines are better and more reliable than B&S. I have two mowers with Honda engines. One is nearly ten years old (GCV160) and the other is only a year old (GCV190).
The 190 is on a HRX217 model, and it is a great engine/mower. Starts on the first effortless pull every darned time! I had very bad personal experience with B&S engines (3 different mowers-all had B&S engines and all had engine problems from day 1). Based on that I will never own another B&S engine powered anything.
All of the mowers I've dealt with have been (1) pretty old and (2) use B&S engines. The most any has ever needed in terms of maintenance was a valve cleaning (and this was on an engine that got NO maintenance at all, not even an oil change. I think it may have even been run without an air filter).
After a bit of TLC they ran fine. Since my experience is that an old neglected B&S engine runs fine after a bit of TLC (I've never had a new one), I couldn't even begin to contemplate what the problems you would be having with the new ones would be.
Small engines are very simple, there isn't much that can go wrong with them..and based on my experience, they'll take quite a bit of abuse.
Good points Brian. I can't say I've had reliability issues with old Briggs or Tecumseh flat-heads either. The 'bonuses' that have sold me on small OHV engines are; Their smoothness, better throttle response, power, fuel economy and much less stinky exhaust. Reliability, I almost think an old Briggs would win based on the fewer moving parts and less complexity.
Joel
Hi, I'd like to ask you some questions. I'm a 70-year old woman in good shape, am still pushing my old Toro that is not self-propelled and keep telling myself it's good exercise. 
It's on it's last leg though, someone has kept it going for me because I like it, but it's time to look for a new one. Part of me thought if I researched it now I could get it on sale this Fall, but then the other half of me is saying what if there aren't anymore left? Any thoughts on that? I'm also thinking if I can decide on one I could see if there's a good Memorial Day sale on it.
Here's my other questions. After doing some homework, it looks like a Honda engine is the way to go.
I hav found two Honda models, HRN216VLA (electric start) and HRN216 VYA (roto stop, lets you stop the blade without the motor to empty the bag). Unfortunately, you get one or the other, but I'm kind of leaning to VYA because I like that feature if I'm picking up leaves although unless it's too heavy with them, I mulch them.
I've read the electric start is nice, but if it's easy to pull so that really isn't a problem.
Both have the GVC 170 engine and twin blades. The twin blades sound like a good thing to me but one person said he preferred a single blade, but didn't say why?
I did look at the HRX models too, but someone mentioned they had a suction problem so I ruled them out,
One thing I'm wondering though, is while everyone likes the Honda engine here, they don't seem to get Honda mowers, what am I missing?
I looked at Consumer Reports and of course they don't have all of the models, but the Husqvarna, Lawn-Boy & Troybilt weren't really rated well, but they seem to be what you're choosing so I needed to look into this more. I've seen Consumer Reports give high ratings to things with terrible reviews too though right beneath their review.
Anyway, thank you so much for your help in advance, I really appreciate it.
It's on it's last leg though, someone has kept it going for me because I like it, but it's time to look for a new one. Part of me thought if I researched it now I could get it on sale this Fall, but then the other half of me is saying what if there aren't anymore left? Any thoughts on that? I'm also thinking if I can decide on one I could see if there's a good Memorial Day sale on it.
Here's my other questions. After doing some homework, it looks like a Honda engine is the way to go.
I hav found two Honda models, HRN216VLA (electric start) and HRN216 VYA (roto stop, lets you stop the blade without the motor to empty the bag). Unfortunately, you get one or the other, but I'm kind of leaning to VYA because I like that feature if I'm picking up leaves although unless it's too heavy with them, I mulch them.
I've read the electric start is nice, but if it's easy to pull so that really isn't a problem.
Both have the GVC 170 engine and twin blades. The twin blades sound like a good thing to me but one person said he preferred a single blade, but didn't say why?
I did look at the HRX models too, but someone mentioned they had a suction problem so I ruled them out,
One thing I'm wondering though, is while everyone likes the Honda engine here, they don't seem to get Honda mowers, what am I missing?
I looked at Consumer Reports and of course they don't have all of the models, but the Husqvarna, Lawn-Boy & Troybilt weren't really rated well, but they seem to be what you're choosing so I needed to look into this more. I've seen Consumer Reports give high ratings to things with terrible reviews too though right beneath their review.
Anyway, thank you so much for your help in advance, I really appreciate it.
Originally Posted by Latte1
Hi, I'd like to ask you some questions. I'm a 70-year old woman in good shape, am still pushing my old Toro that is not self-propelled and keep telling myself it's good exercise. It's on it's last leg though, someone has kept it going for me because I like it, but it's time to look for a new one. Part of me thought if I researched it now I could get it on sale this Fall, but then the other half of me is saying what if there aren't anymore left? Any thoughts on that? I'm also thinking if I can decide on one I could see if there's a good Memorial Day sale on it.
Here's my other questions. After doing some homework, it looks like a Honda engine is the way to go.
I hav found two Honda models, HRN216VLA (electric start) and HRN216 VYA (roto stop, lets you stop the blade without the motor to empty the bag). Unfortunately, you get one or the other, but I'm kind of leaning to VYA because I like that feature if I'm picking up leaves although unless it's too heavy with them, I mulch them.
I've read the electric start is nice, but if it's easy to pull so that really isn't a problem.
Both have the GVC 170 engine and twin blades. The twin blades sound like a good thing to me but one person said he preferred a single blade, but didn't say why?
I did look at the HRX models too, but someone mentioned they had a suction problem so I ruled them out,
One thing I'm wondering though, is while everyone likes the Honda engine here, they don't seem to get Honda mowers, what am I missing?
I looked at Consumer Reports and of course they don't have all of the models, but the Husqvarna, Lawn-Boy & Troybilt weren't really rated well, but they seem to be what you're choosing so I needed to look into this more. I've seen Consumer Reports give high ratings to things with terrible reviews too though right beneath their review.
Anyway, thank you so much for your help in advance, I really appreciate it.
It's on it's last leg though, someone has kept it going for me because I like it, but it's time to look for a new one. Part of me thought if I researched it now I could get it on sale this Fall, but then the other half of me is saying what if there aren't anymore left? Any thoughts on that? I'm also thinking if I can decide on one I could see if there's a good Memorial Day sale on it.
Here's my other questions. After doing some homework, it looks like a Honda engine is the way to go.
I hav found two Honda models, HRN216VLA (electric start) and HRN216 VYA (roto stop, lets you stop the blade without the motor to empty the bag). Unfortunately, you get one or the other, but I'm kind of leaning to VYA because I like that feature if I'm picking up leaves although unless it's too heavy with them, I mulch them.
I've read the electric start is nice, but if it's easy to pull so that really isn't a problem.
Both have the GVC 170 engine and twin blades. The twin blades sound like a good thing to me but one person said he preferred a single blade, but didn't say why?
I did look at the HRX models too, but someone mentioned they had a suction problem so I ruled them out,
One thing I'm wondering though, is while everyone likes the Honda engine here, they don't seem to get Honda mowers, what am I missing?
I looked at Consumer Reports and of course they don't have all of the models, but the Husqvarna, Lawn-Boy & Troybilt weren't really rated well, but they seem to be what you're choosing so I needed to look into this more. I've seen Consumer Reports give high ratings to things with terrible reviews too though right beneath their review.
Anyway, thank you so much for your help in advance, I really appreciate it.Thanks, I appreciate that info a lot, I'll look into that, I'll call around although I've been trying to stay out of public places.
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