lawnmower oil

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I have a 16HP Briggs VanGuard on a Simplicity tractor/mower that's 17 yrs old and runs like new.

The engine has seen (Using B&S oil filters):

30wt Optimol ran excellent; no tests.
10W-40 RP Ran fine; good UOA
15W-50 M-1 Redcap; ran great; excellent UOA
15W-50 GoldCap;ran excellent; excellent UOA
Motul 15W-50;Seemed to idle high and go up and dn; too "slick"?
Amsoil 0W-40; Good; did not test
Redline 20W-50; Ran decent;probably too heavy/ excellent UAO
M-1 V-Twin 20W-50; too heavy; excellent UOA

Today I joined you guys...

Filled with Amsoil ASE 30WT/10W-30 and M-1 102 Oil filter. Runs excellent.

I will stick with this for all my outdoor equiptment based on the oil analysis posted. If I were to switch back to anything I used in the past it would be the M-1 15W-50 SilverCap or GoldCap as it ran real well and it's very reasonabley priced.

I use Amsoil's 5W-30 Hydrostatic Oil for the TuffTorque and it has been working very well this summer.

Take care.
 
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I've never ran the Mobil 15W-50 in a small engine before, but I assume you will see better economy out of the SAE 30. I've even entertained running this oil in a car with consumption issues due to it's extremely low volatility and low price compared to other synthetic products.
 
I've used from what ever came with the engine from new to what ever is around the garage. It usually was a synthetic from Mobil1 to Amsoil. The lawnmower is all worn out and needed replacement but the engines still ran. I haven't even changed the spark plug on the current one and the drivewheels are shot. Now if they could make a cchassis to keep up...........
 
Went from 15W-50 M-1 Goldcap to Amsoil ASE 10W-30. Engine was clanky; definate tappett noise. 500+ hours.

Put the M-1 15W-50 back in and it is a smooth as the day I bought it.

I am surprised at the results.

My .02
 
15W-50 M-1 or Redline worked fine.

Now that the engine has 500+ hours it is much smoother with 15W-50 than any 10W-30.

It is a 16HP Briggs V-twin
 
Originally Posted By: Pete591
I have a 16HP Briggs VanGuard on a Simplicity tractor/mower that's 17 yrs old and runs like new.

The engine has seen (Using B&S oil filters):

30wt Optimol ran excellent; no tests.
10W-40 RP Ran fine; good UOA
15W-50 M-1 Redcap; ran great; excellent UOA
15W-50 GoldCap;ran excellent; excellent UOA
Motul 15W-50;Seemed to idle high and go up and dn; too "slick"?
Amsoil 0W-40; Good; did not test
Redline 20W-50; Ran decent;probably too heavy/ excellent UAO
M-1 V-Twin 20W-50; too heavy; excellent UOA

Today I joined you guys...

Filled with Amsoil ASE 30WT/10W-30 and M-1 102 Oil filter. Runs excellent.

I will stick with this for all my outdoor equiptment based on the oil analysis posted. If I were to switch back to anything I used in the past it would be the M-1 15W-50 SilverCap or GoldCap as it ran real well and it's very reasonabley priced.

I use Amsoil's 5W-30 Hydrostatic Oil for the TuffTorque and it has been working very well this summer.

Take care.



You sure used a lot of different oils for a small engine, quite unusual for normal folks. Just curious why Motul isn't that $30/qt...quite expensive for a small engine application!
 
Pete earlier you said life was good, now it isn't...which engine was this that became a clanker? Just trying to understand where I should or shouldn't change.
 
16HP Briggs V-twin ... a 30wt(ASE) should be fine I can't see why the reason for it not to be! 500 hrs in 17 years you hardly used it per yearly ... was the OCI per yearly and how many hours?

Can't seem to digest this, the ASE 30wt should be ok. The lubrication system in this case is not a splash system...you got good lubrication ... there shouldn't be any type of "clanky". Pete is using an oil filter correct...what's the oil sump size?
 
Yes oil filter is now a Mobil-1 102.

It just "sounds" quieter with M-1 15W-50 EP.

I do not know why either?

I have a Honda splash lube on my snowthrower that gets 5W-30 Amsoil and it runs great with it.
 
Originally Posted By: Pete591
http://www.lawnmowerhosp.com/pdf/zt-hqv.pdf

Scroll down about 1/4 of the way. All of the commercial Kawasaki or Briggs engines call for 15W-50.



...sorry..that was hydro oil
 
I've been using M1 10w-30 in my Honda 4518 (18h.p. water cooled twin cyl) riding mower for around 10+ years with good results. Takes 2.1 qts and has a spin on oil filter.
 
Do you floks look at ZDDP numbers and base your oil choice on this?

I usually do;

PPM

M-1 SilverCap around 1200's
Redline in the 1,440's
Amsoil Ase 1100's

I think an agent that serves boundry lubrication in these engines..especially V-Twins is critical.
 
HM 10W-30 is a good one. Good dose of ZDDP. That's my choice too in all my air cooled engines.
 
I've used GC in my 17.5hp B&S for the last 2 summers. Mows quite a bit, change the oil twice each season.

I'm not going to do any damage? My guess is, no, because it's still running fine and it literally has ZERO oil consumption, which it never had before running conventional oil. Also, it consumed 10W-30 Super Tech Synthetic.

But, I'm just wondering why that when I see people using synthetic oils on here in their lawnmowers, why they are all 10W-xx, no 0W-xx.
 
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