I have a Kubota zero turn with the Kawasaki fx801v engine on it and this coming year will be its 2nd oil change. I used the OEM stuff last time since it was part of the deal when I bought it. I am exclusively Schaeffers and would like to put some in this one. They discontinued their 10w40 line some time ago and it seems to be what they generally prefer for this engine. However you can go to 20w50 it says in the manual. I am in southeast Ohio and in the spring and fall it can be a little cool so I am not sure if 20w50 would be to thick or not. Am I correct in assuming if you can go clear to 20w50 in these engines 15w40 shouldnt hurt?
Oil Weight for Kaw FX801V
- Thread starter Ohio91
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It will be fine.
+1
They recommend 20w50 mainly for commercial use in hot climates. The newer Kawis tend to burn a bit of oil. With that said I would run a 15w40 without hesitation. I usually run that in my Kawasaki powered Exmark mower year round.
dnewton3
Staff member
10w-30, 10w-40 or 15w-40 are all excellent for mowing season in the Midwest.
The FX series are very stout and, for personal use, you'll never, ever wear one out.
The FX series are very stout and, for personal use, you'll never, ever wear one out.
makes sense it is a commercial engine and it does use a bit. Nothing crazy but I do see where it would be an issue in a commercial setting where they run them all day every day. Schaeffers makes a 15w40 racing oil that has a good dose of zinc that is probably what ill go with
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- Feb 15, 2022
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Use 20w-50
Or just use the 50-grade straight away.
He made it sound like he preferred something closer to a 40.
This.
They will all work very well.I have used both 10w40 and 15w50 in mine and just stuck with 15w50 since that's what my Briggs takes and to just keep one oil. Kawasaki manual shows 20w50 good to 32 degrees and 15w50 good to around 20 degrees.
15w-40 or 20w-50
The Kohler 10-30 oil is good stuff, you can find VOA here and it is available on amazon.
I was at Kawasaki school today. Part of the training.
They missed the part on teaching image rotation, my neck is hating me for being lazy and not turning the image over myself. Half joking, this is great information.
There is a lot of very unscientific "I've used 5w-30 for years and my motor has run for XXXX long" and similar posts floating around the web regarding these engines. When I bought my Kawasaki engine last year (attached to a $8K machine), naturally I did a fair bit of research and came across what's essentially a TSB for dealers with Kawasaki updating their oil recommendations to include, and even recommend 20w-50. This occured a few years ago and the engine design hasn't really changed since.
After a short break in period (5 hours or so) I wasted no time switching to a 15w-50 HDEO as I was in the thick of summer by that point. Using an IR heat gun, this engine gets HOT. I have a hunch some of it is emissions driven / EPA regs, perhaps just the engine design.
We get cool spring / fall temps here, so I've settled on Motorcraft 15w-40, that variety that has the ford spec which eschews the latest CK-4 or whichever recent spec that limits phosphorus. I don't like the price though. I recently picked up a ton of Chevron Delo 5w-40 synthetic on clearance, I have no qualms about using that after the Motorcraft. Definitely won't be running 10w-30 or anything lighter.
