SAE 30 vs. Shell Rotella Syn 5-40?

[Crusader]

Long story short I just bought a Quick36 mower and the crank is filled with 30 weight. Saved around $500 buying this time of year - figured it was worth it. Engine has .2 hours on the meter. It has the Kawasaki 16 hp v-twin with a spin on filter. I'm having a tough time resisting NOT firing it up and riding around on the step-saver. It's cold here mid 20's Fahrenheit

So . . . I want to dump the 30 weight in favor of a 5w-30 or RTS 5w-40 for better cold flow and less start up wear. Yes the manual says the thin oils are ok for cold temps.

I have the following oils in the garage:

Valvoline Syn power 10w-30
Valvoline standard dino 5w-30
Super Tech dino 5w-30
Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30 Synthetic
Valvoline Maxlife Full Syn 5w-30
Valvoline Maxlife Regular Flavor 5w-30
Mobil 1 10w-30 High Mileage "the good stuff"
Mobil 1 5w-30 T & SUV
---&---
Shell Rotella Syn 5w-40

What would you use in the Kawi?

 

[ConfederateTyrant]

Any of the synthetic oils would be my choice, mainly for cold flow properties and lower consumption.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Definetly the Rotella 5w-40.

The rest are passenger car oils and pale in comparison.

 

[Towel_Rail]

I had something snarky typed up, but it looks like you just want to crank it up, not do any real work with it. Rotella 5W40 is a good one, if you had some of the cheaper 15W40 on hand, that's what I'd use.

 

[Bror Jace]

Good idea dumping the 30 weight in such a cold environment.

I'd use the cheapest 5W-30 ... either Valvoline or Supertech, whichever you value the least.

I'd start it up and put no more than about 2 hours on the motor then dump the oil again it to flush out a lot of the break-in debris. Oil should look very 'silvery.' Then I'd repeat this procedure going 3-6 hours for the next interval, again, using a cheap oil.

In just a couple hours in cold temps, thinning/shearing is simply not an issue. Greater or lesser additive packs are also not likely to come into play here as the interval will be really short.

Save the excellent 5W-40 for when you want to leave the oil in for a year ... or 20+ hours of use.

Want to go all out breaking this motor in? I'd use a little MMO or Lucas UCL in the gas ... minimum dosage, to make the ring break-in go as smoothly as possible. Break-in may take longer but I think it's the best way to go ... minimize chances of scoring.

Don't forget to vary the load on the engine and do NOT run up the RPMs with zero load on the motor.

 

[Bror Jace]

Crusader, I just re-read the thread and see that your Kaw has a spin-on filter. This makes frequent changes less critical. Consider 3-4 hours for the first interval and 10-12 for the second, changing the oil filter each time.

And, I'd cross-reference that filter on the Wix and/or Purolator sites and find a cheaper (and probably better) filter than the Kaw factory unit that will probably cost you $10-12 each to replace.

For the short, break-in intervals, I'd even use a $2-3 filter like Supertech, etc ...

 

[Lost1]

I run my 18.5hp lawn tractor year round (haul wood from the shed in winter in temps down in the teens) and I run 10W-30 Maxlife synthetic blend. Engine seems to like it fine on cold morning starts- no unusual rattles, ticks, etc.

If I were picking an oil off your shelf to use in my lawn tractor it would be one of the Maxlife 5W-30's...

 

[Crusader]

I'll dump the 30 wt shortly in favor of one of the 5w-30 I stock. I go nuts on sales and hoard all kinds of oil. Oil change is insanely easy. Click here.

** Side note **
Ironically both times I've fired up the engine via electric start the engine smokes quite a bit under choke and then stalls out as I monkey the throttle - then I hit the electric start on the motor seems to go into hydraulic lock? I try again - turns over and fires away. More smoke. At low rpm sound like a V twin Harley.