So what actually is the best small engine oil?

Joined
Aug 15, 2018
Messages
240
Location
Texas, United states
I mean if this is the oil they run in 100k top fuel engines making 10,000 hp, it ought to give any air cooled vtwin the ultimate protection. Haven't posted in a while and figured this would be a good starter.

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Here is what I use. I recently test ran my Predator 5000 for 38 hours straight (accept to add fuel) in 107 temps in the day and 95 at night in NV. Generator was in my enclosed aluminum box the whole time. I pay about 5 bucks a bottle. I put 1/2 a quart in and drained a 1/2 a quart out.

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In a previous life I used to import Maxima and spent a lot of time nagging Danny Massie for info, stories, and atogether idle chat over the phone. He was their boss (I believe he still is), an amazingly patient and nice person.

They used to have plenty of interesting oil-educational stuff on their website (especially some amazing stories about castor oil, application in 2-strokes and how it came to modern two-strokes). He also shared little "tidbits from the battlefront" stuff which was great. They were heavily into motocross back then, Bubba Stewart and then Ricky Carmichael were with Maxima back then.

Amazing stuff, amazing people, amazing company, I'd shop exclusively there if they made the stuff I needed.
 
Never bumped up to a 40 wt in my generator or mower when I had a gas mower. 15 year old champion generator ran on 10W30 its entire life. Conventional Synthetic blend or full synthetic if I feel like splurging or a close out
You running in 100f temps
 
Call me crazy, but I have converted both my zero turn mower and my 12000 watt generator to Amsoil small engine oil. Mower is 15 years old (approximately 600 hours) and does not use any oil. Generator only has about 30 hours mostly test runs uses no oil.
 
I have a 4.5 hp push mower that wasn’t a fan of $5 clearance PYB 20w50. Seemed to be under a decent load upon start up until the oil warmed up. I don’t think the engine runs very hot so it took quite a while to warm up and not act likee it was mowing tall grass.

I use Rotella T5 or T6 as well as M1 0w40. Depends on what I have that’s open.
 
Never bumped up to a 40 wt in my generator or mower when I had a gas mower. 15 year old champion generator ran on 10W30 its entire life. Conventional Synthetic blend or full synthetic if I feel like splurging or a close out
I tried to pull-start my generator when it was -5 degrees with 10W-30 in it, and it was really hard to pull thought I was going to break the cord. Drained the10W-30 out after the power came back, refilled with 0W-40, it pulled a lot bettera few days later a 0 and I never used anything else. It has been used for days at a time, winter and summer. 0W-40 or 0W-30 for peace of mind.
 
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