Valvoline VR1

[Bettez88]

Has anyone tried this oil in their mowers or snowblowers? I’m curious because it’s high in zinc and phosphorus. Since emissions don’t really exist for OPE, this stuff should be really good for small engines

 

[RDY4WAR]

Waste of money for an OPE. You could run the cheapest API conventional oil in it and the cutting deck will rust through long before the engine fails. (usually)

That said, I have run "boutique" oils before in my lawnmower. That's only because it's what I had sitting around.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I run the 20W-50 flavor in my MG for the zinc, but it does seem a little overkill for OPE. Seems to me that stuff isn't all that cheap compared to HDEO.

 

[AutoMechanic]

I think a mower would be better suited with a straight grade oil. Just my opinion since all the ones I’ve seen come with SAE30 oil. I use that VR-1 in my Beetle it’s good stuff.

 

[stangguy]

I used to be a straight weight oil in OPE, but since Briggs started recommending 5w30 synthetic as the 1st choice for oil, I have been using mostly full synthetic oil of various brands. Regarding the VR1, I think it is overkill, but sure won't hurt anything. But then, is that full synthetic or semi synthetic, or just conventional. ?

 

[Bobaloo22]

It's all I use in my small engines, never had an issue.

 

[Wylie6G72]

Ran it for two summers in my lawnmower, mainly because Walmart had no Mobil 1 15W-50 in stock that day. Still running strong, so I can only assume it did everything Mobil 1 15W-50 ever did. Overkill for a lawn mower, but ~$6.00 for two oil changes didn't break the bank.

 

[Chris142]

I used to run this in my 89 Jeep.

 

[Duffyjr]

I bought a six pack of VR1 10w30 from Amazon once and since I only needed five of them one of them went in my mower that year, it seemed happy and didn't complain.

 

[SOHCman]

I always find the mindset that a particular oil is too-good for OPE interesting. If that were true then the pros who log 1000+ hours a year with 50hr oil changes wouldn't wear out engines every couple years.

 

[Ride_Red]

I always find the mindset that a particular oil is too-good for OPE interesting. If that were true then the pros who log 1000+ hours a year with 50hr oil changes wouldn't wear out engines every couple years.

I believe the meaning of this is that a mower will fall apart, wheels fall off and the deck with rust through long before the engine will wear out (in a typical residential use case). Therefore, why spend the extra dollars on special oil?

 

[RDY4WAR]

I believe the meaning of this is that a mower will fall apart, wheels fall off and the deck with rust through long before the engine will wear out (in a typical residential use case). Therefore, why spend the extra dollars on special oil?

Precisely. How often do you actually hear of engine failures with common residential lawnmower with typical use? (business/commercial use excluded) Aside from user error, it's far more likely that you'll have problems with the blades, deck, wheels, steering, etc...