Why all the fuss over Honda products

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See a lot of threads that say Honda is the best and B&S and Tecumseh are light years behind. Just wondering what about a Honda powered pressure washer, mower, etc. is better than the others.

Not trying to start a brand war, just trying to get the facts. I see tons of old B&S and Tecumseh equipment that looks to be a 10+ years old still running on the lawns of my neighborhood. I own an early 90's 4 HP Ace Hardware B&S mower that starts on the second pull every season. My grandma never changes oil/air filters/spark plugs on her old non-Honda mower and they somehow keep mowing her lawn for the past 10 years. My cheapo Karcher brand pressure washer continues to pressure wash now for years. My landlord (also my neighbor) mows his lawns with what looks to be a rusted out Montgomery Ward riding mower that looks older than me. You get my point here.

Are the Hondas more fuel efficient or what am I missing here?
 
I would buy the cheapest not made in China brand that works I have a POS Sears lawn mower with a techumse that is around 10 years old and had 2 seasons of 5w-20 oil in it. It runs about 30 minutes a week for 10 months a year. The engine runs good .I would have to look into the commercial users to get the true benefits of the more costly engines I am sure lawn maintenance people put more hours in a week on the motor than I do in in a year
 
Originally Posted By: Steve S
I would buy the cheapest not made in China brand that works I have a POS Sears lawn mower with a techumse that is around 10 years old and had 2 seasons of 5w-20 oil in it. It runs about 30 minutes a week for 10 months a year. The engine runs good .I would have to look into the commercial users to get the true benefits of the more costly engines I am sure lawn maintenance people put more hours in a week on the motor than I do in in a year


I guess the one problem is that I heard that B&S fired their folks here and shipped their jobs to China, so a future B&S purchase would be out for me. Just like the Vise-Grips are going to be made in China. Cub-Cadet is China also.

I think you are on the right track. Perhaps the commercial users who really put the hours on their equipment would benefit from something more spendy, like a Honda.

It would be kind of ironic if every small engine except Honda was made in China.
LOL.gif
 
because there is a perception... just like why people pay premiums for honda cars that arent necessaril justified.

Behind the perceptions is some reality. Some is just a "good feeling" based upon notions that may or may not be real.

In terms of economy and cleanliness, Id say they are far better then a flathead B&S or tecumseh. But feed them lousy, old fuel, or last year's leftover 2-stroke mix and things may be different...

It depends on the application, duty cycle, and use profile. For Joe schmoe's lawnmower, I see no practical nenefit engine wise, though ergonomics of the finished package may be a benefit. For something like a generator, or even a power washer, it likely pays for quality, but then Id be buying a Honda GX or a robin subaru, not a Honda GC.

The only reason I see for the low end honda GC engines to exist is for small stuff where the GX doesnt play (like my honda mini tiller, which is excellent), or for light duty mowing where fuel economy is a concern (like a big, flat yard). Otherwise I call the Honda GC as a rip.

JMH
 
I might get flamed for saying so but IMHO, Honda doesn't make junk.
B&S, and others, have been known too do so.

I'm not a fan of running an engine on the aluminum bore, but if anyone can do it, Honda is the one.
Sprayer, mower, pump, manufacturers use the Honda engine because it works and because it has a good reputation.
Works for me.
My local mower dealer has been selling Honda powered mowers since mowers with Honda engines have been available. He has yet to have a Honda engine apart.
Granted, he's a small dealer, still, he's impressed with Honda quality.
 
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan
..Are the Hondas more fuel efficient or what am I missing here?


A GC or GX series will be more fuel efficient the a comparable HP side-valve Briggs or Tecumseh. They tend to start easier and be a bit smoother running as well. You're right though. I've had old Briggs engines that always started on the first or second pull and outlasted the mower they were bolted to. Personally I don't care if it's Honda as long as it's OHV. You're also not going to find one without Chinese made parts.

Joel
 
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Originally Posted By: JTK

You're also not going to find one without Chinese made parts.

Joel


Sadly, you're right. At a buck an hour labor rate you can build a lot of small engines. Someday though it'll bite these companies in the butt.

Why is it that even when a mower is made in China, and the company is saving 10-15 bucks an hour over having them made here by American workers, they are still the same price or more than they were a few years ago. Example: Briggs and Stratton powered 6.5hp mower at my local Farm Fleet selling for over 200 bucks. The same mower spec wise was 178 bucks three years ago. What gives?
 
So true and they still manage to make a profit on them. It's probably only due to the $1/hr, adjustable at any time and however they see fit labor force that makes most of the parts! I recall ~25yrs ago the least expensive US made 3.5hp Briggs powered push mower was just under $100. Comparatively the same as the $178 of today.

Joel
 
I'll tell you why I like my HRX217 mower:

- 190 cc motor is queit and never bogs down

- I can bag/mulch in any combination. Handy if you're away too long.

- The mower will mulch very high grass better than my neighbors mower (SuperRecycler is equal, maybe better but I don't care for Personal Pace).

Finally, I just like the feel of the controls and intangible feel of owning a Honda mower. I suspect that this is why a lot of folks buy them.
 
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan

Why is it that even when a mower is made in China, and the company is saving 10-15 bucks an hour over having them made here by American workers, they are still the same price or more than they were a few years ago. Example: Briggs and Stratton powered 6.5hp mower at my local Farm Fleet selling for over 200 bucks. The same mower spec wise was 178 bucks three years ago. What gives?


You don't really believe that any company is going to pass it's savings on to the consumer do you? That only happens in economics classes and fantasy-land.
 
Originally Posted By: TurboLuver
Originally Posted By: Saturn_Fan

Why is it that even when a mower is made in China, and the company is saving 10-15 bucks an hour over having them made here by American workers, they are still the same price or more than they were a few years ago. Example: Briggs and Stratton powered 6.5hp mower at my local Farm Fleet selling for over 200 bucks. The same mower spec wise was 178 bucks three years ago. What gives?


You don't really believe that any company is going to pass it's savings on to the consumer do you? That only happens in economics classes and fantasy-land.


Consumers getting a break...what was I thinking?
smirk2.gif
 
I have Honda engines now (two mowers one with GCV160 and one with GCV190 plus two honda powered minivans!). The GCV160 is going on 7 years old and still runs great. Never had any mechanical issues at all. Why did I go over to Honda? Because My first two mowers sucked! They both had B&S engines (4.5 hp and 3.5 hp) and failed in one season! One of them actually never worked right from the beginning (in hind sight it must have been a huge vacuum leak). My GCV190 (HRX217K2HXA) runs superbly, and always starts on the first pull. I just love it. Awesome reliabilty.
 
It always amazes me to read about all the problems that folks have with their small engines of various makes. From the time I was a kid helping my Dad around the yard (late 70's) to now, I've never had a small engine suffer any type of catastrophic failure. We abused the heck out of stuff, too; and it never failed. Maybe it has more to do with the climate in which the engine is used???
 
Originally Posted By: TurboLuver

You don't really believe that any company is going to pass it's savings on to the consumer do you? That only happens in economics classes and fantasy-land.


Absolutely!

Of course it won't happen out of some altruistic love fest.

But it often does happens out of cut throat business ambitions. Lowering costs gives companies the ability to take market share, in some circumstances inflict damage on competitors by making price changes they can't comfortably follow.

Thats the beauty of free markets. Fat margins attract competition and it only takes one ambitious company drive the excess profit margin out of the market.
 
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While shopping for OPE a while back I did investigate Honda, but for me it was too expensive. My reason for looking at them was after listening to one of their small generators I was amazed at how quiet it was and deemed that they might be onto something? Everyone here has little spare time to be monkeying with lousey OPE that saps even more of your precious time and that's probably one of the reasons that Honda sells so well. I'd be willing to bet that most Honda car owners invariably seek out their OPE as well? For me,due diligence and the B&S will do fine and my 30 y/o Tecumseh showblowers run like new.
 
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