Full Synthetic oil to use

Ric said:

I think there has been a lot of brain washing going on with people over the controversy with oil types and what needs to be used in what. You would think that if this synthetic oil was so super that every automotive manufacturer would be screaming to run the stuff in the cars they make but yet none do, only in certain cars like the Corvette, Mini Cooper and a few other High Performance cars is it used or recommended to satisfy there warranty.
I don't think any of the Mower Manuals I've looked at and gone through Kawasaki, Kohler, Hondas or Briggs say anything or recommend the use of synthetic oil, it's always A Detergent oil API Service Classification SG, SH, SJ. Yes I know it says using multi-grade oils(5W20, 10W30 and 10W40) can increase oil consumption but I personally use the 10w30 and as much or as often as I change I've never seen any of my mowers use any oil but I also know I'm a bit of a fanatic in my beliefs about changing my oil every 50 hrs and sometimes sooner if conditions warrant it.

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Ric,
I agree it's a given that "regular maintenance" is more important than multi-vicosity, etc. My Kawa manual did say "Check oil level more frequently when using them".....NOT "do not use them". We all do what feels right(best guided, as you stated, by the wisdom of the manufacturer's recommendation).

I use Mobile 1 T4, 10/40 oil for sportsbike application. It is made for air cooled and water cooled sportsbike engines, and my Cub Cadet absolutely loves the stuff. It leaks a little more around the valve covers but everything else is good. It also seems to run cooler with synthetic! I have the opinion that an oil specifically made for air cooled engines woul dbe better than just a 30w general purpose oil. I have also used Valvoline ATV oil in 10/40 and it works great as well.

Rocketman said:

I use Mobile 1 T4, 10/40 oil for sportsbike application. It is made for air cooled and water cooled sportsbike engines, and my Cub Cadet absolutely loves the stuff. It leaks a little more around the valve covers but everything else is good. It also seems to run cooler with synthetic! I have the opinion that an oil specifically made for air cooled engines woul dbe better than just a 30w general purpose oil. I have also used Valvoline ATV oil in 10/40 and it works great as well.

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Thanks for the reply Rocketman , when i hear others that used different types oil it helps and i learn from others experiance , i like the sound Mobil 1 T4 is made for air cooled .

Ric said:

I'm like you No one on this forum has ever convinced me that syn oils run cooler or are any better than the Mobil 5000 I use and after my experience with the synthetic stuff they never will. I'll stay with the Manufacturers Recommendations.

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Briggs now sells a full Synthetic oil, so is it OK now?

I have a Swisher pull behind trimmer, that I converted to electric stater. When starting it, it turned over slowly, but when I put in the Synthetic oil, the cranking RPM increased immensely.

tankdriver said:

Briggs now sells a full Synthetic oil, so is it OK now?

I have a Swisher pull behind trimmer, that I converted to electric stater. When starting it, it turned over slowly, but when I put in the Synthetic oil, the cranking RPM increased immensely.

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Every engine manufacturer will eventually recommend full synthetic... It's hard for some to change their way of thinking, even when everything points to all the superior properties of synthetic.
Using Any brand synthetic will be better than Any mineral oil... But there are those that will stick to what little they think they know, & claim I'll go with what the engine manufacturer recommends... (and That recommendation is typically the Minimum requirement).
I'm sure Briggs has discovered that they can keep their lower end engines going a bit longer if they use a Superior oil... :smile:KennyV

Hello Cow! First congrats on your new mower. Two of my family members have Kubota zg23's and they have run great since the day they bought them. They both have kohler (I think) Command pro engines on them. Well two weeks ago I bought a Husqvarna mz5225 zero turn with a Kohler Courage Pro 25hp engine and like you was scared about the reviews I read. I asked my salesman and (hope he is right) he said that there were problems with earlier models of Kohler courage engines but they have been addressed and I should not have any problems. So far it has been great! So smooth and strong running. I am not to afraid of this engine failing since a lot of mower companies are running these engines it seems. As for the oil I am going to use what the manual recommends for several reasons. The first I don't want to give either my dealer or manufacturer a chance to say that a possible future problem was the result of the oil I used voiding my warranty. The second being I have a 2006 snapper with a Kohler Command 15hp engine on it and I have just used the kohler oil at the recommended specs in the manual and it has run like a top since the day I purchased it. I want to also add that I change the oil a little earlier than is recommended since an oil and filter change seems to be the cheapest maintenance one can do. I always believe if you follow your manuals recommend maintenance schedule, your mower should last a very long time. Always worked for me. By changing my oil when I am supposed to I cant see my engine breaking down faster because I used regular oil over synthetic. I feel that synthetic maybe better but if it was that much better every manual would say run synthetic only and mine does not. That's my two cents anyway. Take care and enjoy that new mower. Kubota makes a nice machine!!!

Porkchop , thanks for the reply on Kohler engs. & syn. oil , i certainly do appreciacate all the thoughts & answers from others , no kidding when i first relized i had this Kohler Courage i was one unhappy Kubota owner , i could not understand why a Manf. of such a good Mower would put a inferior eng in a quality name product, i have read, studied ,talked , emailed , so many people on this matter
i feel i have worn the subject out.
With the encouraging news like your reply maybe i can see some light at the end of the tunnel , I have spoken to a couple local small eng. repair fellows in my general area , and found out most the complaints are on the single cyl. Courage eng . and yes i have seen with my eyes the complete broken ( busted ) Crankcase Courage eng have . Providing Kohler has gotten the bugs from this eng. i can only imagine the lost sales because of so many complaints and repairs they have made.
I have learned my lesson for sure before i step out & purchase another product that has served me well for many yrs. i`ll do my homework before i make the plunge, just because a product has served you well in past , does not mean that it will always be that way
in this time of every manf. cutting back to save money just to be able to compete with world wide trade , BUYER BEWARE, for sure the "Ole Gray Mare Ain`t what she use to be "
I`m sticking with manf. suggestions on all mantaince on this mower or at least untill Warranty expires. then i`ll put my judgement to work with past experince , i have had excellent results with Sync. oil in past even on other lawn mowers ( their manuels did not call for it either ) for example the old Kubota now 16 yrs old with the 14hp Kaw. eng. runs Great today , my garden tiller, even the 2011 Camry car uses Syn. oil ( Manuel calls for it though ).
About all i can add to the Oil debate is my personal experience , i have NO problem using Syn. oil in any my motors Air or liquid Cooled.
Providing the Warranty states otherwise. Thanks again to everyone that has made replys to my Question`s on Kohler Courage, Command eng. & others.

tankdriver said:

Briggs now sells a full Synthetic oil, so is it OK now?

I have a Swisher pull behind trimmer, that I converted to electric stater. When starting it, it turned over slowly, but when I put in the Synthetic oil, the cranking RPM increased immensely.

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Ask yourself some questions, because Briggs makes there own synthetic oil is it better? Kohler makes there own oil and to my knowledge it's not synthetic. What purpose does running synthetic accomplish? Does your manual call for you to use synthetic oil, probably not. Thing is most people who run synthetic oil don't actually know why they run it, they do because like the videos say it makes them feel better. Your manual will tell you to use regular motor oil for the first 50 hours to break your engine in and seat the rings properly. As far as I am concerned if the synthetic oil isn't good enough to break my engine in then I have no reason to believe it's better to run the stuff after break in. The oil guru's on these forums will say if they use synthetic they can extend there oil changes from the 50hrs to 100hrs on there mowers ( BS )
Preform a little test and drive your car down the road with a new air filter for a day and see how much dirt and dust is in the air filter at the end of that day then do the same with your mower, mow lawns for the same period of time and check the air filter in it, big difference and when you see all the dirt and dust in your mower filter you'll say man this thing needs to be cleaned daily cause its full of crap just stop and think if this filter caught all this I wonder how much it didn't catch and is now in my oil. A lawn mower engine runs in extreme conditions and needs to be maintained daily as well as its oil needs to be checked daily or before every use and watched and changed frequently. If you wish to use synthetic by all means use it but I learned my lesson using the stuff and I'm not going there again.

There have been many test on what oil is the best.

A engine builder did a test on a dyno used a napa gold filter on every test. All he did was change the oil. The engine was a Chevy 350
The oil the won was castrol syntec 10w-30 had a 12 hp more than any other oil

(( racing is the only sport that you need two balls ))

Very believable @ 6500 rpm. Tractor motors running at fast idle producing torque...synthetic is good but a waste of $6/qt unless below 32F. IMO:smile: