Oil consideration
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bertsmobile1
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Mower oils are not car oils.
Car oils are not mower oils.
Having said that any oil is better than no oil.
Air cooled engine oils are formulated to take higher temperature variations than oils for water cooled engines.
Mower oils are air cooled engine oils with more detergents and more anti corrosive additives to cope with the infrequent & seasonal use of the engine .
FWIW I only use 10w40 in all engines deigned to be run on multigrades.
It gets hot down here an I have to keep 10w 40 for all the Honda X25 & X35 engines that toss the 10W 30 on no time flat.
Cheaper oils changed more frequently will be better than expensive oils used for their full designated service life as mower sumps are really small.
There are after market mower oils that are cheaper than Honda oil and there are some that are more expensive.
Just find one that makes you feel good using it.
Just remember the less time it is in there the better it is for the engine.
Car oils are not mower oils.
Having said that any oil is better than no oil.
Air cooled engine oils are formulated to take higher temperature variations than oils for water cooled engines.
Mower oils are air cooled engine oils with more detergents and more anti corrosive additives to cope with the infrequent & seasonal use of the engine .
FWIW I only use 10w40 in all engines deigned to be run on multigrades.
It gets hot down here an I have to keep 10w 40 for all the Honda X25 & X35 engines that toss the 10W 30 on no time flat.
Cheaper oils changed more frequently will be better than expensive oils used for their full designated service life as mower sumps are really small.
There are after market mower oils that are cheaper than Honda oil and there are some that are more expensive.
Just find one that makes you feel good using it.
Just remember the less time it is in there the better it is for the engine.
robert@honda
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For everything but snow blowers, Honda says to use SAE 10W-30.
Doesn't matter if it is synthetic or petroleum based. Just be sure the bottle says SAE 10W-30.
What does matter is one key thing: change interval. Change the oil per the schedule in the owner's manual. Don't buy into the hype a fancy synthetic oil can be use longer than the recommended change interval.
SeniorCitizen
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The viscosity isn't that important to me but the service letter designation is. I suspect your Honda manual states that designation.
Not true. The manual for my Honda mower with the GCV160 engine says 5W-30. I use the same Mobil 1 synthetic 5W-30 I use in my cars and Honda snow blower. Zero issues with it.
TonyPrin
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At the end of the day, 5W-30 or 10W-30 are similar oils once the mower is warmed-up. Full synthetic oil is far superior to any/all conventional motor oils and I use 5W-30 synthetic in all my 4-cycle equipment. In terms of which synthetic oil to choose, all full - not blend synthetic oils can easily handle small engines so I look at price with rebates.
bertsmobile1
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Yes BUT
Water cooled car engine oils are not the same as AIR COOLED mower / Motorcycle oils
next
Mower oils should always be changed at the end of the mower season, before the mower gets laid up over winter.
The quality of the oil is pretty well insignificant, provided it is changed AT THE ENGINE MAKERS REQUIRED INTERVALS and not what is written on the side of the bottle.
Having said that a lot of people use the same oil in all their vehicles & impliments as it saves having 25 different types of oils hanging around which is fine, provided you change it regularly.
And this would mean by hours during the season and also at the end of the season.
TonyPrin
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bertsmobile1 said:
Yes, I routinely get into discussions about why a vehicle can go thousands of miles between oil changes but a mower or snow blower may require an oil change after less than 5 miles. The fact is a major reason for an oil change is build-up of deposits in the small engine's oil (because of a lack of an oil filter) and not because the oil has degraded.
In terms of oil quality, there are vast differences between motor oils. Motor oil made from reprocessed (used) oil is readily available as well as motor oil with poor additives or lacking cleaning agents. In addition, many motor oils fail to pass API standards and lack their donut seal. Beyond that, according to the API, 20% of oils from oil change centers tested by them failed over a 5-year period.
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