27 HP Courage - Changed From 10W30 to 30W to 15W50 With Excellent Result

WVKohler

Forum Newbie
Joined
Jun 22, 2018
Threads
1
Messages
1
  • / 27 HP Courage - Changed From 10W30 to 30W to 15W50 With Excellent Result
I have a Cub Cadet with a 54" deck and a 27hp Kohler Courage engine. This is my 5th year with the mower and it has approx. 530 hours. After 1st 50 hours I changed oil to a full synthetic 10W30 and have using 10W30 exclusively until this year. I change oil at the beginning of season and mid way through season (2x/yr) and average around 120 hours annually. The 27hp Kohler has always been noisy with a lot of lifter clicking that I find both loud and annoying. The Kohler does not consume any oil in between oil changes. This year, I changed oil to a full synthetic straight 30W and did not notice any change in idle speed, power or any reduction in noise from motor. 2 weeks ago, I did my mid season oil change and decided to try a full synthetic 15W50 from Mobil 1. Within 15 minutes the motor become very quiet and I did not notice any change in idle speed. I started mowing and also did not notice any loss of power at all. From a noise level (clicking, knocking, etc.) the change has been remarkable. It's like I have a new motor in my Cub Cadet. I only use mower to mow grass so it is garaged in the winter. I don't know if 15W50 is a good idea for a new Kohler motor, but it is awesome for one that has been well maintained with over 500 hours. Anyone else use 15W50?

Kev
 

bertsmobile1

Lawn Royalty
Joined
Nov 29, 2014
Threads
64
Messages
24,647
  • / 27 HP Courage - Changed From 10W30 to 30W to 15W50 With Excellent Result
I have a Cub Cadet with a 54" deck and a 27hp Kohler Courage engine. This is my 5th year with the mower and it has approx. 530 hours. After 1st 50 hours I changed oil to a full synthetic 10W30 and have using 10W30 exclusively until this year. I change oil at the beginning of season and mid way through season (2x/yr) and average around 120 hours annually. The 27hp Kohler has always been noisy with a lot of lifter clicking that I find both loud and annoying. The Kohler does not consume any oil in between oil changes. This year, I changed oil to a full synthetic straight 30W and did not notice any change in idle speed, power or any reduction in noise from motor. 2 weeks ago, I did my mid season oil change and decided to try a full synthetic 15W50 from Mobil 1. Within 15 minutes the motor become very quiet and I did not notice any change in idle speed. I started mowing and also did not notice any loss of power at all. From a noise level (clicking, knocking, etc.) the change has been remarkable. It's like I have a new motor in my Cub Cadet. I only use mower to mow grass so it is garaged in the winter. I don't know if 15W50 is a good idea for a new Kohler motor, but it is awesome for one that has been well maintained with over 500 hours. Anyone else use 15W50?

Kev

At 500 hours your are about 1/2 way through the design life of the engine so it will be wearing and gaps will be getting larger so a thicker oil will quieten things down a bit.
If the ring groves have worn a heavier oil will boost the compression a bit so might even make the engine run a bit better.
Sounds like you are dong the right thing by your engine so keep it up and it might even go 2000 hours.
 
Top