Very good decision you made. The Simplicity mowers make a nice cut and should last you a long time if taken care of. I too am a big fan of the X380, but with only 22hp and a K58 trans, it leaves a lot to be desired for the price you are paying. As or tips, the one thing that I can offer based on my experience with Briggs engines is to purchase only ethanol free gas or use an ethanol additive in every gallon of gas you use. I have had multiple Briggs carbs, all two-barrels that have had issues due to ethanol. Once I switched to ethanol free I have not had any issues. Also, do yourself a huge favor and read through your entire manual. Often times even the most seasoned homeowner or professional can learn something from the manual whether it be basic operation or proper maintenance. Oh yeah, and lastly, your mower should be run in full throttle any time that it is moving or cutting the grass. Idle is only intended for sitting with the parking brake on. Anything in-between the bottom and top of the throttle do not matter as full throttle is the only way to keep the hydrostatic fan spinning at maximum cooling speed; obviously while parked cooling isn't as important although I have seen suggestions on some mowers of parking and letting run for at least 10-30 seconds at full throttle to allow the trans to cool down before shutting the mower off.