Picking the correct oil

[DustyRusty]

I have a ZTR with a Briggs & Stratton air-cooled engine on it, and the engine manual says to use either 30-weight conventional oil or 5W30 synthetic oil. The engine has about 180 hours and has always run 30-weight oil. Would it be better for the engine to switch it to the 5W30 synthetic oil or should I continue using the 30-weight oil?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

As long as the engine is happy and you're happy, keep using the 30 ! You've got 180 HOURS on it.
There is no good reason to switch otherwise you WOULD have done so 179 hours ago and B&S would have said 5W30SYN ONLY, 180 hrs ago.

 

[DustyRusty]

I wasn't the one who set the machine up when new, nor was I the one who was doing the maintenance on it since new. The shop that sold the machine originally did all the maintenance, however, they have since closed and the owner retired. I own the machine, however, I wasn't the one operating the machine. Now I will be doing both maintenance and operation. I don't even know for certain if the engine has had a diet of 30-weight, 10W-30, or 5W30SYN. I just assumed that it was a 30-weight oil, and I have no idea why I assumed that.

 

[fried1765]

I have a ZTR with a Briggs & Stratton air-cooled engine on it, and the engine manual says to use either 30-weight conventional oil or 5W30 synthetic oil. The engine has about 180 hours and has always run 30-weight oil. Would it be better for the engine to switch it to the 5W30 synthetic oil or should I continue using the 30-weight oil?

You.....of all people....
NOW, we will have another never ending oil thread.

Wondering why there is an "angry" response (below) to my obviously tongue-in-cheek post.
Wassup with that?

 

[jyoutz]

I have the same engine on my ZT. The small engine shop/dealer I bought the mower from last year told me that either is acceptable, but he always runs synthetic because engines run quieter and are cleaner when he tears them down.

 

[TheOldHokie]

I have a ZTR with a Briggs & Stratton air-cooled engine on it, and the engine manual says to use either 30-weight conventional oil or 5W30 synthetic oil. The engine has about 180 hours and has always run 30-weight oil. Would it be better for the engine to switch it to the 5W30 synthetic oil or should I continue using the 30-weight oil?

Assuming you dont use it to push snow It aint going to matter a wit.

Dab

 

[Fordtech86]

I use rotella 5w40 in my zt with a Kohler. Smoked like hell with the Kohler 10-30 (when new and after first oil change) it’s pushing 500 hrs now, no smoking, no issues run it in all my other small gas engines to, just easier

 

[85Hokie]

Assuming you dont use it to push snow It aint going to matter a wit.

Dab

^^^^^^^^^^^WHAT he said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

if you are starting this puppy in cold weather - the 10 weight will help with the friction of start up - but you are using it when temps are probably above 60 - so the viscosity of the 30 weight will be fine!

They both "act" the same once the temp of the oil reaches 100C

 

[bbxlr8]

Funny & agreed! - of course, you know that any proper oil when changed is fine.
Can't resist a good oil thread...
Use the 5W 30 or 40 depending on what's on the shelf & you don't have to worry about the season here in the NE

FWIW - I run have T6 in my Kawasaki engined ZT after break-in because it makes me "feel good" (also my splitter and all other small engine 4 strokes)

 

[GeoHorn]

deleted

 

[GeoHorn]

I have the same engine on my ZT. The small engine shop/dealer I bought the mower from last year told me that either is acceptable, but he always runs synthetic because engines run quieter and are cleaner when he tears them down.

If SYN is so GOOD……WHY is he having to “tear them down”..??

I‘ve used straight 30 in all 5 of my small engines, 2 of which are B&S. (one of those is almost 40 yrs old) . Never a problem.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: If SYN is so GOOD……WHY is he having to “tear them down”..??

Glad I'm not the only one wondering !

 

[TheOldHokie]

re: If SYN is so GOOD……WHY is he having to “tear them down”..??

Glad I'm not the only one wondering !

Because the vast majority of engine failures have absolutely nothing to do with the choice of oil.

Dan

 

[jyoutz]

If SYN is so GOOD……WHY is he having to “tear them down”..??

I‘ve used straight 30 in all 5 of my small engines, 2 of which are B&S. (one of those is almost 40 yrs old) . Never a problem.

A small engine shop owner gets hundred of engines to work on each year. They get torn down for various reasons, he says often because of people not changing or cleaning air filters. He said that is the number one demise of small lawn and garden engines: sucking dirt and scoring cylinder walls. As to the syn vs conventional oil, I only repeated what he told me. I know that engines do run quieter with synthetic oil because I experienced this in my diesel truck when I switched. Run what oil you want. Don’t neglect keeping your air filters clean.

 

[GeoHorn]

A small engine shop owner gets hundred of engines to work on each year. They get torn down for various reasons, he says often because of people not changing or cleaning air filters. He said that is the number one demise of small lawn and garden engines: sucking dirt and scoring cylinder walls. As to the syn vs conventional oil, I only repeated what he told me. I know that engines do run quieter with synthetic oil because I experienced this in my diesel truck when I switched. Run what oil you want. Don’t neglect keeping your air filters clean.

I suspect that “what he says” is likely anecdotal, not accurate.. I’m confident the Number ONE defect of small engines is failed carburetors due to poor/stale/old ethanol gas.

 

[jyoutz]

I suspect that “what he says” is likely anecdotal, not accurate.. I’m confident the Number ONE defect of small engines is failed carburetors due to poor/stale/old ethanol gas.

I’m sure that carburetor problems are the most numerous issues for repairs. He said that air filtration was the most common reason for engine rebuilding or replacement due to scored pistons. It’s not anecdotal, it’s what he has reported in his business.

 

[GeoHorn]

I’m sure that carburetor problems are the most numerous issues for repairs. He said that air filtration was the most common reason for engine rebuilding or replacement due to scored pistons. It’s not anecdotal, it’s what he has reported in his business.

That (the need for engine rebuilding/replacement) being due to improper air filtration ….not the use of standard 30 wt oil …..makes sense. Any gasoline engine requires/consumes about 7-times more air than fuel.
In all engines, I change or clean the airfilter at every oil change…. an example applicable to this thread….My ‘92 Jeep Cherokee had 330K+ miles on it using WalMarts cheap SuperTEch 30-wt oil and oil and air filters…. it still ran great and burned no oil….when it was rear-ended by a woman driving a Class-A Motorhome pulling a 20K lb trailer with a race-car on it ….while she was texting….and I had stopped a half-mile in front of her for an animal on the highway.

I don’t claim cheap 30 wt SuperTech oil got that engine to 330K miles…. but I Can Say that cheap 30 wt SuperTech oil did not Prevent It…. nor was that ordinary oil and filters the cause of it’s demise. A couple thou$and dollar$ saved over the life of the car.

(drifting: State Farm blamed ME…for stopping for an animal. FtWorth police didn’t even cite the woman for failing to control speed to avoid an accident.)

Anyway… Yes, clean air is important.

 

[jyoutz]

There’s no doubt that keeping oil changed with the proper weight will satisfy requirements and will not likely result in engine failure. IDK on small engines if it’s worth synthetic oil. I do know that the improved cold weather performance, quieter operations, lengthened change intervals, and improved mpg with synthetic oil is a benefit for vehicles. But that’s all I buy for all engines now. For the small quantity used in small engines the price difference isn’t significant. And I do believe that my friend when he says that he sees less sludge in engines run with synthetic. He works on a few hundred engines each year.