Best oil for Honda OHC engine on lawnmower?

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What is the best oil for a Honda 160cc OHC engine on a lawnmower? The owner's manual says to use 10W30 oil although 30 weight oil can also be used. The oil that came with the lawnmower was some forgettable cheap oil in a 20 ounce container (SB rated I think).

I heard a story somewhere that synthetic oil is not recommended for these Honda engines. I have been using Valvoline 10W30 and 30 weight oil. I changed the oil today. I could not find 30 weight Valvoline so I used Castrol 30 weight.
 
10W30 is highly recommended.

In fact: simply treat these lil air-cooled Honda engine as their bigger brother (in cars) and use multi-vis oil inside, syn no problem.

I have a GX135 been in use for 10yrs (pressure washer) and i just dump anything left behind from cars: 10W30, 15W40, HDEO, syn, etc.

Q.
 
Thanks guys! I have been using 10W30 in the early spring and late fall and 30 weight oil in the hot summertime. If I can use 10W30 oil year round without problems that will be okay with me.

What about synthetic oil? Can I use Platinum Ultra 10W30?
 
I really like the Platinum 10W-30 in those Honda mowers, wish I had one. I am using Platinum 5W-30 in my Honda snowblower and it works great.
 
I use the MC blend 10w-30 in Honda powered p. washer and 7hp tiller. Run very well on it. I think it doesn't matter so much, as one usually doesn't mow grass, till, or PW in the snow. But on the other hand the same principles apply as on a car engine, the oil splashes around faster when cold with the 10w, even at 90 deg F. In theory that should be a little better.

I started using MC blend on my cars long before looking in this site. It just sounded like it was good oil in the engine. Read here that yes MC is good stuff, supporting the feeling. Now use 0w 30 AFE to try to make something better that probably didn't need to be made better. Seems like the more one thinks the more one worries what works best and changes things. Just observation.
 
Treat it like a little Honda. I used 10W-30 Chevron Supreme in ours before we got rid of it. I have MaxLife in the neighbor's Honda/Poulan mower.
 
I have used Mobil 1 in my Honda 160 since dumping the factory provided fill at 5 hours. I purchased my mower in 2000, and it has had yearly oil changes, at 55 to 65 hours. I have an hour meter on my mower, and it just passed 550 hours.

I used M1 5W30 oil until my stash of SL oil ran out a couple of years ago. One year, I had a quart of 0W30 on hand, and I used it. The little engine was never down more than a sixteenth of an inch on the dipstick at the end of a 60 hour, one year run.

With the advent of SM oils, I have changed over to M1 High Mileage oil, which is still SL. The engine still, after 10 years and 550 hours, uses absolutely no oil. It has only had M1 in the above mentioned weights. It even used no oil the year I used 0W30.

The oil has always looked pretty good at the end of the year, but I always change it anyway. The 2000 owner's manual says to change it at 25 hours, so I figure that one year, 60 hours, is long enough.
 
I would use a Grp-III synthetic 10w30 in the engine, but you might want to run a cheesy dino oil first (even the SB rated stuff it came with) to facilitate a bit of break-in then switch to your oil of choice.

Make sure for the first little bit you don't over rev the engine and let it warm up on slow speed before switching to full speed. This will greatly extend its life later on.

I would have to agree with Johnny, PP would be great in this engine.
 
I have a GC160 on a power washer which was used in commercial service for an unknown number of hours. It's most quiet on 15W40 HDEO - no leaks, no consumption.

I also have a GXV140 on a Honda Masters mower I've had since new in 2003. I ran M1 10W30 in that years ago for a while (probably API SL), then some "misc" syn left over from vehicles, then I switched to Amsoil ASE. As soon as I did that, all kinds of noises have increased. I'll probably start running 15W40 in it after my supply of ASE is gone.

My cold weather OPE (a 1986 Toro 824 snowthrower with Tecumseh HM80) gets GC.
 
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i recently switched all my ope including two hondas to rotella 10w30 conventional and i wish i would have done it sooner. every single one of them is quieter on this oil compared to the valvoline 10-30 i was using. you could also use 15w-40 rotella without any harm, as long as u change it yearly u could use what ever kind of oil u wanted.
 
The problem I have with Rotella is that I can't find it in 10W30. It is available as a 15W40 where I live. I don't think I have ever seen a bottle of 10W30 Rotella. Where do you find it?

Diesel engine oils here are typically 15W40 and 30 weight, and the 30 weight that is available often meets only SB gasoline engine requirements. I guess all of the diesel people in this area, the truckers and those with smaller diesel engine vehicles, use 15W40.
 
Most Wal-marts carry the Rotella T5 10w30 - all of them around here anyway. Many other BITOG members see it in their local Wal-marts too. Sitting on the shelf right underneath the T6.
 
Best oil for Honda OHC engine on lawnmower?

For my application only: What about 5w20? Before you laugh too hard, mine never runs for more than 10-15 minutes a week. It is my trim mower and I only have a few trees to go around. It gets started, run for 10 minutes, then off and back in the garage until next week. I don't think it even gets up to operating temperature. It is 2 years old and has 10 hours on it now. I've already broken it in with Rotella 10w30 and drained the silver soup a couple of times early.

Opinions? Or talk me out of it, else I'm gonna do it!
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It would be wise to ensure the engine gets up to full operating temps and run that way for a few minutes. That way, you'll ensure your cooking any moisture out of the oil. I'd be running a 10W30 at least.

The GC engines isn't as robust as the GX series engines with the cast bore or other brands with a reputation for durability. Not saying it won't hold up but I'd err on the side of caution and run a viscosity recommended by the manufacturer.
 
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