M1 15w50 vs RT6 15w40 🤔

[Astro_Guy]

Originally Posted by SavagePatch
Just picked it up today and assembled it. Gonna fill with fluids tomorrow and run it. Probably gonna use Valvoline Heavy Duty Maxlife 15w40 are the initial break-in.

Any truth to these two statements in the owner's manual? And here's the oil it came with too.
Personally speaking, I think that is an old wives' tale. Some will argue though. I've been switching to synthetic after the initial break in on all new OPE since Hurricane Sandy in 2012. If oil isn't supplied, I start it off with synthetic.

I own a dozen pieces of OPE now and have had only one catastrophic engine failure in the past 35 years. That failure occurred on a B&S powered push mower some 15 years ago. That engine saw seven years on use mowing 3/4 on an acre using either Penzoil or Quaker State SAE 30 dino oil. It was a smooth running machine until seconds before it threw a rod and spread metal parts on my lawn. Was it the oil? I can't say. All is well with the synthetics, so I plan to just keep using them. It's not as if there is much of a price difference these days.

 

[SavagePatch]

Originally Posted by SavagePatch
Just picked it up today and assembled it. Gonna fill with fluids tomorrow and run it. Probably gonna use Valvoline Heavy Duty Maxlife 15w40 are the initial break-in.

Any truth to these two statements in the owner's manual? And here's the oil it came with too.

 

[SavagePatch]

Originally Posted by Astro_Guy
Originally Posted by SavagePatch
Just picked it up today and assembled it. Gonna fill with fluids tomorrow and run it. Probably gonna use Valvoline Heavy Duty Maxlife 15w40 are the initial break-in.

Any truth to these two statements in the owner's manual?

Personally speaking, I think that is an old wives' tale.


That's what I've gathered too from my few years on BITOG.

 

[Zaedock]

The break-in oil I used on the Predator 212 I installed on my Huskee splitter was Trop/Artic 10W30 syn blend. Didn't notice it was syn blend until later.
I let the new engine run for 10-15 min and then let it cool for a few cycles at various speeds and then went right to PP10W30. That was two years ago.
I thought it was more important to seat the rings and get the assembly junk out after about a half hour of run time. I figure the average Joe just fills these engines with oil and runs them for years.

The motor runs great, usually starts on the first pull and even handles elm, which sucks to split.