I send Mrs. Triedaq to the store to get the most expensive 30 weight oil available for the mower. I am now wrestling with having her buy the most expensive synthetic oil available for the mower after reading all these comments.
The reason is that I hate to mow and she likes to mow. However, she has had two foot surgeries and two rotator cuff surgeries in the last seven years. I have told her that a lawnmower is a delicate piece of equipment and I don’t want it messed up, so therefore I won’t let her mow the yard. Better to mow the yard myself that to have her go through more surgeries. Buying the most expensive oil is one way to convince her that I am serious (I paid $150 for the mower back in 1988). She is bucking for a self propelled mower with electric start. I really don’t want that type of mower with its complexity.
Yeah, the Rotella full synthetic is like $22 for 5 quarts at Wal-Mart. This is what I am switching all my equipment to once my other synthetic runs out. I basically got some store brand synthetic for next to nothing on sale and probably have a year or more left of this.
I figure that the extra ZDDP is of benefit in small engines, especially since they don’t have emissions equipment to foul. The Rotella T6 5W40 is rated as a fleet oil for use in both gas and diesel applications. I know several who have decided to run nothing but this in lawn equipment and have had no issues.
I don’t mind self-propel on a mower, especially the larger ones, but that is as complex as I want on one. I don’t like the blade disengage and electric start. That is more stuff to go wrong that isn’t needed, plus it makes them weigh so much that not having self-propel is not an option.
Man, I paid $500 for my Toro self propelled in 1987. Still worked fine when I gave it to my son to use. I told the guy I wanted electric start after the problems with my AMF but he said I didn’t need it. This one was guaranteed to start in the first or second pull period, and he was right.
And the extremely limited use of this type of fuel in cars (less then 0.000000001%)
I got a chuckle out of that. Reminds me of two statements-
- Something like 74.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
- I told you a million times, don’t exaggerate!
>And the extremely limited use of this type of fuel in cars (less then 0.000000001%)I got a chuckle out of that. Reminds me of two statements-
I agree it’s a total WAG…but prove me wrong. And I’ll bet you a years salary…I’m not far off.
@MikeInNH: How would I “prove” something where the users are probably breaking multiple EPA and DOT laws?
I just know what my nose tells me, and I’ve smelled eau de Cessna exhaust at most of the “classic car events” I’ve attended.
More to the point, high-compression hotrods with high valve-spring forces require some sort of “high-test TEL” for proper operations. AFAIK, the two main sources are avgas and certain racing fuels.
It seems highly improbable that NO hot rod owner has been sufficiently resourceful to explore this.
I’m sorry you were not very aware of avgas, but that’s no reason to question my knowledge on the subject…
I'm sorry you were not very aware of avgas, but that's no reason to question my knowledge on the subject..
Knowledge of the subject…and SIMPLE MATH are two completely different subjects.
Can you tell me how many hot-rod owners are out there that would benefit from such fuel?? VERY VERY VERY few. Considering that there are OVER 240,000,000 cars on the road in the US today…you would have to have over 2.4 MILLION hot-rods requiring that fuel just to get to 1%. If there were more then 50k I’d be EXTREMELY SURPRISED. … Again…SIMPLE MATH.
I really don’t want to get in the middle of it but most of the people I know and hang around with have high compression motors that require high octane fuel. The Sunoco here sells 101. It has a distinctive odor that most racing fans will detect and love the smell of it. I know I do…
I’m not doubting it’s sold…We have a raceway in Lee NH. There’s a gas station just south on Rt 125 that sells “Racing Fluid”. Not exactly sure what the formula is…but that’s the ONLY gas station I know of in NH that sells it. As I said…it has a very very very limited audience. We’re talking thousands…NOT millions. So I stand firm on my original statement…it’s INSIGNIFICANT in the discussion at hand about oil.
It’s relavant as far as folks were making synthetic oil out to be a panacea, and I said: not so fast–look how poorly it handles lead.
Point being, just because it’s great for modern auto engines, doesn’t mean its necessarily great for aviation/marine/small engines.
From there, somehow we got sidetracked into the “relevance” of using avgas as an illustration of a syn oil shortcoming. So, @MikeInNH: yes, very few gallons of avgas are diverted to automotive use–which is fine by me. I guess news of synthetic oil being contraindicated for leaded fuels wasn’t as widely dispersed as I thought. I apologize if I ruffled any feathers unneccesarily.
Peace out (at least W/R/T this thread.)
Probably the lesson learned here is to use the right oil for the application. The problem here isn’t that synthetic oil is inherently bad for the applications mentioned just because it’s synthetic, just that because it’s formulated for no-lead fueled cars and trucks that use catalytic converters, it lacks the zinc and other additives you need for maximum protection in high pressure applications. The same additives that can harm the catalyst, which is moot as the leaded fuel will destroy it too.
It’s probably a tossup in a lawnmower–an oil with zinc might be best for it, but a synthetic will handle high heat and spotty oil changes better. The best would be a synthetic with zinc probably.
The synthetic diesel oils tend to have more zinc (ZPPD) in the than oils formulated for gas engines. I figure this is a good way to go, especially when you can get 5 quarts for $22 of the Rotella T6. For a somewhat budget diesel rated synthetic, this seems to be a very well-rated oil. Sure, there is better but it is much more expensive ($50+). While I see regular oil for less money than this on sale, this isn’t much more than the regular price for most conventional oils.