New to Cub Cadet & board. What is the feeling about putting synthetic oil in the engine after the first 25 hour break-in? Manual seems to only say acceptable up to 40 degrees F but everyone tells me I should go synthetic especially on air cooled engine. Thanks, I want to get the best life out of my Kohler.
2006 GT 2544 Kohler Command 21 - Synthetic oil??
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DmansPadge
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Go for it. Letting the engine break-in on the factory oil then switching to synthetic is the way to go. Having said that... synthetic or not... the engine will probably be the last thing to go!
Have fun.
Have fun.
JTKub
Veteran Member
Going to synthetic @ the first oil change is perfectly fine. I just did my pre season oil change on my kohler command 20 & used Shell Rotella-T heavy-duty synth. 5w-40. I had a cpl qts leftover from a truck I had. I know it goes against the kohler 10w-30 spec, but she runs as smooth as butta on it. No way I was going to let a good oil collect dust on the shelf!
Joel
Joel
Totally agreed, especially as these small air cooled engines don't hold that much oil, the extra cost of synthetic makes it not so prohibitive for the viscosity stability advantage of synthetic oil. Remember though, synthetic oil DOES NOT extend oil change intervals. In other words disregard that advertising hype they are using as a selling point for putting it in your car for that purpose. Using it can and may extend engine life, but it is not an excuse to change the oil less frequently. Many newer OHV small engines such as Kohler Commands and Courage, Briggs and Stratton, Honda, Kawasaki, etc, have hydraulic valve lifters and using synthetic oil in these can have a major advantage with reducing wear on cold engine stratups.
I don't recommend synthetic oil for older or more worn small engines. Why? Synthetic oil tends to be more leak-prone than the dinosaur oil older engines are made to run on. It can turn a small seal leak into a big one, or make new leaks that didn't exist before.
-Fordlords-
I don't recommend synthetic oil for older or more worn small engines. Why? Synthetic oil tends to be more leak-prone than the dinosaur oil older engines are made to run on. It can turn a small seal leak into a big one, or make new leaks that didn't exist before.
-Fordlords-
