Are Honda horsepower ratings different?

[daugen]

seems pretty common to find a pressure washer or leaf blower offered with several engines. For example, a Honda 11hp and/or a Kohler/B&S 12-13hp. Isn't a HP a HP? Almost always the non Honda engine
is rated at higher hp for the same job. Is the message between the lines that Hondas hold up better at max power output? I've been curious about this a long time. Kawasaki's also seem "stronger"... I know there have been
recent rating changes, but I'm in the market for a walk behind leaf blower and once again, the B&S engine has more hp than the Honda on the same unit and for hundreds less dollars. I've never had problems with B&S and on a low hour machine, it is my engine of choice.

 

[Baby Grand]

When I go shopping for gas engine powered equipment, the Honda brand is usually a deal closer. The competition needs to show me something "better". Many people would accept 1 or 2 bonus HP as "better", so I think the manufacturers are offering a little more HP to stay in the sales game.

I had very good luck with B&S until I participated in the Craftsman shearing flywheel key/cracked flywheel keyway Charlie Foxtrot episode. This was after a head gasket replacement under warranty. No longer do I look to new B&S products for quality & durability.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Honda might be a little more conservative on their power ratings, considering longevity and reliability is their main selling point. I've got a few Briggs motors around the farm, but also have just as many Hondas. IMO, nothing compares to the quality, easy of use, and longevity of the GX series Honda.

 

[daugen]

when I went to buy a good powerwasher, I spent the extra money on the Northern Tools one with the Cat pump and the GX390. What a beautiful looking engine. I figured a powerwasher puts full load on the engine, so it was worth getting the premium engine. My Husq push lawn mower has the "cheap" Honda engine and it runs fine and starts immediately. But my Billy Goat leaf vac has a GSV190, which I guess is somewhere in the middle, and it has been an awful starter since I got it. First Honda engine I ever had a problem with. For twenty years I've had Honda push mowers with Honda engines, and they were indestructible, so I know the quality is there. But I tend to overmaintain my stuff, using synthetic oil after the break in, letting them warm up before full throttle, etc. I also give each one a small shot of Tufoil once a year, and yes, it's probably snake oil, but they sure seem to run fine. I also try to always back off the rpm slightly below full throttle, enough rpm to get good cooling but not running flat out

It's pretty hard to compare power outputs when they don't state at what rpm it is, or worse they rate it at 3600 rpm and then regulate it down to 3200-3300, so who knows what power is being produced. Same with torque specs, uh, at what rpm? Cars seem to have understandable specs, but small engines, despite recent changes, seem to have a ways to go.

 

[Jerry/MT]

seems pretty common to find a pressure washer or leaf blower offered with several engines. For example, a Honda 11hp and/or a Kohler/B&S 12-13hp. Isn't a HP a HP? Almost always the non Honda engine
is rated at higher hp for the same job. Is the message between the lines that Hondas hold up better at max power output? I've been curious about this a long time. Kawasaki's also seem "stronger"... I know there have been
recent rating changes, but I'm in the market for a walk behind leaf blower and once again, the B&S engine has more hp than the Honda on the same unit and for hundreds less dollars. I've never had problems with B&S and on a low hour machine, it is my engine of choice.

You need to know the the max HP rating is just that; the max horsepower avalable from the engine. It is used in marketing the engine.

Very seldom, if ever, is the engine ever operated at that point, no matter the brand name. So I wouldn't use the max HP rating of the engine to select the engine brand. Try the equipment out if at all possible , make sure it starts easily, and does what it's supposed to. It will probably never need more than 75-80% of rated power.
Do not put much emphasis on the max power rating. If a 10 hp rated engine runs the equipment like it's supposed, than a 10 to 12 max rated hp won't do it any better.

 

[94BULLITT]

I think honda and maybe subarua were the only manufacturers that were not involved in the lawsuit a few years ago on over rating engines.

 

[MHarryE]

Honda was one of the losers in the class action lawsuit.

Lawnmowers by the following manufacturers are eligible if their engines were made by:

Briggs & Stratton
Honda
Kawasaki
Kohler
Tecumseh
Toro
Or if the entire lawnmower was manufactured by:

EHP
Honda
Husqvarna
John Deere
MTD
Sears
Toro


Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Lawnmower Class Action Lawsuit: False Advertising re Horsepower | NowPublic News Coverage http://www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/l...false-advertising-re-horsepower#ixzz2BPiCwXl9

 

[94BULLITT]

Honda was one of the losers in the class action lawsuit.

Lawnmowers by the following manufacturers are eligible if their engines were made by:

Briggs & Stratton
Honda
Kawasaki
Kohler
Tecumseh
Toro
Or if the entire lawnmower was manufactured by:

EHP
Honda
Husqvarna
John Deere
MTD
Sears
Toro


Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Lawnmower Class Action Lawsuit: False Advertising re Horsepower | NowPublic News Coverage Lawnmower Class Action Lawsuit: False Advertising re Horsepower | NowPublic News Coverage

Well I guess subrau is the only honest one then.

 

[MHarryE]

Going back to the old days all tractor companies got out of hand (at least their salesmen) so Nebraska enacted a law that any tractor sold in the state had to be tested by the Nebraska Tractor Tests. As far as I know this still holds. I see Nebraska Test Report results on the spec aligns for our John Deere tractors. In addition I find on all of my Kubota tractor specs the fine print "Not for sale in Nebraska". Never knew for sure if Kubota considered the Nebraska market too small for their lower end of the line tractors or if the were afraid of the results. I assume it is the former as Kubota does have a quality reputation. Having participated in the preparation of a tractor for the testing, it was interesting to find our company did not push the boundaries. The tractor had an engine installed that was a little lower on power than what was considered midpoint because under the comment section "repairs and adjustments" they did not want to have anything embarrassing listed. Of course third arty testing like this is expensive. Lawnmowers and the like just wouldn't justify the third party testing for a couple hundred dollar product.

 

[PoorPlowboy]

http://tractortestlab.unl.edu/misc. test reports.htm

Kubota has a handful of models tested. I guess they don't see a benefit to sending every model to them.