Reply To: 3 hp Evinrude question (’50s to 60s)

[David Stanton]

I use so much oil running 35 and 40 HPs a lot, I buy the generic house brands to save some bucks, like Walmart’s “Super-Tech” (it’s not on the shelf with the name brand OB oils, look farther down the aisle). I just be sure the TCW-3 rating is there. Back in the 1950s/1960s, Johnson /Evinrude said it was OK to use SAE30 weight non-detergent automotive oil, and back then, with a 1960 40 HP Dad bought new, we ran only SAE30 Non-detergent because at 25 to 1, going through 200 gallons of gas each summer, mainly skiing on weekends at the cabin, we used a lot of oil and bought the 30-weight cheap in bulk in our own can at the local Phillips66 station. Same oil when we traded up to a V4 60 HP at 50 to 1. Ran each motor many years and never had a problem. So I figure that if SAE30 was OK back then, today’s TCW-3 is a lot better, even if it is a generic brand. Now if I had a newer, 100 to 1 engine, I’d be more picky on the oil, or, like the 1991 15 HPs I have, I think 100 to 1 is ridiculous so I run 50 to 1 with the generic TCW-3.
Dave