# Powermax HD Briggs Vs Loncin Engine



## Ducky

Hi all, Question. I have multiple Toro dealers in the area that have the Toro 826 OXE HD that i am considering buying. I have received the exact same pricing from them all. The only odd thing is the engine. I spoke with a dealer (who I trust and have purchased from many times) and he said he is expecting another shipment of blowers in any time. He said they ordered all of the Briggs and Straton stock they could get their hands on. He said their feeling is they are not sure how the Loncin engine will be. They did say it should be fine, however since they had a choice they purchased the Briggs units becasue they know they can get parts easy for them. I told them I read at movingsnow.com that Briggs has the highest warranty claim rate. They said that may be, but how many more authorized service repair dealerships are there and how many more engines are there vs Loncin or even LCT. I felt this was a valid point and I personally have not had issues with a Briggs motor ever. So with that said I am leaning to getting the 38800 over the 38805 model because it has a Briggs on it. If I need warranty they can try to repair it thru Toro or Briggs since they are authorized both ways. Is there a reason to get the Loncin 252cc over the Briggs 250cc? From my understanding looking at the spec sheets that is the only difference in the machines. They are even both listed as the Powermax HD 826OXE. Thanks for your thoughts.


----------



## 43128

i would probably go with the loncin only because it has a cast iron bore and a ball bearing crank and should last longer, and because i have had a great experience with the loncins that are sold through harbor freight


----------



## Cardo111

I have had a very good experience with the Briggs Vanguard engine on my lawn tractor despite the class action lawsuit against them years ago for overstating horsepower. Loncin is supposed to be a respected motorcycle engine manufacturer in China. When I looked at the Toro machines I thought the Loncin engine "looked" cheaply built I believe it had a lot of plastic on it and I did not like the oil drain tube on the side of the motor over the tire. However they seem well engineered because on Toro's website the 265cc Loncin engine produces 15.9 ft. Lbs. of torque which is a lot for an engine this size.


----------



## 43128

well they are enginered well because they basically stole the design from honda and added more shrouding and other minor features but that doesnt make them a bad engine


----------



## laptopquestions

A lot of discussion here in the Toro engine question thread. From what I have read, the Toro uses a Loncin based on their specs. I have had limited experience with my 2011 Troy-bilt 2620, but the chinese engine was never a problem, but the notorious weak auger gears were. Figuring my new Toro HD 826 OXE will at least get me through the 4 year warranty period 

That said, I had more issues with my old 1988 Toro 824 with the Tecumseh engine and a finicky carb


----------



## jeepguy03

I'd go with the Briggs simply for parts availability. I can drive to the power equipment dealer 5 minutes away and get pretty much any part for my Briggs snow engine that same day. 

I was at the local Ariens dealer and they had a chinese engine and a Briggs. The Briggs seemed quieter to me. Some of the controls on the chinese motor also felt a little cheap like the choke and throttle.


----------



## Cardo111

jeepguy03 said:


> I'd go with the Briggs simply for parts availability. I can drive to the power equipment dealer 5 minutes away and get pretty much any part for my Briggs snow engine that same day.
> 
> I was at the local Ariens dealer and they had a chinese engine and a Briggs. The Briggs seemed quieter to me. Some of the controls on the chinese motor also felt a little cheap like the choke and throttle.


Both the Briggs and the LCT engines that are used on walk behind snowblowers commercially available today are designed in the U.S. and manufactured in China.


----------



## detdrbuzzard

43128 said:


> well they are enginered well because they basically stole the design from honda and added more shrouding and other minor features but that doesnt make them a bad engine


I think loncin had a license to build copies of Honda engines at one time that's why about every chineese dirt bike you see with a 50cc - 125cc motor looks like a Honda motor


----------



## joed

I have a 2010 Toro Powermax 826HD model with the 250 cc Briggs engine. The motor starts up easily, is quiet, and not too bad on fuel. However, I find it tends to bog down on the heavier EOD stuff the plow leaves and sometimes backfires on shutdown. I've been thinking of trading the unit in for a new model with Toro's 252 cc engine but I'm not sure if it's worth it if the Loncin engine's performance is pretty much on par with the Briggs.


----------



## MagnumB

joed said:


> I have a 2010 Toro Powermax 826HD model with the 250 cc Briggs engine. The motor starts up easily, is quiet, and not too bad on fuel. However, I find it tends to bog down on the heavier EOD stuff the plow leaves and sometimes backfires on shutdown. I've been thinking of trading the unit in for a new model with Toro's 252 cc engine but I'm not sure if it's worth it if the Loncin engine's performance is pretty much on par with the Briggs.


From everything I've heard and read, the Toro Premium (Chinese) engines are absolutely the better engine vs the B&S. My 1128 has the B&S - I'd have been very happy with the toro premium. My understanding is that it's well designed, and it needs to be. It isn't in toros interest to spend on warranty. I've heard they are powerful with an expected design life in the order of 3-4 times as long as the outgoing B&S. Also toro can be hands on and control the quality much better.

In terms of parts, as I said in another thread, with B&S if your toro goes down, the dealer needs separate authorization from B&S to get warranty work approval. With the toro engines, it's immediate. Saves about 2 or 3 days of waiting. That's a plus in my book.

Edit: Should add, this from a guy with a B&S on his Toro 1128 OHXE.


----------



## gardid

My Briggs & Stratton snow blower engine failed after a little more than 20 hours. Unfortunately it was out of warranty and although their snow engines had a factory defect, Briggs & Stratton would not help at all. BTW, I hear most of the B&S engines are made in China now so I wouldn't buy anything with a B&S engine! Not because it is made in China, but because of their total lack of customer service! Now I am looking at the Loncin and LCT engines as a replacement.


----------



## Normex

43128 said:


> i would probably go with the loncin only because it has a cast iron bore and a ball bearing crank and should last longer, and because i have had a great experience with the loncins that are sold through harbor freight


Enough said for durability and Toro being a very respectable brand have done their homework with the Loncin engines.


----------



## 524SWE

*Exactly!*



detdrbuzzard said:


> I think loncin had a license to build copies of Honda engines at one time that's why about every chineese dirt bike you see with a 50cc - 125cc motor looks like a Honda motor


...and they were so successful in the small bore dirt bike market Honda ended their contract and sued them to stop making an exact copy of the Honda engine. Loncin has also produced an engine with BMW motorcycles and discovered they were being cloned by other Chinese manufacturers!


----------

