Briggs verse Kohler

[Guest]

I keep hearing more lately about kohlers than briggs. Are the kohlers that much better if any? Or is it that it is easyer to get parts for the kohlers? Also witch one seems to hold up better for tractors pulling a 16 briggs or 16 kohler? And what would one have to pay for a 16hp with low hours whether it be briggs or the kohler? Thanks Jackl

[LarryC]

I work on a lot of Kohlers. They like Briggs have discontunied the production of the K series engines. I have been assured by my rep that parts will be avaiable for a long time to come. The Kohlers are beefier that the Briggs in the lower end and I think they have more torque do to the longer stroke. In the earley days the Simplicity used Briggs and the A C counterpart used Kohler. This was one way of seperating the brands and was used as a sales point. I guess it comes down to preferance. Myself I prefer the Kohler over the Briggs. Larry

[Guest]

The Briggs with its updraft carb genreally gets better fuel performance than the Kohler side carb. I think the Briggs pull better (better lugging power) than the Kohler except for the 16 hp. The 16 hp Briggs is 32 cu. in.; the 16hp Kohler is 36 cu. in. Kohler parts are much more expensive than Briggs. There seems to be much more hi-performance parts for Kohler.

[Guest]

I don't want to open a can of worms here, but having been a small engine mechanic for some years now, I'll take a shot at this question. As long as both engines are made of cast iron, and have roller bearing mains, I personally don't think there is much of a difference between stock engines. I do know that Kohler's are built sturdier in the bottom end. The main journal diameter of a Kohler 16 horse (K341), is 1.574 while the rod journal is 1.500. Compared to a Briggs 16 horse (320000 series) which has mains of 1.380, and rod journals of 1.309. So there's a substantial difference there. In a stock application you probably wouldn't notice a problem, perhaps a modified engine would benefit from the extra strength.