Ask Pros what engine they have for single cylinder equipment and many will tell you something in the Honda GX line. Ask the Pros who don’t what they’d like to have, and they’ll likely point you Honda’s way. There’s no doubt Honda enjoys a solid reputation in the industry, but Vanguard engines are looking to displace them with some solid innovations. We take a look at Vanguard vs Honda GX engines
Who’s Vanguard? That would be Briggs & Stratton’s commercial brand of engines. And they’re hoping to earn your business on your next repower or purchase of new single cylinder engines.
The big deal with the new line of Vanguard engines is that they have been completely designed from the ground up. No foundation, no cloning, just a fully new build to take advantage of what can come with a blank slate.
Vanguard vs Honda GX Footprint
The new Vanguard single-cylinder line of engines ranges from 5 to 13 horsepower. Importantly, they’re all within Honda’s footprint so they’re a direct replacement without having to fool with realignment or machining new parts. Considering their goal is to displace Honda, that’s a critical point to make it easy on users.
Starting
When comparing Vanguard vs Honda GX, the carburetor takes a front seat. Honda engines have consistently maintained a solid reputation for starting reliability and ease of use. Briggs and Stratton’s Vanguard line of engines aims to make this a top priority as well.
The Vanguard carburetor features a coating that resists corrosion and stale fuel gumming. That means fewer trips to the mechanic and dependable starting—even when you let the engine sit for a season. The combination of the carburetor, ignition, and combustion systems gives you the confidence to get consistent starting down to -20° F.
Advanced TransportGuard Fuel Shutoff System
For equipment rental houses, customers remember to turn off the machine, but often forget to shut off the fuel. The transport back to the rental house ends up giving you an oil dilution headache to deal with and takes the machine out of service until you run it through maintenance. TransportGuard puts the fuel cutoff on the same switch as the engine shutoff, keeping it simple and reducing downtime.
Vanguard vs Honda GX Maintenance
Most single cylinder engines are on a 100-hour maintenance cycle for oil changes. Vanguard engines double the time between to 200 hours thanks to a system that keeps your oil cleaner.
Vanguard also uses a cyclonic air filtration system as standard equipment. This creates a horizontal tornado-esque effect inside the intake and drops larger particles out before they reach the air filter. The bottom line – air filter changes take place every 600 hours instead of 300.
Other Vanguard vs Honda GX Considerations
Vanguard engines benefit from a look at reducing vibration. Not only does it help the engine last longer from a durability standpoint, but you also get some noise reduction. Engineers even worked on the sound tone itself to deliver a perception of a less harsh experience to your ears.
Any downtime that takes your equipment out of service means it’s not earning your business a profit. Vanguard ensures that their 50,000+ parts are available the next day for the majority of locations in the country. They also back their engines for three full years – something that’s unique in this sector.
Starting with a 6.5 HP Vanguard 200 engine in 2018, you’ll see the line rollout for repowers and OEMs over the next two years. At that point, we’ll see just how seriously the market is taking Vanguard. What we know for now is that Vanguard engines are taking aim at the top – and they intend to be king of the hill.
