5 or a 5.5 horsepower engine
179cc = about 5 hp
Approx 6 hp
6.5 hp
7 horses
5 hp
A two stage snow blower will blow snow further. I would get let a 8 hp or longer to make sure it can handle the wetter snows.
50:1
SAE 10w30 Synthetic oil.
My 5hp MTD recommends 5-30 oil.
Oscar-Wilson.com 800-873-6722
I've researched the same thing, last year actually when buying a 305 cc snow blower with a Briggs engine... I've heard it's comparable to 10 horse but there's no scientific way to convert CC's to horsepower. I can tell you that living in a snow belt in Ontario, the 305 CC's holds up just fine.
Most lawn and garden equipment motors run about 1 HP for every 25CC ... so a 357 would be somewhere around 12-14 HP.