What's the best 2-stroke oil?

what oil should i run in my saw ?

BEAT ya to it !!

 

I use lard with essence of garlic, so the exhaust spells like a Burger King.

 

Castor oil. It'll clean out the saw, and you.

Seriously, that was the two stroke lube in those old rotary airplane engines you see in antique biplanes.

 

Still used today in model airplanes (it blends well with alcohol) and I think a bit in racing go-carts. It actually has some useful properties and will maintain lubrication at temps most synthetic lubes will burn off. But it makes a nasty varnish film that is very hard to remove and will gum up really bad if an engine is left unused.



Not that Id use it in a saw, just sayin

 

I wouldn't use it in a saw either. I hope everyone knows I was kidding.

I did read about use in model airplanes when I was checking my facts before posting. Other nasty stuff can be made out of it, but I wouldn't use the word on a forum.

 

Just thinking that some newbie is going to see this thread.

Use high quality 2 stroke oil that is blended with gasoline to the manufacturers recommendation. 40:1, 50:1, etc. most of us, I think, use a synthetic oil. There is also Amsoil, which has a 100:1 oil. It may void the warranty of your saw if you use it at 100:1.

Ask any questions before guessing.

 

I run the amsoil 100 to 1 and it works great it can be mixed at what ever ratio you want just follow the chart on the bottle I mix 50 to1.

 

As long as you do what the manufacturer recommends, then it should be fine. I think you could get away with using 100:1 on a 50:1 saw, but why take the chance.

 

Good gas and oil and if it blows up that's an excuse to modify!

 

Super lean oil ratios like 100:1 make me nervous. At that mix level, just the oil film left behind in the mixing cup makes a meaningful difference in the ratio.

I'm old school and use plain old dino oil (Penzoil air cooled engine oil) @ 32-1. Ratio works in anything and you can break in new engines on it.... and surprisingly has not been too bad with the carbon buildup.

Nothing at all against synthetics either BTW - I just came into a case of the Penzoil stuff dirt cheap. I use synthetic in every 4 stroke engine I own, cars, snowblower, generator, mower, tiller, you name it. Mostly Mobil1.


Oh and Ive got a jug of castor in the garage too. For the model planes Its not the same as the stuff you get in the drugstore though.

 

Yeah, I wouldn't try that for a laxative, Jeremy.

In the old days, outboard motors used that 25:1 Dino mix and they lasted forever. They smoked, but I don't remember too many burning out. Even the high horsepower ones in the eighties used 50:1 Dino and could run at 8000rpm. I was always a fan of 2 stroke, and figured they outlawed a lot of them prematurely. Not many small 4 stroke can do what a 2 stroke can. I burned out 4 stroke lawn mowers on my hills, but I got a Lawn Boy and that thing could be run upside down. Was not healthy to be behind, but it was great for getting the job done. I got rid of it because the deck was rotting out. The motor was still bangin' away.

 

You know that lawn boy ashless in those little green cans... if you can still find it... is still the preferred "break in oil" for high power 2 stroke engines in racing applications, etc.

Using synthetic and lean mixes is more about less mess and maintenance and cleaner air I think. If you are willing to pull the jug and scrub carbon every few years anything will run on lawn boy oil.

 

I used those Lawn Boy green cans for every 2stroke I had. They came in a six pack with the plastic rim holders like beer. It may have been ashless, but it wasn't smokeless. Ah, the memories, pre-EPA.

 

If you have the Pennzoil Platinum, that stuff is great! I have a 2000 Honda Civic that I have 186k on. I had a piston slap when first starting for years. I had used Dino for about the first 70k. I then used Amzoil for about 20k miles, and it was expensive because it blew past the rings. The slap was still there too. Went to the Pennzoil Platimum and the piston slap disappeared! Still blows past the rings, but it's cheap enough to use.

Synthetics are funny. Mobil 1 uses different stock than they used to, and so do most of the others, except maybe Amsoil and Royal Purple. You have to be a chemist, physicist and engineer just to figure out what oil to use.

 

Its the penzoil small engine oil I have a case of... Enough to run my 2 strokes for a decade.

Ive put penzoil platinum in the wife's SUV a few times. I usually just buy whatever the cheapest syn is for it. My acura has had a steady diet of mobil1 since the day I bought it... Mostly out of habit.

Yeah I've seen the discussions on bobistheoilguy about oils, is mobil1 really synthetic, etc. I seem to recall part of the controversy being that its derived from petroleum base stocks, but then most all synthetics are derived from petroliumm somehow.? I'm no chemist...

 

MM, this is why you are the brains of the outfit. An excellent explanation of how you find the Amsoil Saber Pro to work in 2stroke engines.

I was concerned about using the 100:1 mix in an engine that had a manufacturer recommendation of 50:1 for the reasons of warranty. That was why I said, "why take the chance."

If I remember correctly, Mobil 1 was originally made from hydrocarbons from flax plants. That was a ground up build. Now, they use the petroleum stocks. I don't know how much of a difference there is, but a lot of people who know says it matters.

Now you've got me thinking of trying the Amsoil Saber Pro. I've been using, lately, the cans of 92 octane 50:1 premix, but that is awfully expensive. The reason I use it is because I don't want the ethanol in the gas. I've had enough carbs get gunked up, and had fuel lines leak in yard equip that I am afraid to use it. What do you think about the ethanol in gas and how do you deal with it. On my four stroke, I use the regular gas from the pump and add stabilizer. I just went and got Sea Foam to try that. It is a pain having to drain the tank of a generator or lawn mower to winterize it.

Thanks again. I'm sure a lot of us learned a great deal from what you said.

 

Pete, you using Canola in the engine? And bar oil and synthetic in the engine too?