Best 2 cycle oil, and why

[slomo]

I've ran numerous brands. Can't really tell one from another. Most will lighten your wallet more with all the fancy extreme super duty ultra MAX info.

Lately I am running the 100:1 Opti-2 oil. This is on the expensive side. Again I can't tell if it's any better than say the Ace Hardware oil with fuel stabilizer in it.

What do you guys use and why?

slomo

 

[Scrubcadet10]

i've been using VP from tractor supply. i use it because it's cheap. Never experienced running problems with anything. Chainsaws, or weed whackers.

Synthetic 2-Stroke Oil | Small Engine 2T Oil | VP Racing

VP synthetic 2-stroke oil protects internal engine components from excessive wear, reduces carbon build-up & cleans piston rings. Helps equipment start easily.

vpracingfuels.com

Let the brawl begin..........

 

[cpurvis]

2-cycle oil probably is the least demanding application an oil will ever see. It's in the engine for ONE crankshaft revolution before it's replaced with new oil.

 

[slomo]

I'm not an AMsoil fan boy but their 100:1 mess did pretty good. It was compared to a way cheaper Supertech 2 stroke on youtube.

Still not a fan of these new 100:1 mix oils like the Opti-2 and Amsoil. I know the Opti-2 is super thick compared to a 50:1 oil. Guess that is how you can run them at 100:1 ratio. Opti-2 is supposed to be the cats meow what ever that is.

slomo

 

[slomo]

2-cycle oil probably is the least demanding application an oil will ever see. It's in the engine for ONE crankshaft revolution before it's replaced with new oil.

You might be on to something there. My issue is these OPE toys are air cooled and run pretty hot. Wish in America that if the jug said synthetic, it was a real synthetic. Like over in Europe you get the real deal synthetic inside. Here it might be one part of the additive pack that is synthetic and the rest dino oil.

slomo

 

[Born2Mow]

If you are a home owner, then I'd buy any good synthetic 2-stroke oil from any named shop (Tractor Supply, Lowes, HD, Ace Hdwr, etc. ).

If you are a pro and you need the ultimate, then I would buy Valvoline. Valvoline is a name you can trust. They don't do anything but make great oil. They are owned by the Ashland Chemical Co. They don't make oil filters, wiper blades, or V-belts, they just make oil. There's no hype, just solid performance.

Multi-Purpose 2-Stroke Engine - Valvoline™ Global

When it comes to lubricating lawn mowers, chain saws, string trimmers, outboard engines, jet skis, motorcycles, scooters, portable generators and snow blowers, there’s one motor oil that does it all. Valvoline Multi-Purpose 2-Stroke Engine Oil is specially formulated for most high-revving, small...

www.valvoline.com

Hope this helps.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

I don't know the best oil. I will tell what i use and what i have seen. I have Stihl orange bottle, stihl silver bottle, lawn boy, red armor, stens semi synthetic, stens full synthetic. All of them work. Things i have noticed. The stihl HP ultimate smells a little odd and if mixed heavier than 50:1 it tends to clog spark arrestor screens. The red armor carbons up less than any other oil i have used. I personally like the red armor best. I bought a gollon of it. 2 stroke oil is rated by JASO. The latest rating is FD. Oil can be submitted for testing and the JASO site has a pdf of all the oils tested and their rating. If the oil is not listed it was not submitted for testing. If the bottle of whatever you are using is FD rated it works. Some folks seem obsessed with finding the "best" 100:1 oil and seeing how little oil they can run. Never made sense to me but what ever makes some people happy. Reminds me of the guy who buys a $1000 chainsaw and runs used motor oil for bar oil to save money.

 

[dcgrazier]

I am a fan of Amsoil Saber. It is a synthetic oil for 2 cycle engines. I mix the oil with non ethanol gas at the equipment recommended specifications ... ie. 50 to 1 or 32 to 1. The biggest factor for me is non ethanol gas. I lost 2 engines using 10 percent ethanol gas. 1 engine was a chainsaw and the other was leaf blower. The local small engine dealer is the one who diagnosed the engine failure. It took me a while to find non ethanol gas 15 years ago. It is more readily available now. Since using the non ethanol gas, I have had no 2 cycle engine problems. I use about 5 gallons of fuel each year.

 

[7394]

PS: I ONLY use 100% 93 Octane gas. I only use about 2 gallons of mix/ gas per season.

I "used to run" Echo Power Blend, which was fine, & later on my dealer talked me into trying Red Armor. I did, & 6 months in (bottle says stabilized for 2 years) my Trimmer started getting wonky.
I pulled the spark plug & it had some sticky / messy goo on it.. I dumped the tank, cleaned the plug & bought a couple Quart cans of pre-mix Tru-Fuel® to finish the season.

What an improvement. it woke up my trimmer. Ran better than ever. Later found out it is made by Royal Purple. That was the last of Red Armor for me. Maybe it was very old stock, IDK? But when something lets me down, I seldom go back to it..

It would be crazy for me to keep buying quart cans of pre-mix, so I switched to Amsoil Saber, & I run it @ 80:1 & have never regretted it. My 2 strokes run super on it. And it exceeds JASO specs for FD & etc.

And FYI, the oil mix bottles/cans etc have a date on them, when they were filled. . After 5 years, one might consider getting some new & fresh mix. At least I know I will.

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Everyone should run what works for them and makes them happy.

I have run about a half gallon worth or red armor through mainly my 4 chainsaws. 2 of the saws are are high performance saws and i run them at 32:1 with everything else at 50:1. I have about a dozen different 2 strokes and they all run regular gas with no problems. The lawn boy s21zpm is over 30 years old probably has a couple thousand hours on it all on regular pump gas. The FS80 is over 20 years old and a couple hundred tanks of gas through it. All regular pump gas. I have run different oils over the years. All have got the job done. I empty and run dry all my 2 strokes every year. I try not to overthink gas and oil