Synthetic Oil

[Amos]

I have a question for the 2cycle know it all's. Why is synthetic recomended more vs regular oil? When I saw the price diffrence I was floored. Is there really something to it? This is my first winter with Kitty Cats and I guess I wat to maintane them properlay. Think More SNOW

[harryparatestis]

Some people may disagree , but I like synthetic oil, for years I have run all of mine at 50:1 (even my weedeater and Backpack blower) and have never had a problem, It IS a little more expensive, but how much gas do they really go through. Do you Smell That? ... That Sweet Smell? NOTHING smells better then Klotz Techniplate and 110 Race fuel.. ..It Smells like VICTORY

[Jonn]

Oh....you're so right Kevin. Once you've spent some time following a sled using Klotz oil, you never forget that sweet smell. I'm sure it's killing us the same as any other oil, but at least we can enjoy it.

[ttw_walman]

I will agree that the synthetic race oil smells good going down the trail but in my opinion if your not racing why spend the money on it. I can see using it in a 4 stroke because it's gonna be in your engine for 3-6 months. In a 2 stroke it's constantly being replenished and burned off. I have owned 12 snowmobiles, 2 jetski's, 3 chainsaws, 2 weedwackers, a leaf blower and a Toro snow thrower that all are 2 stroke. None of them have suffered from an oil related failure and I buy all my oil at Walmart!(SuperTech-Walmart's brand) I do use Tcw III for the water cooled and the stuff designed for air cooled for everything else. I have had some engines that have melted down but those were fuel,actaully air, related problems. I would think that if you had an oil failure it would be a siezed up bearing not a piston failure.

Personally i would not bother spending the money on synthetic two stroke oil, BUT this is only one man's opinion!!

[Engineer]

It is not commonly know but synthetic oils are made from a petroleum base. Are the synthetics better in a 2-cycle engine? Yes. They do burn more completely than the less expensive non-synthetics. Engines with valves or carbon issues will benefit from a synthetic oil. Your plug will last longer and the combustion chamber and exhaust will stay cleaner. With that said, do you need synthetics in 2-cycles? No. In low output 2-cycles all you need is a good oil for the application. But when you start pushing high horse power per cc then you need to look at synthetics to extend the life of engine especially the top end. The bigger sleds are pushing 1hp per 6cc but the KC and 120 are doing maybe 1hp per 30cc in the stock configuration. I hope this helps.

FYI
As for synthetic use in car engines, some people think they can go a longer distance before an oil change with synthetics. It really depends on how long you want to keep the car. I worked for Donaldson Company for a while who manufactures filters. For extended mileage big truck filters, Donaldson adds a pellet in the filter that dissolves slowly over time to replace the lost properties of the oil and buffer the oil. By buffering I mean control the PH of the oil from combustion byproducts. Combustion byproducts get into the oil, break it down, and eat away at the metals. If you run a synthetic in your car or truck, DON’T extend your oil changes. I know Amsoil and some of the import car manufactures says you can go 12,000 miles with only one filter change in between when using their oil. Don’t do it if you want to drive that vehicle much over 100,000 miles. Actually you are not doing any good by replacing the oil filter often. The filter actually works better as the larger holes get plugged. We should really change filters based on differential pressure across the filter. The manufactures don’t put the gauges in vehicles to give us that data. Donaldson makes the HD filter for some Chevy trucks. We tested one after about 100,000 miles of on road driving and found that only 30% of the filters life was used up. I can go on and on about filters but I will say this, synthetics oils in cold climates will make it easier to start the vehicle. I run it in my air compressor (who here changes oil in their air compressor) and my snow blower for easier starting. Also, these companies like K&N who say they flow better than other filters is true but you will never notice it. If they give 2-3 inches of water (vacuum) better flow when clean (clean is very important here) is one percent of the about 300 inches of water at sea level. With that said, if your engine can product 300hp with a stock filter, you will get 303hp with their expensive filter. Not much bang for the buck and shortened engine life.

[Amos]

Ok, Ok, Here's a hypothetical. Let say spring or fall comes along and I stick my small 2cycle engine away for the year. And I don't do anyting to it. Would it be better to have synthetic oil in CARB or the cheap stuff? Please don't kick off this site for asking weird questions. THINK MORE SNOW.

[Engineer]

Next season it would be"Time to clean the carb" with either oil.

Sorry for getting side tracked before.

[ttw_walman]

I agree Engineer. It would be time to clean the carb. I prefer to drain the fuel out of my 2 stroke stuff and then run it till it dies. No varnish in carb No condensation in tank and no bad fuel next season!

[1121racinkitty]

SYNTHETIC OIL RACE FUEL AND A BLEND OF NITRO IS THE REAL DEAL!
EVEN IN MY LAWN MOWER AND CHAINSAW

[ttw_walman]

It must be nice to have money to "BURN". I'll stick with the cheap stuff. It's been working fine for years now!