Who is using Opti-2 two cycle oil?

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Ok guys, sound off on who uses Opti-2 Two cycle oil please. Love to hear from lawn crews too. Any blown/locked up engines out there from that 100:1 recommended mix?

slomo
 
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I have a husky 371 that I got from a logger who seized it on opti 2 at 100:1. It wasn't too bad to get running again. He said it had a lot of hours on it so it was the guinea pig for the opti 2 trial so who knows if it was just the oil at fault. He normally runs everything at 32:1 fwiw.
 
I have a lawn biz and used this stuff for a few years. its wayt o expencive for high volume use. best thing about it was little to no smoke or smell. amzoil works better and smells great too. used mine at 80/1 couldn't make myself use 100/1. I now use reg 2cycle oil as the cost is much lower. never had a engine failure with opti 2 -just cost way too much.
 
Originally Posted by Donald
What OPE says to run at 100:1? I use 50:1 premix for my two cycle Husqvarna OPE.


100:1 is the manufacturers recommended ratio for Opti-2.

I'm with you, all mine say 50:1 too.

slomo
 
Originally Posted by Warlord
I have a husky 371 that I got from a logger who seized it on opti 2 at 100:1. It wasn't too bad to get running again. He said it had a lot of hours on it so it was the guinea pig for the opti 2 trial so who knows if it was just the oil at fault. He normally runs everything at 32:1 fwiw.


Ok so we have a possible related oil failure here. Old saw, I get it....... Only thing new was the Opti-2 oil. One more reason for me to stay at 50:1 in all my gear.

slomo
 
When I was a teen and I raced 3wheelers I was sponsored by Neo synthetic oil. It was to be used @ 100:1. I could not keep my engine together @ that ratio.

I went back to golden spectro @ 40:1 and never had another problem.
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
When I was a teen and I raced 3wheelers I was sponsored by Neo synthetic oil. It was to be used @ 100:1. I could not keep my engine together @ that ratio.

I went back to golden spectro @ 40:1 and never had another problem.


He's another first hand testimonial of a failed oil mix, thanks to Chris142. Now we have two failures at insane 100:1 oil mixes.

Why is it the oil makers (Interlube and Amsoil) claim 100:1 and not the engine manufacturers?

slomo
 
Originally Posted by slomo
Originally Posted by Donald
What OPE says to run at 100:1? I use 50:1 premix for my two cycle Husqvarna OPE.


100:1 is the manufacturers recommended ratio for Opti-2.

I'm with you, all mine say 50:1 too.

slomo


What manufacturer? Of the Opti-2 oil or the OPE manufacturer?
 
Originally Posted by slomo
Originally Posted by Chris142
When I was a teen and I raced 3wheelers I was sponsored by Neo synthetic oil. It was to be used @ 100:1. I could not keep my engine together @ that ratio.

I went back to golden spectro @ 40:1 and never had another problem.


He's another first hand testimonial of a failed oil mix, thanks to Chris142. Now we have two failures at insane 100:1 oil mixes.

Why is it the oil makers (Interlube and Amsoil) claim 100:1 and not the engine manufacturers?

slomo
i suspect that a 100:1 ratio would work with a high quality oil and perfect jetting. Keep in mind that temperature,humidity etc have a slight effect on jetting. Most of us do not have the necessary equipment to adjust jetting every day or more than once a day. We also do not want to be bothered with it.

So we choose a safer mix ratio of 32:1,40:1 or 50:1 all of which give good engine life without the need for chasing jetting.
 
Mixed at 70:1 the Opti-2 performs very well in my light duty OPE. I would hesitate to run anything other than the equipment manufacturer's recommendation or richer if I were a logger earning my living with a $1500 saw.

These lean mix ratio oils all have incredibly high viscosities (over 100 cSt @ 40). With no dilution fluid the mfgrs are relying on the fuel to serve as the diluent. Based on the viscosity of fuel plus the addition of mix oil at 1-3% we get a desired viscosity of .79cSt. This is my target viscosity when mixing any 2-cycle oil regardless of brand or base fluid. If I mix Amsoil saber at 50:1 then the viscosity goes up to .82cst. This is impressive but overkill for a string trimmer or leaf blower. When mixed at 100:1 the viscosity of the fuel mix drops down to .73cst. In my opinion this is useable but with a much greater reduction in safety margin. Remember, it's the fuel/oil mix lubricating the engine BEFORE it's burned. After the ignition process we should be concerned with carbon accumulation and smoke.

Use the Opti-2's and Sabers but mix them at reasonable ratios. Amsoil Saber is already the least expensive high quality 2-cycle oil you can buy at $10.10 per quart (preferred member price). Red Armor is $26/quart, Honda HP2 is $16/quart, and Husqvarna and Stihl offerings are equally expensive. So there is no true benefit to mixing Saber so lean.

With all that said, Opti-2 is sold under several repackaged names and one of them is US-2 . My local Tractor Supply has this stuff for $.50 per 1.8 oz packet. I'm buying twenty of these things for $10. At the price of $.50 per 1.8 ounces this stuff costs me $8.89 a quart and it's as good a lubricant as you'll find.
 

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I have used Amsoil 2 stroke at 100:1 for decades. This has served me well in all sorts of Stihl equipment from pole saws to string trimmers. I always use the highest octane fuel that I can find. None of my engines have locked up or worn out prematurely. My string trimmers were used for hours on a daily basis. My chainsaws are lightly used through the summer mostly for tree trimming. In winter heavy use cutting firewood and hedge for fenceposts. My secret is......keep the airfilter clean, run 91 octane fuel, a little seafoam in the fuel once a month, and a piston soak with carb cleaner once a season to remove carbon from the rings.
 
I have used Amsoil 2 stroke at 100:1 for decades. This has served me well in all sorts of Stihl equipment from pole saws to string trimmers. I always use the highest octane fuel that I can find. None of my engines have locked up or worn out prematurely. My string trimmers were used for hours on a daily basis. My chainsaws are lightly used through the summer mostly for tree trimming. In winter heavy use cutting firewood and hedge for fenceposts. My secret is......keep the airfilter clean, run 91 octane fuel, a little seafoam in the fuel once a month, and a piston soak with carb cleaner once a season to remove carbon from the rings.

I have to ask - what is the advantage of running a 100:1 80:1 60:1 or anything other than what the mfg calls for? I mean - if the product is superior - it would be superior at the same ratio...

I' saw a 20°F head temp reduction on a highly tuned chainsaw from the manufacturer oil to a racing oil.....not changing the ratio....why would you sacrifice the longevity of a 2-stroke engine with high performance oils available?
 
Originally Posted by Chris142
When I was a teen and I raced 3wheelers I was sponsored by Neo synthetic oil. It was to be used @ 100:1. I could not keep my engine together @ that ratio.

I went back to golden spectro @ 40:1 and never had another problem.


He's another first hand testimonial of a failed oil mix, thanks to Chris142. Now we have two failures at insane 100:1 oil mixes.

Why is it the oil makers (Interlube and Amsoil) claim 100:1 and not the engine manufacturers?

slomo
Actually the bike called for 20:1. I never used that ratio due to smoke and plug fouling.
 
I used Opti-2 for years and years with cutoff saws that were run long and hard. I always ran it 75:1 instead of 100:1, just because. I tried to run it 50:1 just to see what would happen, but the saws lacked power if I mixed it that thick.

I can only offer this anecdotal evidence, but my saws seemed to last years longer than all the guys running Stihl or Echo 50:1 oil.
 
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