Amsoil Saber advice please
- Thread starter lilspenny
- Start date
Lets talk a little bit about the internals on that echo trimmer.
I have no doubt the piston and cylinder will survive the amsoil ran at 50:1 up to 100:1. Especially echos new dull plating I guess is supposed to hold the oil film better than the older chrome they used.
But when you do tear downs and see what the rest of the engine looks like, it make you wonder. The big end connecting rod end, crankshaft bearings, and the crankshaft seals, all need lubrication. When you start running leaner than 50:1 up towards 100:1 the bottom ends start to get dry.
When you run leaner than 50:1 and start climbing towards 100:1 and a fuel system issue starts to arise, or if you develop a small air leak, you run the risk of damaging the engine. If you run a richer mix, you have a slightly better margin and it will give you time to hear and feel the issue and properly shut it down to investigate.
I am OK running blowers and trimmers 50:1. I really prefer to run 40:1 for the added protection.
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- Feb 6, 2025
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80:1 seems to be a popular ratio for Amsoil Saber. That would be 4 ounces per every 2.5 gallons.
https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/response-from-amsoil.522137/
https://www.lawnsite.com/threads/response-from-amsoil.522137/
In addition, i wanted to share my experience running Amsoil Saber at 50:1 in my Stihl TS910i from day one. After 3 months of heavy use in rebar cutting, I pulled the plug and was impressed. Still looks clean with minimal carbon and no signs of fouling (photo attached).
The EFI system on the 910i definitely helps with consistency, but Saber seems to be doing its part too. No issues with performance or starting, even under tough conditions.
The EFI system on the 910i definitely helps with consistency, but Saber seems to be doing its part too. No issues with performance or starting, even under tough conditions.
I go through about 5 gallons of gas mixed with amsoil saber at a 100:1 ratio per week. Echo, Shindaiwa & Stihl 4 mix ope for the most part. I have no reason to change to something different.
I run 32:1 in all my saws. Currently I'm using Amsoil Dominator, as my builder says it's the cleanest burning oil he's used. These are builders who have 1000's of saws out there doing forestry work all over the country. These are not fly-by-night guys. Any saw porter/builder worth anything will recommend the same. 50:1 is for EPA.
I talked to a local dealer when my nephew bought his new 261C-M, who had a guy blow up a new 500i and they warrantied it. Come to find out, after the fact, he was running Amsoil at 100:1.
I talked to a local dealer when my nephew bought his new 261C-M, who had a guy blow up a new 500i and they warrantied it. Come to find out, after the fact, he was running Amsoil at 100:1.
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I hear that! I've been running Honda HP2 and have been super satisfied. I'm just experimenting, I suppose. The Honda oil smells good when burned, runs clean, seems to run cool, and leaves a nice oil film. All other things equal, I'll switch back to Honda if it smells better. I will not go back to Stihl Ultra because it runs dirty... at least in my Stihl trimmer. I opened my fs100rx and was sick when I saw what a black oil film on the cam gear. Looked like black ink all over. The machine ran great, just dirty oil.
See Gwinnett Lawns on YouTube.
I ran HP2 in my saws for a few years and I liked it as well. Although when I looked at my spark screen after cutting this winter it had some tacky buildup on it. I spoke to the builder and he said that those very thick oils like HP2, Bel-Ray H1-R, Red Armor, etc may be a bit too thick to run in cold temps. I was using my saws in below zero temps this winter. This is why I switched to Dominator. It's a thinner oil. He did say that you need to run Dominator at 32:1 to see the same pooling of oil in the crankcase of what you see with HP2/H1-R/Red Armor ran at 40:1. He also mentioned that HP2 is a motorcycle oil and running it in a chainsaw is a little different seeing saws tend to see more idle time than motorcycles do.....and the fact I was using it in below 0° temps didn't help due to how thick it was.
I always enjoy that guys videos on tear-downs and oil issues.
If you watch a lot of his videos, he mentions "treemonkey" and he refers to him as the "godfather of performance chainsaws". He is the builder of my saws. He lives a couple hours from me. He is the guy in the video I posted above talking about lack of lubrication on the 661 crank.
I commented on one of Richard's videos a couple months ago about a saw vice he was using that was designed and built by treemonkey. This was his response.
Treemonkey, is the king of his domain. Wish I could share the shop with him for a while. He swears by Schaeffer's 7000 2-cycle if I remember right.
I mostly run Saber mixed at 40:1 in ethanol free fuel. If I run out of Saber, I use Echo Red Armor mixed at the same ratio. I use this mix in everything I own from my new Stihl MS261C to my 47 and 50 year old Lawn-Boys. Here’s a couple pics of the exhaust port of my Husqvarna trimmer while I was running Red Armor. This is after five years of pretty heavy use not only as a trimmer, but also with the edger, pole saw, and mini tiller attachments. The tiny bit of carbon you can barely see was powdery and wiped right off with my finger. The piston and cylinder look great too. One major factor in keeping the spark plug and spark arrestor screen clean, is while using the trimmer make sure you’re running it full throttle. Trimmers are a lot like chainsaws and shouldn’t really be used at idle or low throttle speeds.
L8R,
Matt
L8R,
Matt
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Ive been running Saber at 80-100:1 for the last 6 years in my Sthil combi. Texas heat doesn’t stop it. It ran on Sthil motomix fuel cans for the first 4 years. 10 years no carb replacement, starts easy and the exhaust port is clear.
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Do you have enough confidence in the oil at 100:1 ?
Said he's been running it for the last 6 years. He must think it works.
I run good FD rated oil such as redarmor at 40:1 in machines that see idle time such as saws and 32:1 for machines that see extended wide open throttle operation such as weed eaters, leaf blowers and mini tillers.
50:1 is an EPA requirement.
Found some old dirt bike magazine articles about tuning and oil mixes.
Depending on the specific engine they were able to get the most power using 20:1 to 32:1 mixes.
50:1 is an EPA requirement.
Found some old dirt bike magazine articles about tuning and oil mixes.
Depending on the specific engine they were able to get the most power using 20:1 to 32:1 mixes.
Have any of y'all tried Red Line 2 Stroke Oil? They recommend 50:1 but, say its good out to 100:1.
$87 per gallon shipped isn't much more than a gallon of Saber w/shipping.
$87 per gallon shipped isn't much more than a gallon of Saber w/shipping.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2025
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Does this product carry an FD rating?Have any of y'all tried Red Line 2 Stroke Oil? They recommend 50:1 but, say its good out to 100:1.
$87 per gallon shipped isn't much more than a gallon of Saber w/shipping.