You need to adjust the carb to get it to run correctly .
Extra oil for 2 stroke break in?
- Thread starter Chris142
- Start date
It recommends 40:1 so far no issues with it after five seasons.
I meant if you change the ratio to something richer or leaner.
JHZR2
Staff member
I get the concern about rich/lean, but what intend to do is add just a tad bit more than the ratio specified.
No issues doing this with my stock of Mobil 1 2T (old stock).
The ratios with less oil keep everything cleaner too. Growing up, for whatever reason we had some tcw-3 that we would mix for the two stroke stuff. It was a heavier ratio of oil, probably 32:1. It always was damp at the exhaust.
No issues doing this with my stock of Mobil 1 2T (old stock).
The ratios with less oil keep everything cleaner too. Growing up, for whatever reason we had some tcw-3 that we would mix for the two stroke stuff. It was a heavier ratio of oil, probably 32:1. It always was damp at the exhaust.
I used to use Mobil 1 2T. That stuff has to be 15 years old or more isn't it? It hasn't been available in the US for a long time.
It has been stated here many times that most of the manufacturers "recommend" 50:1 due to EPA requirements. But if you talk to any dealer, talk to older tech, not a new kid that just got a job there. They'll tell you to run it more oil rich than 50:1. Personally, I don't get into depths of one oil brand is better than the other, but I have run my tools 40:1 or even 32:1 for a while and never had fuel, carburetor or overheating issues.
JHZR2
Staff member
Yes NOS. I have a lot of it. No worse for use as far as I can tell on a whole bunch of two stroke stuff.
Just always run 32 through 40 to 1. I can find no reason to run 50:1 other than emissions. If you're fouling plugs faster with 40:1 then you're running way too rich and need to have the carb adjusted.
The only oil you shouldn't run is the Stihl oil in the gray bottle.
Any CD rated 2stroke oil running 40:1 will do nicely and your weed eater will love you long time.
I'm in California, and recently ordered and received an Echo SRM-2620T, bought from Acme on eBay. Equipment manufactured in 2023 is still okay to sell in California in 2024.
JHZR2
Staff member
Why no still grey bottle? Pretty sure that’s what they sell to lock in the warranty…
Its an ester base and is making really bad combustion chamber carbon deposits.
There's posts on here about it.
I found that my Stihl stuff runs better on the Amsoil Dominator that we use for dirt bikes. Clean exhaust and starts with 2 pulls.
It costs probably 4 times as much as the next best top quality CD rates oil so I would hope so.
Clean exhaust and starting with 1 or 2 pulls is more of a function of carb tuning than anything the 2 stroke oil does.
Cost difference is in the noise for the amount that I burn up in a saw or blower when I already have a gallon jug of Dominator. They really run and smell good when using VP race gas (only when I have run out of 91 pump gas).
I would guess a cheaper oil would eventually cause hard starting and plug fouling.
The 2-stroke oil I buy (supermarket brand full synthetic) says in big font 25:1 on it. I also have a few gallons of Castrol power 1 racing (with a lot of zddp in it, 1300 ppm according to pds)) that just says to use oem concentrations.
The castrol has a low flashpoint but I tend to see oily exhaust when useing it, some of it must survive combustion better than the store brand stuff. No smoke from the store brand stuff though.
The castrol has a low flashpoint but I tend to see oily exhaust when useing it, some of it must survive combustion better than the store brand stuff. No smoke from the store brand stuff though.
I ran the much cheaper redarmor oil and kept the same spark plug in my echo saws and redmax weeder for 3 to 7 years running 40:1 most of that time.
I even dump old 2 stroke gas in my 4 cycle lawnmowers and the plugs still don't foul out. Yeah that's carb tuning more than the oil.
Yep, my dad remembers mixing 30W oil into their old lawn boy gas in the late 50's.
I did run 20:1 on my 1984 IT200 for years and years when I was a teenager. Had to burn the carbon out the expansion pipe every so often and had oil spots on the back of my t-shirts, but it did do 100's and 100's of hours on the same top end, lots of time on a mx track, and some trails, and a lot of road running... It was a bike mechanic's and I think he set the carb pretty rich and recommended the 20:1 to make it pretty much unkillable by a clueless teenager.
The piston always looked almost new when I took the pipe off but it would've been interesting to see what the top end was really like.
For OPE, sled and yz250 32:1 is what I run, and even up to 40-50:1 on my plastic chainsaw, as I care more about breathing less smoke than its longevity.
Glad it works for you, but from what I can see Red Armor isn't any cheaper. I've heard good things about Red Armor but it costs more than Dominator and I am not running Red Armor in a YZ250 or KTM300.
A lot of opinions here. From the factory and assuming you do not have the abilty to adjust the carb and void the warranty, id select a 40 to 1 ratio for break in. As much as I like 32 to 1 you will need to adjust the carb. 50 to 1 and 40 to 1 doesnt seem to matter.
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