Oil advice from Stihl ...

[lilspenny]

I asked Stihl about alternative to Stihl branded oil and my question was what constitutes an equivalent oil to Stihl oil but the answer was vague because there are so many variables like viscosity, vis index, ash, flashpoint, etc....

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"Thank you for contacting STIHL Inc.

Regarding your inquiry, we would like to provide you with the following information:

To ensure the maximum performance of your STIHL engines, please use a high quality 2-cycle engine oil. To help your engine run cleaner and reduce harmful carbon deposits, STIHL recommends using STIHL HP Ultra 2-cycle engine oil, or we would kindly advise you to ask your dealer for an equivalent fully synthetic 2-cycle engine oil.

Please use only STIHL two-stroke engine oil or equivalent high-quality two-stroke engine oils that are designed for use in air cooled two-cycle engines.

Additionally, please do not use NMMA or TCW rated (two-stroke water cooled) mix oils or other mix oils that state they are for use in both water cooled and air cooled engines (e.g., outboard motors, snowmobiles, chain saws, mopeds, etc.)."

 

[Klutch9]

The Stihl oil smells good as long as you buy a name brand, preferably synthetic oil you are good.

FWIW, my brother used to work for a dealer that sold/serviced Stihl. I don’t think they ever asked/cared what oil they used. It was only ever an issue if they ran straight gas and the thing seized up. IIRC they sold Amsoil and Stens oil, or something like Stens.

I’ve run Stihl, Amsoil, and Royal Purple oil in my BG56 blower and all worked fine.

 

[User_19876]

I run FD in everything now, including my 4-mix Stihls. VP Racing will be on clearance every fall at Walmart. Likewise, RedMax will have promotions on theirs at the beginning of fall.

 

[lilspenny]

The Stihl oil smells good as long as you buy a name brand, preferably synthetic oil you are good.

FWIW, my brother used to work for a dealer that sold/serviced Stihl. I don’t think they ever asked/cared what oil they used. It was only ever an issue if they ran straight gas and the thing seized up. IIRC they sold Amsoil and Stens oil, or something like Stens.

I’ve run Stihl, Amsoil, and Royal Purple oil in my BG56 blower and all worked fine.

Looking at what Stihl said, Red Armor and XP + would not be ok because they are semi-synthetic. Royal Purple would not work because it's multi-purpose, and it becomes difficult to fit the bill. Saber works.

 

[lilspenny]

I run FD in everything now, including my 4-mix Stihls. VP Racing will be on clearance every fall at Walmart. Likewise, RedMax will have promotions on theirs at the beginning of fall.

What ratio on the vp?

 

[Astro14]

That’s a bit of a “non-answer” really. “Ask your dealer for an equivalent”

And then extol the virtues of their oil.

Which doesn’t answer the questions at all.

 

[nomas]

Stihl oil is good stuff and readily available .

 

[User_19876]

What ratio on the vp?

I run 50:1 in everything. 2.6 ozs/gallon.

 

[lilspenny]

I run 50:1 in everything. 2.6 ozs/gallon.

Okay thanks. I have done that with VP but got scared due to it's lower viscosity.

 

[Opelman]

The Stihl oil smells good as long as you buy a name brand, preferably synthetic oil you are good.

FWIW, my brother used to work for a dealer that sold/serviced Stihl. I don’t think they ever asked/cared what oil they used. It was only ever an issue if they ran straight gas and the thing seized up. IIRC they sold Amsoil and Stens oil, or something like Stens.

I’ve run Stihl, Amsoil, and Royal Purple oil in my BG56 blower and all worked fine.

Stens house brand oil is FD rated.

 

[Creekside]

I religiously run the gray bottle Stihl oil with 91 octace/ethanol free fuel. Never personally had an oil related issue on a 2 stroke engine and RARELY have fuel issues after switching to ethanol free fuel.

On the other hand, my former employer puts hundreds and hundreds of hours on 2 stroke equipment with the Master Pro? oil from Oreilly's in the black bottle and just regular old bulk gas. Only problem I dealt with there was people putting straight gas in and ruining the engines. I haven't seen one that I would consider "worn out", they usually destroy something else on the trimmer while the engine still ran fine. I'm coming to the conclusion that 2 stroke equipment isn't as sensitive as I always believed growing up.

 

[dnewton3]

So, the OP asked an OEM what non-OEM lubricants they could recommend?
And we're supposed to be surprised that their answer was recommending OEM lubricants?
I'm shocked ...


The specs for the required lubricant(s) are stated in the owner's manual. Pretty much most all 2stroke a/c engines spec the JASO FD and ISO L-GED. Find a lube that meets/exceeds those and it'll be fine.

 

[NiwradND]

I would only use Stihl if you wanted the longest life out of the 2-stroke engine. I guess the only substitute i would consider would be Amsoil.

 

[buck91]

I've been playing wiht chatgpt lately and basically it says "as long as they meet JASO-FD or ISO-L-EGD" you should be fine.

 

[lilspenny]

So, the OP asked an OEM what non-OEM lubricants they could recommend?
And we're supposed to be surprised that their answer was recommending OEM lubricants?
I'm shocked ...


The specs for the required lubricant(s) are stated in the owner's manual. Pretty much most all 2stroke a/c engines spec the JASO FD and ISO L-GED. Find a lube that meets/exceeds those and it'll be fine.

Not that clear, actually. Stihl uses the term "equivalent". In which way? Ashless? full synthetic? viscosity? None of that is listed in the manual as what is "equivalent".

 

[Arc]

The good thing about Stihl brand oil is the little bottle that mixes with one gallon. All the brands in the bigger bottle are hard to measure on my 2 gallon can especially since they don't have a clear window on the side. My Stihl saws and weedeaters usually end up smoking because the mix is off when I use other brands. 50:1 works fine in my ms390, ms250 and fs75.

 

[lilspenny]

That’s a bit of a “non-answer” really. “Ask your dealer for an equivalent”

And then extol the virtues of their oil.

Which doesn’t answer the questions at all.

My thoughts exactly. I lived in Gwinnett County GA where I ran a lawn care business for 18 years and the dealer support from Howard Brothers and Sosebee Auto was fantastic. I moved to Alabama and here in Limestone County the dealers simply do not stock many Stihl parts. To see Stihl corporate defer to one of my Stihl dealers is not at all comforting. The Echo/Husqvarna dealer in town is super but they don't offer a fully synthetic oil. So I wanted to know what specifically is an "equivalent" oil. Fact is I have searched for an equivalent oil and the closest I can find is Saber and Saber is not ashless. Maybe Motul and Belray are fairly close but when comparing specs there is always something that just doesn't equate. Are there terrific oils out there? Yes, but Stihl seems to have positioned their oils in a unique category that has no "equivalent". It's flashpoint is ridiculously high, it's supposedly ashless, and it's trimethylopropane base is never matched up with a high flashpoint in other oils unless the viscosity is really high. The "equivalent" is really iffy, and Stihl knows that and seems really content with that even though there best oil is FB and stinks.

 

[johnD2]

Sounds like a chat gpt response to me...I run Amsoil saber, 5 days a week and sleep well at night. I try not to complicate corn flakes.

 

[Slick]

What ratio on the vp?

I have used VP Racing 2 cycle oil at 50:1, 45:1, and 40:1 on Stihl (4 mix and 2 cycle models), Redmax, old Lawnboy/Toro-Suzuki 2 cycle walk behind mowers and a few cheap chain saw equipment. I use ethanol free (REC89) fuel on all my 2 cycle/4-mix equipment. I experiment with the different fuel to oil ratios from time to time but mostly/recently use 45:1. I cannot detect any engine performance changes at the different ratios. Suspect the real test is internal engine wear at elevated hours. No exhaust smoke at 40:1. My current 45:1 adds a margin of safety in case I did not mix the fuel myself (some friends/kids suggest I have trust issues).

Some of my Redmax line trimmers, blade edgers, and handheld/large backpack blowers are over 24 years old. Before VP oil, I used Redmax FD oil. This year I had to replace a cylinder to case gasket on a 24 year old redmax hand held blower (my guess over 800 hours use in OAT range from 95F to 10F -winter use clearing cars of snow) so I got to inspect the internals. Very clean with no significant wear on the bore and piston.

I think the key for small hand held 2 cycle/4-mix equipment is to use an FD rated oil at a ratio between 50:1 and 40:1 mixed with fresh fuel. I like ethanol free fuel as it has almost eliminated my carb clean/rebuilds in the last 8 (estimated) years since I switched over.

 

[oil pan 4]

Any FD oil ran 40:1 in ethanol free gas and your Stihl will love you long time.