Is there the same government "push" for 2-stroke equipment manufacturers to go to leaner oil / gas mixtures, like there is to thinner oils for the automotive industry?
Once 50:1 mix was considered to be very lean oil / gas mixture. (Most saws ran on 32:1). And many 2-stroke racing engines, (dirt bike and go karts), ran on 16:1.... And still do. Today we are seeing mixtures as lean as 100:1. Just like we are seeing automotive oils getting thinner and thinner.
First it was 0W-16. Now it's 0W-8. Then there is the camp that says it's because the oils have gotten so much better. But when you talk to automotive mechanics and engine builders they tell you to avoid those water thin oils like the plague. And also avoid long OCI intervals that always seem to accompany these super thin oils.
Just as small engine mechanics tell you to avoid lean 2 stroke oil / gas mixtures. I don't run anything on 50:1, and would never even consider 100:1. Most every landscaper I've talked to here in town, run their trimmers and blowers on 32:1.
They run their equipment hard, and for several hours a day in 3 digit temperatures. I'm of the belief if the government stayed out the auto industry, and the EPA out of the lawn and garden business, crankcase oil would be thicker, and 2-stroke mixtures would be a lot richer.