4 stroke oil

[rfrrace]

No prob.....oil threads are like comparing sled brands....people have their favorites, and it's hard to talk them out of it. And that's fine, 'cause it's a preference. I like Amsoil AND Mobile 1, I don't think you can go wrong with either of them for high performance. In my truck I like Valvoline, and in my motorcycle I like Shell Rotella synthetic (because it's a great oil that's cheap enough to change often, so I can keep it clean with the wet clutch).

Most consumers don't understand oil, and the companies out there take advantage of the consumer's ignorance to turn into sales....and it works. I don't claim to be an expert by ANY stretch of the imagination (see the first sentence of this post)....

Buy what you've proven to yourself to be worth it, and ride!!! (just don't make negative claims against oils that others use especially if you're wrong)

Could not have put it better . We use Arctic Blue believe it or not ,they make an excellant two-stroke synthetic and now have four stroke oil for sleds.

Talk to Dave Pardo at show or Hay-Days next year, he really knows his stuff.

 

[MotoPsycho]

All those oils don't meet yamaha's specification of api SG, jaso MA , almost all brands do make oils that meet the specification but none of the car motor oils do.

API SG is obsolete, superceded by SH, SJ, SL, and most recently SM.

JASO MA is a motorcycle oil designation that signifies there are no friction modifiers used. (JASO - Japanese Automotive Standards Organization)

Friction modifiers in automotive oils tend to provide increased frictional reduction and offset a portion of the fuel economy lost when the U.S. Government mandated a reformulated gasoline for emissions requirements. However these friction modifiers can be detrimental to proper wet clutch operation and can cause slippage. I'm pretty sure my sled doesn't have a wet clutch.

JASO rated oils also have higher levels of Zinc and Phosphate than car oil. These are lowered in car oil to prevent catalytic converter failure. The use of zinc and phosphate is to again limit wear.... TO TRANSMISSION GEARS.

I think in the case of Yamaha, it all comes down to what they manufacture. Last year, they didn't make an OEM synthetic - so they recommended against it. This year they DO make one, specificly for sleds, and now recommend it.

I have yet to find the ratings on Yammi's new oil, but I'll bet cash on the barrelhead it's not rated JASO MA!!!!!

http://www.usccracing.com/news09/yamalube.pdf

 

[MarinePowerSports]

Maxima Ultra

http://www.maximausa.com/products/4stroke/maxum4ultra0.asp

This is what I run in everything I own, using various weights depending on application. It is not cheap, but is a full ester based syn with a ZDP level of 2500ppm. Most of your automotive spec oils including amsoil and mobil one have only 800ppm as mandated by EPA since late 2006. That is why many people running older flat tappet cam motors have experienced valve train failures in HP applications using the new oil blends with lower ZDP. Most HP engine builders will tell you a minimum for ZDP should be 1200ppm. A good study for learning about oils is

http://www.amsoil.com/products/streetbikes/WhitePaper.aspx

Please note AMSOIL used Maxima's semi-syn, not the full syn in their tests.

Factory Kawasaki uses Maxima oils in all their race bikes as does Pro Circuit. As I tell all my customers, expensive oil is a lot cheaper than engine components.

Hope this helps.

 

[rotax]

I get my full synthetic 0-30w at walmart also, cheapest in town.

Thats what I use, and thats why.

a 5 gallon (or quart?) jug is a lot cheaper than even 4x1 qt bottles..

Then you have some extra to carry when you lose some out of your breather...or for the next oil change.

 

[impulse nazi]

Run the Yamalube 0w40 full synthetic. It has been developed especially for high hp and high performance yamaha 4-strokes!! (turbo) It exceeds many other top brands for quality. besides, most of the other oils were designed for automotive application. When was the last time you seen a car run 10000rpm??? i trust Yamaha and the fact that they designed their oil to run in their engines. in-house r&d is always better!! oh, and those guys who are cheap and buy car oil at walmart, what are you thinking?? isnt your sled worth the extra 10 bucks an oil change?????

 

[glmtnapex]

Amsoil 0w-40 syn.....dunno why you don't like it. However, I don't think you can go wrong with Amsoil or Mobile 1. Yamaha oils are good, but they have shown to break down out of grade before these two. If Rotella made a 0w-30/40 I'd buy it and change it often.

Rottella does make a 5w-40. It comes in a blue jug and you can sometimes get it at Wally World. I run it in my diesel truck cuz I live in a cold climate (down to -30 sometimes).

Max

 

[Butta]

Rottella does make a 5w-40. It comes in a blue jug and you can sometimes get it at Wally World. I run it in my diesel truck cuz I live in a cold climate (down to -30 sometimes).

Max

This is true, and that's what I run in my street bike and my dirt bike, because neither requires an oil with a weight lighter than 5. The sled, however, requires 0w-30 at a minimum, therefore on those cold mornings, the extra viscosity of the 5w oil is unacceptable, IMO. Amsoil 0w-40 has a pour temp of -65......try that with Rotella, bet it looks more like setup polyurethane...don't want that in my motor when it's subjected to harsh winter temps. But, if you are a fair weather rider, then the Rotella might work well for you, keep in mind that IT DOES fall out of grade pretty quick when subjected to gear to gear conditions, though.

 

[glmtnapex]

This is true, and that's what I run in my street bike and my dirt bike, because neither requires an oil with a weight lighter than 5. The sled, however, requires 0w-30 at a minimum, therefore on those cold mornings, the extra viscosity of the 5w oil is unacceptable, IMO.

I'm not disagreeing with you, however, when Yamaha came out with the first RX1 back in 2003, the recommended oil was Yamalube 5w-30. I'm pretty sure they're using the same dry sump system now that they did back then. So what's changed? Oil tech has come a long way since 2003, that's what's changed. Hi-tech oil is much more readily available and more affordable than it was 5 (almost six) years ago.
And that brings up another point on oil. Yamaha doesn't make Yamalube! Yamaha contracts with an oil manufacturer like maybe Mobil or Valvoline or Penzoil. Yamaha chooses the specs that they want in the oil and the manufacturer makes it and puts it in a Yamalube bottle and Yamaha marks it up from there. It may be the same exact oil that Mobil puts in their Mobil 1 oil, they may just add a tablespoon more zinc to the batch and call it Yamalube. Yamaha is in the bussiness of making bikes, sleds, PWC's, Keyboards, etc, they'll leave the complicated business of oil formulation to the experts. But they're not above making some money on it either. Honda is also famous for doing this, as is Ford. Most Motorcraft stuff is not made by Ford, including Motorcraft oil. It's probably made by the same company that makes Yamalube!! Ford and Yamaha are just middlemen when it comes to selling oil.

Max

 

[BlgsRX-1mtn]

Castrol Syntec SAE 5W-30 is what I have used in my RX-1 since the first oil change. I get it at Wal-Mart also.

Jim

 

[SIKEWARD]

Who makes yamalube? & what about valvoline? All this talk about mobile 1 why no valvoline? I have always been a fan of Valvoline and would like to run synpower in my sled. However it is only avail in 5w-30. No 0w-30. 5w-30 is good to -22 and if it's that cold you probably won't c me out there trying to start a sled.

 

[Nikolai]

I thought 0 and 5 weight oils were one in the same. How do you have a zero weight oil?

 

[Butta]

I thought 0 and 5 weight oils were one in the same. How do you have a zero weight oil?

There is a common misconception that the "w" stands for weight, when in actually it stands for "winter".

Taken from Wikpedia:

The SAE designation for multi-grade oils includes two grade numbers; for example, 10W-30 designates a common multi-grade oil. Historically, the first number associated with the W (again 'W' is for Winter, not Weight) is not rated at any single temperature. The "10W" means that this oil can be pumped by your engine as well as a single-grade SAE 10 oil can be pumped. "5W" can be pumped at a lower temperature than "10W" and "0W" can be pumped at a lower temperature than "5W". The second number, 30, means that the viscosity of this multi-grade oil at 100°C (212°F) operating temperature corresponds to the viscosity of a single-grade 30 oil at same temperature. The governing SAE standard is called SAE J300. This "classic" method of defining the "W" rating has since been replaced with a more technical test where a "cold crank simulator" is used at increasingly lowered temps. A 0W oil is tested at −35 °C (−31 °F), a 5W at −30 °C (−22 °F) and a 10W is tested at −25 °C (−13 °F). The real-world ability of an oil to crank in the cold is diminished soon after put into service. The motor oil grade and viscosity to be used in a given vehicle is specified by the manufacturer of the vehicle (although some modern European cars now make no viscosity requirement), but can vary from country to country when climatic or mpg constraints come into play.

 

[Butta]

If you want to read more where that came from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor_oil

 

[Duke]

I'm not disagreeing with you, however, when Yamaha came out with the first RX1 back in 2003, the recommended oil was Yamalube 5w-30. I'm pretty sure they're using the same dry sump system now that they did back then. So what's changed? Oil tech has come a long way since 2003, that's what's changed. Hi-tech oil is much more readily available and more affordable than it was 5 (almost six) years ago.
And that brings up another point on oil. Yamaha doesn't make Yamalube! Yamaha contracts with an oil manufacturer like maybe Mobil or Valvoline or Penzoil. Yamaha chooses the specs that they want in the oil and the manufacturer makes it and puts it in a Yamalube bottle and Yamaha marks it up from there. It may be the same exact oil that Mobil puts in their Mobil 1 oil, they may just add a tablespoon more zinc to the batch and call it Yamalube. Yamaha is in the bussiness of making bikes, sleds, PWC's, Keyboards, etc, they'll leave the complicated business of oil formulation to the experts. But they're not above making some money on it either. Honda is also famous for doing this, as is Ford. Most Motorcraft stuff is not made by Ford, including Motorcraft oil. It's probably made by the same company that makes Yamalube!! Ford and Yamaha are just middlemen when it comes to selling oil.

Max

Esso Actually. I know a guy that used to test and blend oils for them. I had him take a quick look at what was available on the market and he came back with the recommendation to use Yamaha oil, blended for those engines. He also told me the only reason 0w30 is still being produced is because people still buy it(demand). 0w40 is much better. He did say that 20w50 would be good for high performance boosted applications, just not for cold weather.