Dan, Not trying to derail this topic but it has brought up some lubrication questions, Im curious as to the statement about VES Gold.
I remember years ago (in the big block 800 ves days) to stay away from Gold, it was the worst oil with the highest markup in the industry. After doing a dozen or so of your Torque Master motors you told me to open up the oil cap and shake the sled side to side and youll see why... A white ring formed around the outer edge of the oil in the tank. You told me that the VES Gold attracts a lot of moisture, and since were riding in some very wet environments with some massive temperature swings (condensation) It seemed like I would always see surface rust on the cranks on these motors as well, now you seem to be praising the gold?
I think at one point you claimed that warranty would be void if the older BB VES motors were running gold on your TM motors?
Hey Matty, GLAD YOU BROUGHT THIS UP !
I had to change my stance because in 2011 Polaris Made major change and it took me several years after 2011 to see what was happening.....
First - Polaris has reformulated there factory gold oil, and the foaming & air bubble accumulating characteristics have been addressed.
A few important changes in the POLARIS 2 stroke EFI in 2011 ( CFI-2 ) that has made it vital to use the factory synthetic.... The 2005 900 had only 2 crankcase located injectors, the 2006 model year Polaris went to CFI-4 with 2 injectors in the crankcase & 2 in the cylinders....
2011 model year Polaris went exclusive CFI-2 in all 800 motors, and this came with a staggering amount of problems......and most are a blend of several bad practices added together.
1-.....CFI-2.... No fuel in the case at lower mid-range thru to wide open throttle.
2-.....no fuel in the case makes the importance of very thin oil vital to longevity.... ( no fuel.... means no solvent type component mixed with the injector oil to thin it out so it moves freely in the case and gets throwen on the bores by the crank wheels onto the front of the cylinder bores at start up )
3-.....when you shut a CFI-2 motor off with a case absent of fuel the small amount of ( warm ) oil present that has coated everything with a very thin film now drains to the center case floor in the Rod relief groove.
4-..... At start up the lower Rod O.D. goes by the low spot and grabs a small amount of the accumulated oil and throws a few drops on the front cylinder wall.
5-....over the years of tearing down lots of core motors you notice after removing top-end and slowly rolling the crank over that most often the lower Rod outside edge has got a small amount of oil on it.
6-...... That being said, the cold steel rod/crankshaft has much better results of throwing thin viscosity oil on the bores then it does thick mineral oil.
7-.....Carbed sleds this is not a factor......Polaris Carburated sleds have fuel in the case, and there is a oil injector fitting in each carburetor so the blend comes in from the reed cage and first hits the lower rear piston skirt & front cylinder wall
8-.... CFI motors have the disadvantage of dry cold air coming thru the reed cage ( that's why CFI Motors are so hard on reed pedals ) dry cold reeds move fast and hit harder..... Then wet oil covered reed pedals. Old 70mmx85mm big blocks never needed reed pedals... The exact same bore and stroke in a CFI eats reed pedals. The bottom ends in a CFI run much hotter because of the lack of fuel... ( also the reason the wrist pin bearing turns blue in a CFI 800 ....) old big block the the wrist pin bearing looked like new 10 years later.
I don't know the exact date of the last time Polaris updated the additive package of their Gold oil but it was like they flipped a switch and the rental motors started showing amazing longevity.
Then you add in th fact that cylinder finish has been improving also, which means less wear in low oil start ups.
Matty..... The last big factor that really got me was in late fall 2014 when I got my new AXYS switchback and it had an ( Electric oil pump ) controlled by the ECM. ** At that moment I made the metal adjustment and said th cards are stacked against running anything but factory recommended oil. **
Also a 180 degree turn in my stance is that the new rings made today are rotary ground extremely round & do not need cross hatch to cut them in..... As a matter of fact it's bad for the rings to be cut by to aggressive a cylinder finish.
And synthetic should be used from the beginning..... ( no mineral oil needed )
The Cat 600 really brought home the importance of thin oil..... With their C-tech ( or whatever it's called ) it's like water in a bag ......And I am told It saved that motors life.
As I have mentioned..... The CFI 2 has brought on a steep learning curve.
Dan
It's going to take me awhile to think this one thru.
