I love oil wars and comments and I'll do my part to do stir the pot.
In my opinion, the true test of an oil is engine longevity first, e.g. engine compression with desired low deposit buildup on exhaust valves and pistons. Not the other way around.
Let's consider a Polaris Pro 800 engine. User postings on this engine is that a hard ridden, i.e. mountain riding, engine is good for 1500-2000 miles (is that 100 hours?) A truly superior oil should show improvement in engine longevity.
I just don't understand how folks can comment on an oil after burning a gallon of it thru their engine. Let's see the long term tests and hard core riders coming back in a year or so telling us that their pro 800 engine lasted longer than usual with this oil. If your sole criteria is how clean an oil burns, I think you are missing the boat.
I also don't believe that having an oil that burns completely is desirable. Except for one particular oil that forms a superior dry lubricant when it burns, I always believed that oil lubricates best when it remains a liquid. I favor oil that have higher flash point so it lubricates a bit longer by providing a liquid film than a lower flash point oil.
Yes, I've been riding sleds <5 years but I've been playing with high performance small 2 stroke engines for over 30 years.
Imagine 3.3HP from a .28 cubic inch engine that spins 25,000-34,000 rpm or a .40 cubic inch engine that spins a leisurely 14,000 rpm at WOT all day long. I have several dozen of these tiny high performance engines and they all spit out unburned oil. If I tune them to run leaner (hotter so the 2 stroke oil burns more fully in the combustion chamber) they burn cleaner but last less than 2 gallons of fuel use instead of years and in some cases decades.
I'm doing my own oil test on my sleds. I'm adding 1/2 ounce per gallon of degummed castor oil as premix into my tank and seeing if the dry film lubricant that it forms will help reduce piston slop that occurs early on with the Pro 800 engine. Unfortunately my test isn't very scientific since I am not using the same injection oil consistently.
I've used Mystic JT4 Premium plus blended oil but decided against further use because of its low high temp viscosity.
Flash Point, PMCC, ASTM D93, °F (°C) 144 (62)
Flash Point, COC, ASTM D92, °F (°C) 185 (85)
Viscosity, ASTM D 445
cSt @ 40°C 31
cSt @ 100°C 6.0
Viscosity, ASTM D2161
SUS at 100°F 159
SUS at 210°F 47
Viscosity Index, ASTM D 2270 145
Pour Point, ASTM D97, °F (°C) -54 (-48)
This outboard motor has a -54 deg F pour point and is available at Bass Pro Shops. It smokes when cold and is 0.04% ash which is low but not as low as others.. Based alone on pour point it meets Indy Dan's requirements. I don't care for its high temp viscosity (could be better) and if I wasn't running premix in the fuel, I wouldn't use it solo. Just goes to show that pour point is just one parameter to consider.
Mystc JT4 100% synthetic snowmobile JASO FD rated oil.
Gravity, ASTM D 287, °API 32.9
Density lbs/gal 7.17
Flash Point, PMCC, ASTM D 93, °F (°C) 194 (90)
Flash Point, ASTM D 92, COC, °F (°C) 230 (110)
Pour Point, ASTM D 97, °F (°C) –54 (–48)
Viscosity, ASTM D 445
cSt @ 40°C 54
cSt @ 100°C 9.2
Viscosity Index, ASTM D 2270 152
Visual Color Purple
Sulfated Ash, ASTM D 874, m% 0.015
TBN, ASTM D 2896, mg KOH/g 4.3
This oil has same pour point, has better higher temp viscosity than the Mystic blend I have used, and has even lower ash content. The higher viscosity should provide better piston scuffing protection at high rpms and/or high loads.
I scored a ton of Quicksilver 2 stroke 100% synthetic JASO FD rated oil from a Walmart in Nebraska over the summer for about $12 gallon-it was on clearance. I couldn't pass the opportunity/cost savings and will use it. I figure that JASO FD can't be that bad, right?
Does anybody have Legend's specs? I can't find them and like to read the specs and MSDS on this "magic" oil. I'm sure it is a good oil but I without published specs I can't justify its cost when I can get great oils at a lower price.
