Thread: Oil Mix Recommendations

I just purchased a new Echo. The owner's manual says the saw meets California Emissions standards and the recommended oil to gas mix is 50:1. Is this a good mix, or is Echo leaning out the oil just to meet the California Emissions standards? Would 40:1 or 32:1 be better for the life of the saw?

Thanks for your help. I have learned much from lurking on the board over the last few years.

O what a dangerous question to ask, but how would you know this as a new member.

Welcome.

Just check out the search feature on the site, many many pages of discussion on this exact topic. You will just have to read and draw your own opinion, as the mater is seemingly very complex.

Once you get set on what ratio you may want to then ask (search sythetic vs non synthetic oils) another equally debateted topic.

TW

From what I can see, there is a pretty even distribution in this forum with regards to mixture ratios. Your saw will (probably) run well regardless of which mix you choose (between 32 and 50 to one). One mix will prolong the life - another will maximize the power, etc. Which one does what? Like Timberwolf said...browse the forum and mix away.

You could be a hero if you bought two more identical saws and ran different mixes in them over their lifetimes. Tell us ten years later (or more) which one croaked first, and which one had the most guts, etc. Saws are more important than groceries, right?

Welcome! As timberwolf has said there is a lot of material-both imformative and confusing in the archives. For what it is worth-I would recommend running 32/1 with good 2-cycle oil in your Echo.

I can't even pretend to know the answer, although at one time I thought I did. I could spout off meaningless BS about chain length, viscosity index, esters and isomers, metallic vs organic additives, etc. What a maroon.

Nobody knows exactly how you're going to use your saw. I'm very finicky about keeping chain sharp, and saw clean, plus I live in an area where there is just not a lot of big wood to stress a larger saw out. I've never had any failures I can attribute to crappy oil...and I have tried a lot of things over the years. In fact, until relatively recently, I never paid any attention at all to anything but price, and ran whatever I had in whatever I was running it in at the time...snomobiles, ice auger, lawnmower, weedeater, trail bikes, etc. I have even used straight 30 non-detergent...stinks and fouls plugs, but my stuff ran.

I'd say that it isn't worth worrying about unless you plan on using that new saw really hard and not maintaining it well. Find a brand that smells nice on cold mornings and rest easy...

I asked this question and read old posts and in the end was only more confused about the topic than when I began.

Everyone seems to know the truth, but the truths all differ...

Steve here... I run Maxima K2 in all my 2 stokes, at 32:1
my 2cents,
Steven

Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel
Over the last 20 years I have never heard a single person say a single bad thing about the Echo oil, and I have heard several accounts of it being one of the best oils on the market. Unless you have solid proof of something being better, I'd recommend sticking with the Echo oil. By solid proof, I'm talking about documentation by a company other than the company pushing their own oil.

Why fix something that isn't broke? If your car owner's manual recommends 10W-30, are you going to pitch that advice and run 20W-50 based on somebody's opinion? Don't screw with it unless you know what you are doing and why.

I'm leaning in that direction myself....

FWIW echo oil is made by citgo, so you can save some money by buying citgo instead of the echo labeled stuff.

My brain-child brother in Florida ran 20W-50 in his brand new Mazda instead of the recommended 5W-30 (thought it would endure the heat better) and shelled his motor out (and warranty didn't cover that...). I'm still chuckling over that one.

You won't go wrong if you follow the manufacturers recomendations.
If you listen to what the saw builders, and other people who race 2 strokes say, the guys that really push their 2 strokes to the limit, they almost all use synthetic oil.
So if you want to go one step better than factory recomendations, pick up some synthetic. Ben has pointed out that if you shop around a bit, you can get it cheaper than your brand.
If it's better and cheaper, why not? If it scares you to try something different, stick with factory oil. The fact is that you will wear out the rest of the saw long before the motor ever goes bad from an oil related problem.

I expected this one to turn into another high octane\synthetic oil\
Stabil\etc. thread! What is going on?
I am getting to enjoy infomercials.

The nice thing about the 32:1 synthetic, is that it actually increases power by increasing compression, so what I am going to do, is make the mix as rich as possible, say 4:1 while seating the H as lean as can be and see what happens. After all, synthetics dont smoke.
John

Originally posted by Fish
I expected this one to turn into another high octane\synthetic oil\
Stabil\etc. thread! What is going on?
I am getting to enjoy infomercials.

Are you claiming that the wonders of Stabil is another myth?

You must read the other forums....
I have not been back yet to see what I have instigated, but it is
my job, after all.