Yamalube vs. Other 2-cycle oil in Yamaha 225

[hotajax]

Any recommendations? I had been using Amsoil (no problems with that other than fast availability) and was forced to put in Yamalube in a pinch. She ran very well with the Yamalube. The "experts" in town (translation: the guys who sit around the local tackle shop and drink coffee) say that the Mercury oil, Optimax, is the best thing to put in any 2-cycle engine. What say the readers?

 

[CJBROWN]

AMSOIL HPi

:mrgreen:

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

they are all good, cept that walmart crap
seen that sheet gel up, same with penzoil

 

[Grog]

I've used yamalube and evinrude XD oil without any problems (if my marina was a merc dealer I'd probably have used some of that too). Ask those "experts" how much oil Mercury makes?

 

[Seahunter]

The Opti oil is DFI oil. DFI oils are superior to any of the dino or dino/synthetics on the market in both cleanliness and their additive packages. I tired it and liked it a lot but the price is a bit stiff for what it buys you.

I buy bulk Merc premium plus and Rude HD 50 which are doused with carbon guard so a separate carbon additive typically isn’t necessary.

Figure the cost of CG in with the other oils and the price diffrence is marginal.

 

[CJBROWN]

All of my experience with 2-stroke oils is with racing offroad bikes. Outboards are a little different in that they are not run nearly as hard, are in a corrosive environment, and they don't always run at peak tempurature.

All of the outboard brand oils are good oils, Yamalube being one of the best. However it is a semi-synthetic as is the Merc and E-rude oils. Having used Amsoil synthetics since the 70's it's just a natural to continue with them as they formulate their product for the various applications. And they are heavily involved in racing 2-strokes, boats, sea-do/ski-do, and motorcycles. Their product is superior without question.

The HPi is an oil-injection formulation with extra anti-corrosion properties. Since synthetic base does not burn, carbon is not an issue with this product. It burns very clean and is oderless.

They have a very substantial report on their 2-stroke oils, how they are formulated, and how they compare in testing against other popular brands. You can download it from their site or I can send a link.

 

[Grog]

So the Amsol oil fed 2 strokes don't have the "2-stroke-aroma"?

 

[magicalbill]

I have had a 250 Yamaha, circa 1994
My current 200 4-strokes have 126 hrs. on them.

Between both setups, I have put hundreds of hours on each.
Yamalube has been used from the start with zero problems.

I may be missing something, but why not use Yamalube in Yamahas, Opti-oil in Mercs, and so on?

 

[CJBROWN]

So the Amsol oil fed 2 strokes don't have the "2-stroke-aroma"?

Correct. The reduction is remarkable.

Bill, as said, yamalube is a good product, and you should get satisfactory performance out of it.

Every machine manufacturer has a lube they source that is satisfactory for the running of their product, and they have it packaged with their name on the bottle. Hondaline is also very good. Suzuki has one, Kawasaki, Polaris, Evinrude, all of them have an oil that they sell with their name on it.

NONE of them are in the refining or formulating business. There are two main reasons they do this. First, it generates sales and revenue for them and their dealers. And two, it helps keep idiot operators from buying the cheapest crap from Walmart and ruining their extremely expensive engine, which in turn helps stem warranty claims from operator error.

A full synthetic base with the proper additive packge is going to outperform something less every time. You may not have an extreme condition where that comes into play on every trip, but if something should go wrong with your systems, like a failed water pump, or a lean condition, or over the long haul, a better product is better protection.

There are a lot of people still running straight dino oil in the cars too. Nothng wrong with that, most can get good useful life from them with it. Some people are interested in better products and better protection, and that's where the premium products have value.

I personally don't care what products other people use - that's the beauty of our free markets. However I think it would be a disservice to fellow enthusiasts on this forum to not share valuble information on products that create an advantage for them or can do a better job for them.

 

[enfish]

Chris,

If one were to switch from Yamalube to Amsoil, are the oils compatible? That is to say, could you mix the Yamalube and Amsoil together or would you have to drain all the Yamalube out of the system before filling with Amsoil?

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

you could mix i bet

injector oils are meant to be injected not premixed
pre-mix oils are meant to be pre-mixed not injected

 

[CJBROWN]

you could mix i bet

injector oils are meant to be injected not premixed
pre-mix oils are meant to be pre-mixed not injected

LOL. I think Eric meant can you mix the two oils together in the oil tank :wink: I think you knew that...

But yeah, they offer premix oils and injector oils. The HPi is intended for oil injection motors, specifically outboards. I used to use their DOMINATOR racing oil in the bikes and it was nothing short of fantastic. We would run half the oil recommended by the manufacturer (40-50:1) with 20% race gas, and would have to lean the jets a bit as more gas would get thru, and more power of course. And we would still get at least twice the life out of the rings compared to conventional oils. The rebuild guys were always blown away.

The injector oils would mix, but I would try to run it as low as possible or consider pumping or draining the old oil out first. Amsoil products generally mix quite well with other similar oils, but some other synthetics can cause gelling or layering so it's best to just start fresh.

For anyone that wants to switch, you can buy the product at dealer cost online. PM me for a dealer number as a sponsor. The first item in their list of products is a PREFERRED CUSTOMER option, costs $10 for 6 months or $20 for a year, which gives you the dealer discount. When you check out it will ask you for a sponsoring dealer number, and as long as the preferred customer item is in your cart it will recalculate all of the prices to dealer cost. Saves about 20-25% from list. You do have tax and shipping tho, and they are adding a fuel surcharge as of late.

If you don't mind paying retail I would be happy to process an order and drop ship it to you.

I became a dealer some time back, not to make money at it (I don't) but I talk to so many people that are interested in the products so it was just a natural to refer them and get credit for it. I have yet to find anyone that doesn't like the product, but a lot of people don't like their marketing hype and multi-level marketing distribution. They do not sell in retail stores, in fact any chain with more than 12 locations cannot buy the product. They still protect their dealer network. So you'll never find it at NAPA or Walmart, etc.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

i love amsoil

i would not recommend any synth oil if you troll a lot 4 stroke only
we have seen it cause gas in the oil and higher temps in some 4 stroke outboard motors

2 strokes i would only run synth oil, since u burn it

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

i love amsoil

i would not recommend any synth oil if you troll a lot 4 stroke only
we have seen it cause gas in the oil and higher temps in some 4 stroke outboard motors

2 strokes i would only run synth oil, since u burn it

 

[CJBROWN]

i love amsoil

i would not recommend any synth oil if you troll a lot 4 stroke only
we have seen it cause gas in the oil and higher temps in some 4 stroke outboard motors
>snip

What would cause that? I've been running it in my F150 since it's second oil change. Runs like a clock.

I am seeing that it is still breaking in though, after over 250 hours. It keeps getting quieter and smoother.

I changed the plugs at 220 and they looked like new. I put them in the spares bag for emergency use.

BTW, use Yamaha OEM oil filters ONLY for them. The aftermarket stuff is junk.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

what we think it is doing is because it is thinner than other weight oils
Suzuki has had a problem, so has the yami 115s
we are seeing it in the under 150 hp motors

if you troll all day, u better run the snot out of your motor the last 10 mins or so

suzi says no to synth oils, but that might change :shock:

 

[magicalbill]

CJ..
I didn't know that...Thanks for the info...It would make sense that Yamaha and the other engines would tout their own products.
That said, they would be shooting their own feet if they marketed an oil with their name on it that caused engine problems.

With these two things in mind, here's question #2.

I plan on keeping my Gulfstream and my 200 4-strokes for as long as I can. I'm like that anyway, and with these nutballs in Washington screwing up the economy daily, it makes me want to hang onto my possessions even more.

Oh yeah..the question...

Would switching to Amisol, or another synthetic oil significantly prolong the life of my Yamahas over-and-above the Yamalube? If so, it would be in my best interests to at least explore the switch.
I will cruise more in a few years, and will probably rack up thousands of hours
If I traded every few years, it might not matter either way.

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

if under warranty u need to have FC-W oil no matter what
i do not care what the other companies say
im stating what yami says

 

[CJBROWN]

>snip
Would switching to Amisol, or another synthetic oil significantly prolong the life of my Yamahas over-and-above the Yamalube? If so, it would be in my best interests to at least explore the switch.
I will cruise more in a few years, and will probably rack up thousands of hours
If I traded every few years, it might not matter either way.
>snip

Well, you're right. A lot of people don't really care about maintenance and logevity because they trade off so often. I trade off but I'm fanatical about keeping them absolutely like new. I just love boats and cars and stuff that are really aged but look showroom perfect. It's a true joy and something to be proud of.

As far as switch, I would say emphatically yes. But you have to understand that I'm admittedly biased. I've been a synthetic lubricant enthusiast for more than 30 years. Everything I own has synthetic lubricant in it, gearboxes, auto-trannies, diffs, and engines. I have run it in every kind of vehicle, domestic, foriegn, high performance, boats, cars, bikes, you name it. If it's internal combustion it gets synthetic lubricants.

If you search the 'net you'll find similar proponents for them, and for Amsoil, and you'll find people that do just fine without them, and there are other brands of good synthetic lubricants besides Amsoil. What's become obvious over the years is that it's now generally accepted that synthetic lubricants are superior for stopping wear, suspending contaminates, they are more thermally stable, they don't break down as quickly as conventional oils, and you can expect better cold temp operation as well as hot, they improve fuel economy from reduced friction, and they offer extended change intervals if you want to do that. I don't do 25K mile oil changes on my cars, I stay with 5-7K or once a year on everything. I have read about synthetics on forums for on and offroad motorcycles, racing quads, boats, diesel trucks, motorhomes, motocross, roadracing motorcycles, snow mobile maintenance, and heavy equipment. There are proponents for amsoil in all of them. Go look up 'the oil guy'. There's some real world testing with a Chevy Camaro V8 with lab testing and extended drain intervals with various brands and types of oils, and amsoil is always the best. There's lots of unbiased testing that's been done to document their claims.

One of the reason I stick with Amsoil is because they have a product for virtually every application. It doesn't matter what kind of vehicle or motor, they have a specialized lubricant created just for it.

Now, for your motors longlife, there are probably other factors that will shorten it's life besides lubrication. Corrosion is said to kill a marine engine long before it wears out. And the supporting systems wear out and quit, like your cooling system, charging system, and fuel system. But let's say you can keep those things working and your motor running. If it's accepted that your lubricant will stop wear and protect your motors internals, then rings last longer, bearings, valve guides, all the wear areas of a motor. An engine with synthetic lubrication will virtually last forever. They generally will not fail due to component wear, something else will kill them first.

It's a long-winded way of saying yes. The caveat is that if you maintain your equipment as the manufactuer intended, using yamalube, you'll probably not experience failure due to lubrication either. Unless of course, you get a zillion hours on it. Then yes, a full synthetic is going to out last it. Or if you have some other failure that taxes your lubricant, like an overheat/thermal breakdown, or failed oil pump, or plugged filter, or some other catastrophic failure. Thermal breakdown is the main reason I use synthetic ATF in EVERYTHING. Plus tranny's just shift better with it.

I don't like guys that just say Amsoil is the best without anything to back it up. That's just marketing hype. So I've gone out and experimented, and researched the subject, and I like to educate people and get them to go explore on their own and find out what other people have experienced with it and other similar products. That way you can make an educated decision on what's right for you.

For me, for my motor, it's just a given that I would use it. I consider it cheap insurance and I've had outstanding success with it, without any caveats. I've had several motors with close to a hundred grand on them that use zero oil. We currently have a BMW 325 with 83K that uses no oil within it's 7K mile oil changes. It runs like a clock. When I bought it with 33K, it probably had only had its oil changed twice, that's the factory recommendation. But the oil fill cap was caked with sludge, and the oil looked like jello. A couple of short change intervals with Amsoil and it was looking like new inside. That was 5 years ago now. And I have never had a transmission failure on any vehicle with synthetic ATF. It's just a given that everything gets changed out. The new Allison transmissions for trucks and RV's (I have two of them Amsoil ATF in them) all come with Castrol synthetic ATF. And many cars now come with and require synthetic motor oil, like Corvette (GM) Porsche, Audi, Mercedes, BMW, VW, Saab...the list goes on and on. That has to tell you something.

Okay, I've rambled enough....Just ignore me if you're bored :mrgreen:

 

[JUST-IN-TIME]

very good info here!!

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

i almost bought the lucas stuff for my car!!!!