Green up your 2 stroke with soybean based engine oils?
I am going to get this out of the way right off the bat: I do not know if soy-based 2 stroke engine oils are actually cleaner burning than synthetic 2 stroke engine oil or the racing-style castor bean 2 stroke oils that are still available today. What I will say, though, is that being soy based, they are made from a renewable resource, which can't be said about petroleum-based engine oils, whether they are for 2 strokes or the more common 4 strokes. But, something recently caught my eye on a discussion board that I frequent, which was the subject of using biodiesel as a lubricant in 2 stroke engines. I got to thinking about it, and was thinking that standard vegetable oils would probably work just as well assuming the temperature was warm enough to keep them from thickening. So, I did some searching of 'teh internets', (ZOMG!) and found that there are in fact soy based oils that are designed for 2 stroke engines. I also found that before synthetic oils were developed, castor bean oils were considered the best oils to use in 2 strokes. In fact, many people still believe that they are the best. I am not going to get into that debate, because I have no idea which is better! But, I would definitely prefer to run a bio-oil if at all possible, and after doing the research, I have found that it is.
While we are on the subject, does anybody have any information on the effect that using vegetable-based 2 stroke engine oils might have on the emissions of said engine? Have there been any studies comparing synthetic 2 stroke oils versus castor oil versus vegetable based oils? Inquiring minds want to know.
[Source: United Soybean Board]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kami 12:09AM (7/16/2008)
You can mix 1/4 vegetable oil (new), with 3/4 2-stroke JASO FC
oil (High grade), outside the machine, then using it.
You must mixed with care, I mean real mixed.
I have used over 1 year, with no problem.
But sometimes, I found a little oil at carburator
when service.
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