What injector oil do you use?

[Needafunboat]

I can't believe I couldn't find a thread on this in this forum - I probably didn't search correctly.

What oil do you guys use? Do you spring the $ for the quicksliver oil? The Starbrite oil is about 1/3 of the price. I also wonder about Amsoil and the other good brands out there. I'm sure there are many opinions on this so let the debate begin!

Anyhow, as I'm doing the math - it looks like the Quicksilver premium oil is going to get a little expensive for that 225 EFI this summer. I'm a big believer in using good oil in general (worked as a bearing engineer for 7 years), BUT I also know that in many circumstances, synthetic (blends too) are overkill for the situation. Yes, a premature rebuild is way more $$, but if the pump fails it makes no difference what oil you were using.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks!

 

[TheNerd]

I find that the Quicksilver smokes far less than anything else. A local marina told a friend of mine that "Penzoil brings them lots of buisness". I premix mine a bit heavy on the oil. I have always thought, you can NEVER have too much lube.

 

[merc245]

How much is not standing on shoreline worth to you. In the overall BIG picture of boating what really is the cost differance between a bargin brand vs. a premium oil.

 

[CHECK16]

I use Pennzoil Premium Plus. It's probably not the best out there,but no problems yet

 

[JW]

According to Jay Smith (well known engine builder) for motors that turn under 7500 rpms you cannot beat the Pennzoil Marine 100% Synthetic. (Do NOT use regular Pennzoil oil, only the 100% Syn!!) I buy that by the gallons at my local Menards for approx. $19. When I can't find that, I buy the Mercury Premium Plus at my local Gander Mountain for about the same price.

 

[KevinR]

Mercury oil

I use the mercury premium, ended up costing about 13.65 a gal. since I bought a 55 gal drum of it from the local dealer.

 

[Enticer1]

Pennzoil

The post that I read on S & F quoted Jay Smith recommending Pennzoil Premium Plus Synthetic Blend if running under 8000 RPM and Pennzoil Full Synthetic if running over 8000 RPM. I used Quicksilver Premium until West Marine jacked the price from $ 18.00 to $ 27.00. I'm now getting the Pennzoil Synthetic-Blend for just under $ 16.00 a gallon at Auto Zone. Pennzoil is NMMA certified and Quicksilver is BIA and NMMA certified. Everyone should take the time to read the back of the jug on all the oils and then make their own decision based on how they treat their motors. I maintain my engines according to manufactures recommendations and I have never had an oil related failure. Its just my opinion but I am a big fan of the Synthetics.
Spring is here guys, go get'em Wet.

 

[JW]

Currently, I'm pretty sure Jay only recommends the full SYN oil, not the blend. For 7500 and under, he recommends the 100% Syn Pen, and for race engines he recommends the Alisyn now that can be bought thru Scream and Fly.

 

[zstevens]

i've always used the merc prem.plus ,when its on sale i get 2 gallons depending on how much i have .

 

[Blizz]

I wouldn't waste your money on blends as there is no way of knowing how much of it is actually synthetic (usually not much) Also there are no 100% synthetic oils on the market.

 

[Chris E]

merc or brp are the best oils out there - the starbrite stuff i'd run from. anything that is half the price will be half the quality. i also like amsoil - but i haven't run it in a 2 stroke yet - when i get my motor it will probably get the amsoil oil.

 

[groucho]

One upside with a good blend is that you can mix back and forth between synthetic and petroleum based oil and not run the risk of the oil coagulating. Sometime you might get stuck being forced to run an oil that you have no choice over and it's nice having the peace of mind knowing it's going to mix properly whether you are pre-mix or oil-injected.

 

[MateFever]

Chris, I would stray away from Amsoil. My dad was running it in everything he had that was two-stroke and ended up melting down his lawn boy (not the same situation) and he followed the recommended oil usage very religiously. He tore it down and it was completely shot....250 bucks for a lawn mower or 2500 for a new powerhead....don't know if i can bring myself to use it.

 

[Blizz]

I too would stay away from Amsoil in your boat they don't seem to like it so much. Sleds yes boats not so much.

 

[Great East Predictor]

i run merc premium plus, no complaints...i've run the merc racing oil to, good stuff but not cheap

 

[aggiestckl]

use beanol its awsome and smells awsome

 

[Needafunboat]

Thanks guys - now that's the oil debate I was looking forward to coming back and seeing... I was at disney world all week with the family - great time and the nice weather kept making me think of how much fun the summer is going to be with the family on the new boat!! Boating in northern MI is almost the exact opposite of the commercialized, crowded disney park over spring break - but both are cool for families in very different ways... sorry--- not oil related!!

I have taken quite a few classes on tribology (study of oil separating moving metal parts) - but they were all very specifically related to rolling element bearings or metal CVT belts. (FWIW - only use the correct OEM oil in an automatic trans - synth is NOT better in AT's... but it IS better in 4 strokes engines and all bearing applications - especially where moisture is a factor)

Oil in a 2 stroke engine functions differently than in in a bearing or transmission, so I was sort of wondering about ash content, viscosity and so on...

The most interesting piece of info is that there is not as much price difference as I had thought. Looks like no one uses that cheap starbright oil, and all of the descent stuff is $15 to $20 per gallon. Based on that, I'll probably stick with the quicksilver premium synth blend from boater's world (I think around $60 for 3 gal).

I base this on the following "logic" - OB motors are a pretty unique application - in my case 3000 cc's and 225 HP. By comparison, most 800 cc sleds make around 140 hp, and my 200 cc dirtbike (lightly modd'd) makes 43hp. Sure, if you look at torque and actual spread of power, the differences are less. But since each application is different, I'll stick with the OEM stuff.

I doubt you can go wrong with a full synthetic either (unless you actually run it at 100 to 1, like amsoil says!) , but I also doubt that Mercury would market poor oil for their motors. It's just funny because when you actually talk to the guys who make the base oils and additives packages you see that the exact same oils may be sold under different names... I would not be surprised to find out (for example) that starbright is actually mercury oil...

So after all of this, commons sense prevails... Use good oil...

 

[MERC-MATE]

I ran 100% synthetic Penzoil in my 2001 Merc 225efi and it smoked less and I got about 100 more rpm than with Mercury Premium Plus.

 

[CHECK16]

It's just funny because when you actually talk to the guys who make the base oils and additives packages you see that the exact same oils may be sold under different names... I would not be surprised to find out (for example) that starbright is actually mercury oil...

So after all of this, commons sense prevails... Use good oil...[/quote]

Needafunboat,I just want to back you up on that.My father worked in the oil industry for years.He told me the same thing.The cheap oil is bottled right next to the brand name stuff it's all in the additive package.The same can be said for fuel it's all made with the same method just different additives.
Now the only problem is to find out what cheap oil compares to a premium oil.Alot of the time you just pay for a name,but it's that name that makes you feel good about putting it in your motor.

 

[Needafunboat]

Thanks Check16,

Yeah - that IS the key is finding out which "no-name" brand is the same as the good ones - and you would be amazed at the amount of testing that goes into finding the right additive package.

I was involved in the formulation of a new automatic transmission fluid and the additive package research was amazing. It affects the way a trans shifts, the clutch wear, seal life... everything.

So based on that, I'll stick with the OE Merc prem plus stuff until I learn otherwise. It's all probably overkill anyhow for the way I run these motors...