Is the 16-1 oil/fuel mixture harmful?

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JaxInsany

New Member
May 6, 2013
60
0
0
Portland, OR
Hey everyone! I am currently breaking in my 2 stroke Grubee with a 16-1 fuel mix with synthetic oil. I didn't think twice about following the kit included instructions when it said to break in the engine with 16-1, but with all the reading I have been doing on fuel mixtures, its getting me worried! I don't want to be hurting the engine right as I am breaking it in so my question is, should I just finish this one tank of 16-1 and immediately go to a richer mix or should I gradually work my way up (16-1 to 24-1 to 32-1)? I want to make the engine last (obviously) and want to find the optimal fuel mix for long life. After a few gallons of a lean mix to break in the engine (maybe between 24-1 and 32-1) what sort of rich fuel mix should I stick with after break in to keep my bike running smooth and keep the sparkplug running fine etc.?
 

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
I run all mine from day one at 32 or 40:1 depending which can I grab first
Been doing it this way for more than 30 years with no trouble.
Just use good quality two-stroke oil, NOT OUTBOARD oil.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Oil ratio preferences are as varied as the personalities of the members here. You'll see a lot of opinion but generally speaking the majority will agree that the kit recommended 16:1 is too much oil. There are several reasons. Spark plug fouling, muffler and exhaust clogging, poor performance not to mention the oily residue mess produced by excess oil in the mix.

Run a good quality 2 stroke oil formulated for air cooled engines and you'll be safe in the 24:1 to even as low as 40:1 but I wouldn't go lower than 40 unless you move into the more exotic oils made to run at 50, 75 or even 100:1. 32:1 is a good middle-of-the-road mix that has been proven to work well in most cases.

The debate about synthetic verses dyno oils will rage on forever. You'll need to do some reading on that subject and make your own decision.

Tom
 
Mar 31, 2013
295
8
0
RI
Hey everyone! I am currently breaking in my 2 stroke Grubee with a 16-1 fuel mix with synthetic oil. I didn't think twice about following the kit included instructions when it said to break in the engine with 16-1, but with all the reading I have been doing on fuel mixtures, its getting me worried! I don't want to be hurting the engine right as I am breaking it in so my question is, should I just finish this one tank of 16-1 and immediately go to a richer mix or should I gradually work my way up (16-1 to 24-1 to 32-1)? I want to make the engine last (obviously) and want to find the optimal fuel mix for long life. After a few gallons of a lean mix to break in the engine (maybe between 24-1 and 32-1) what sort of rich fuel mix should I stick with after break in to keep my bike running smooth and keep the sparkplug running fine etc.?
as a noob myself i wrestled with this very same question just a few months ago and in my own case i was fortunate in that i was having a bike built for me so i had a solid month to do research before actually taking possession of the bike.

...in my research during that time i found this old but still active thread discussing the synthetic oil Opti2 and it's a long discussion so making myself read the whole thing wasn't easy.

anyway, after reading that thread and many others i decided to go the Opti2 route and so the only time my bike has run any fuel other than the 100:1 Opti2 is on the first fire up at Pirate Cycles and for maybe 2 miles, after that the tank was drained and the 100:1 mix is the only fuel i've used since.

...the bike now has just over 350 miles on it at 100:1 and i've recently noticed a nice improvement in performance as she has fully broken in but even from day one she ran like a scalded cat, WAY better than i had expected. ...i opened her up yesterday and maxed out at 39.52mph which was scary actually, lol, but she cruises at 25 - 30 mph with ease now, before the break-in performance improvement she ran best between 20 - 25.

...anyway, i love the stuff, my bike runs like a champ and i like not trailing a cloud of oily smoke behind me.

peace, bozo
 

dodge dude94

New Member
Jun 8, 2012
1,017
1
0
East Texas
I took the cheap chinese oils into consideration when breaking my engine in as well as my very little experience with 80cc dirtbikes. I ran 24:1 for break in and I run 40:1 for general running. The bike runs clean, has lots of power and little excess carbon build up. FWIW, I also run a cheap synthetic. lol
 

xseler

Well-Known Member
Apr 14, 2013
2,886
151
63
OKC, OK
I may be asking for trouble, but I'm running the same 50:1 Echo oil that I use in my Echo trimmer (I also use a small amount of StaBil). Skyhawk engine seems happy, so I'll continue using it. My trimmer gets used a lot and it's on it's 7th season -- still running like new!
 

mapbike

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2010
5,502
109
63
Central Area of Texas
I havent ever run the echo oil in my bike but I wouldnt be scared of it, after owning echo products for 30+ years there is no doubt in my mind that they would not put there name on something tehy hadn't estex and proven to be a very good product.

I second third forth and so on.....what has been said about the 16:1 mix..... that is way to much oil, referring back to the first post in this thread I wanted to make something clear and that is that 24:1 & 32:1mix is less oil in the mix than a 16:1 mix, not more, 40:1 refers to 40 parts fuel to 1 part oil.

Best wishes with the new engine.

Map
reddd