What to expect with using Opti-2 at break in?

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bare bones

bare bones

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Jul 12, 2009
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Austin
I bought the Grubee Super Rat and I decided to use Opti-2 from the start in this engine. First of all the engine has insane compression!. It is very hard to start and the tire even skids if i am not sitting down!. The engine will start, but I have to be on the gas to keep in running. It seems to die when warmed up a bit easier. Checking the plug is kinda a new experience; I really don't know what it should look like since I am using Opti-2. It is light chocolate brown (if i was using normal oil I would say the engine may be a bit lean) With the Opti-2 is this a good plug read? If any of you guys have broken in an engine using Opti-2 I would really appreciate if you could tell me how a "normal" break in goes. Thanks!!!! :)
 
2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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I've broken in two engines on Opti-2. I did nothing special, just rode the bikes as I would an older engine. I didn't necessarily abuse the engines but I didn't baby them either. WOT and half throttle cruise was all I did.
Both engines perform perfectly.
As for plug color I've always been somewhat mystified by mine which show grey, not tan or brown. I know I'm not running lean. Both of these engines have well over 500 miles running time and seem to keep getting better. Compression is tremendous on both.
Tom
 
GearNut

GearNut

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Aug 19, 2009
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Tan or caramel color on your spark plug is a good color when running full synthetic pre-mix. White is bad/ too lean. Dark brown or chocolate brown is too rich.
 
bare bones

bare bones

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Jul 12, 2009
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Austin
Cool :) thanks for the info guys. I know this Oil is proven, but still in the back of my mind i kept asking myself--Am I destroying this engine? Ha Ha :) Just needed some assurance I guess.laff
 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
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living the dream in southern california
i've used Opti-2 in 5 motors, 100:1 right from the start (i admit, my first engine i used 60:1 for break-in 'cause i was nervous:).)

never had a problem, all those engines are still running strong, and one of them has over a year of hard riding on it.

my plugs are a light tan, slightly grey, as 2door mentioned.

the grey is kinda weird, but it is what it is. you'll see the same results as a normal plug, though. too dark or oily, and it's running rich. if it's white, it's too lean.

i don't baby the engine at break-in at all. WOT from the first ride. my experience shows that the break-in time is substantially less with Opti-2. like the first tank, instead of 3-5 with conventional oils.

some bikes didn't even have a noticeable break-in period. ran awesome right out of the gate.
 
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D

Don P

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Sep 1, 2010
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indiana
Hi all
i broke my 66cc engine in on opti 2 100:1 ratio. it now has 600 miles on it not one problem. runs grate i love it.


Don P
 
B

Barnfresh

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Sep 5, 2011
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Nor-Cal
B

Barnfresh

Member
Sep 5, 2011
205
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Nor-Cal
In fact, if the plug is hot enough there won't be any color, and if there is that still has nothing much to do with air/fuel mixture. If you think about it you'll realize that the only color you can get from an air/fuel mixture is the color of soot. When the mixture trapped in an engine's combustion chamber has more fuel than can be burned with the available air, then combustion will be incomplete and the excess fuel will remain as soot, which is not brown or tan or magenta or any color other than black. And if your engine's mixture is too rich, the sooty evidence will be present on the spark plug's insulator, in a very particular area.
Click to expand...
Nothing like those plug charts we're used to seeing..........Spark Plugs


You won't find any soot out near the insulator nose, on a plug that's running hot enough to keep itself from fouling, because temperatures there are too high to let soot collect. But the insulator is much cooler deep inside the plug body, and coolest where it contacts the metal shell, which is precisely where you "read" mixture strength. Look far inside a plug, where its insulator joins its shell, and what you'll see there if your engine's mixture is too rich is a ring of soot. If this ring continues outward along the insulator to a width of even a millimeter you can be sure the mixture is rich enough to be safe, and too rich for maximum output. In most engines best performance is achieved when the mixture contains only enough excess fuel to make just a wisp of a "mixture ring" on the plug insulator. Air cooled two-stroke engines often will respond favorably to a slightly richer mixture, which provides a measure of internal cooling; some four-stroke engines give their best power when the mixture is leaned down to such extent that the last trace of soot deep inside the plug completely disappears.
Click to expand...
 
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