different stihl 2-stroke oils

Semi-synthetic, pure dinosaur, and full synthetic. Respectively. Buy the silver bottles.

The real question is what is the difference between the 3 stihl flavors and other high quality oil of the same flavor?

The answer....... PRICE (and an extended warranty, which is why I have 5 little bottles on the shelf). Although I don't think it lubricates any better than cheaper counterparts, it does smell good.

HittinSteel said:

The real question is what is the difference between the 3 stihl flavors and other high quality oil of the same flavor?

Click to expand...

You gotta be burning a hell of a lot of gas thru a saw, before price matters on that stuff. Bar oil... sure. But 2-stroke mix? C'mon...

when mixed with premium ethanol free it is about a $10 gallon of gas/mix

HittinSteel said:

when mixed with premium ethanol free it is about a $10 gallon of gas/mix

Click to expand...

That is peanuts when you compare the savings of not using heating oil.

HittinSteel said:

when mixed with premium ethanol free it is about a $10 gallon of gas/mix

Click to expand...

I know this probably borders on sacrilegous, but I've never had any problem running regular with ethanol in any of our two strokes, either for small equipment or outboards. The key is to use all the gas in the equipment tank, and seal the 5 gallon jug or whatever so that it doesn't pick up any water from the air, or offgas any of the more volatile components. We cut a few cords a year with an 036-QS, an 021, and an older Homelite, but generally try to squeeze it all into a few days. Of course, YMMV, but I don't think premium non-ethanol is really worth it for anything outside of racing and aviation applications. (In aviation it's important because ethanol changes the vapor pressure, which isn't a big deal at normal elevations, but can be problematic at 15k ft.)

Also, just pretend you're in Europe and paying $10 a gallon for your car!

HittinSteel said:

when mixed with premium ethanol free it is about a $10 gallon of gas/mix

Click to expand...

I can cut enough wood with that gallon of gas mix to replace $2k in heating oil. Besides, your cheaper 2-stroke mix takes that cost down to, what... $8.50?

How much does talks gas and oil cost? I pay less than $4 gallon for premium non E and buy a bottle of husky oikd for like $4 or less and make 2.5 gallons so I'm still less than $6/gallon??

Ultra should be used in 4-Mix engines because the valves stay clean with it. It's also good for cleaning dirty engines that had been run on lesser quality dino oils.

non E gas is about $1 more than premium (one station in my county has it, owner is a biker).

I've switched to poulan synthetic which is under $2 at wally world. This oil is blended by spectrum oil and is likely the same stuff as dolmar, makita, echo powerblend and baileys woodland pro.

I'm just splitting hairs here, if you want to use stihl oil thats great........ there's just no reason it should cost what it does.

HittinSteel said:

when mixed with premium ethanol free it is about a $10 gallon of gas/mix

Click to expand...

WTF?

What are you using?

Redd I asked the exact same thing?? Only thing I can think of is that their gas must cost 5-6 a gallon and then be using a bottle of oil that's $12 for a 2.5 gallon mix bottle?

Gee , if we count cost It costs me $4-500 a cord for wood as opposed to what I can make at work. So your fuel is the smallest part of this equation for me anyhow . A bit more if you count in my chiropractor

cheers all

Bigg_Redd said:

WTF?

What are you using?

Click to expand...

$5 for stihl ultra galllon mix and about 4 and change for a gallon of ethanol free.......and I mix at 40:1

HittinSteel said:

$5 for stihl ultra galllon mix and about 4 and change for a gallon of ethanol free.......and I mix at 40:1

Click to expand...

You need to buy in larger quantity.

No thanks, it's way overpriced in larger quantities as well.

I have heard lots on other forums use the Walmart or poilan syn oil. And said it was good. On a boat forum I am on they always talk about the Walmart 2 stroke and how its not let them down. I use the Walmart 2 stroke in my boats almost exclusively.

I just run the Amsoil Dominator racing 2 stroke mix, seafoam and premium.. My 12 year old MS360 Stihl has cut over 130 cords of wood, still has all the original carb parts , fuel lines , etc.. Zero problems.. What ever fuel mix is costing me is well worth having a 12 year old stihl that has NEVER had any issues and still runs like day one.. To save 2-5 dollars a gallon on fuel and have to be taking a saw apart for the amount of fuel used, no thanks... My stihl 4 mix trimmer , leaf blower all run as dependable as a 4 stroke... Start em and go... Stuff gets done here.. no monkeying with equipment.. Start working a tree top that takes a lot of awkward moves climbing and having a climbing saw that doesn't run right because you tried to save money on fuel mix gets real old real fast! So my thoughts were when I want my stuff to run, I know it will run without issues... To each his own... I don't want to take a beautiful running saw apart because it had carbon build up on the piston from running cheap oil mix and no seafoam for myself... In 12 years my stuff has never once not started.. That's all the proof I needed..

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Stihl = 0

# of oil refineries owned/operated by WalMart = 0

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Husqvarna = 0

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Poulan = 0

etc. . .

etc. . .

etc. . .

Bigg_Redd said:

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Stihl = 0

# of oil refineries owned/operated by WalMart = 0

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Husqvarna = 0

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Poulan = 0

etc. . .

etc. . .

etc. . .

Click to expand...

# of oil refineries owned/operated by Castrol = 0 = hype

It's simple really. Read the oil requirements of your saw (JASO FC, FD, FJ and/or ISO-L-EGO, etc.), then find the most economical oil that meets these requirements.
All else is hype.

HittinSteel said:

$5 for stihl ultra galllon mix

Click to expand...

I've never seen it priced like that around here. You need a new dealer my friend. That's ok tho. I was forced to buy a fuel line for an MS390 from a dealer I don't normally use. $16 and change. Yeah he stuck it in deep. Still hurts.

And that was the "dicounted" rate. The first syllable out of the kids mouth was "Twen..." Too bad I needed the line so badly, I would have thanked him for his time and left otherwise.

The little gray bottle and Premium gas run me about $6.00+ a gallon.

Every time I'm about to run out of 2 stroke oil, I buy a new saw at the dealership and they sell me a six pack to get the 2 year warranty.