Beware of "pro-mix 2-cycle"

[Farmerford]

turbofiat124:

Trabant! My daughter is embarrassed by my 1976 Impala. A Trabant would make her apoplectic! That would be the dorkiest (her word) car in town (there is a 1950 Crosley that is a close second). How in the world did you get it?

Chuck Ford

PS: I don't mean to give offense by calling your car dorky.

 

[turbofiat124]

I like to think of it as "quirky". After owning several hotrods like a Mustang GT, other 302 powered Fords, Fiat turbo powered cars, I've given my Trabbi the kickname "Slugo". But it's still a blast to drive.

About a hundred or so Trabants have trickled into the US. I went through an importer in Miami who imports cars and stuff from his native Hungary who brought it in with three other cars on a sea container. So the cost of importing it did not cost as much as if it were a single car. Also I got it for half of what they are going for on Ebay. If I had bought one already here. It was sort of a "package deal". He found me the car, had it shipped to Miami, did the customs paperwork, titled it in Florida and found a guy to bring it to me.

Ever since I first saw them on TV in 1989 I wanted one and told myself if the import laws ever changed I'd get one. So now that the car is 30 years old, I can register it in Tennessee. Actually there are other ways of registering newer models in Tennessee. The year itself doesn't actually matter. It's the fact if the car is newer than 30 years old (without a US title) the DMV is hard to deal with. If it had already been registered in another state, then all that matters is a clear title from that state. I know a guy near Nashville who has an 87 model which was registered first in the US from another state. The 30 year requirement was more/less due to Florida's DMV laws. Because the car came from overseas, it was easier to get the importer to title it in Florida before he sold me the car. Otherwise the local hicks down at the DMV does not fool with paperwork unless it's written in English. So all I had to do was hand them a Florida title, pay the usual 4% autotax and that was it.

Tennessee is awful when trying to register cars like from Georgia because if the car is older than 1986 Georgia doesn't require a title. Is that correct? I went round and round with them over a 79 Fiat 131 I bought in Atlanta. I had a bill of sale but because the car had been passed around, it was unknown who registered it last.

But anyway that's it in a nutshell.

 

[ultrarunner]

I bought a 1950 Crosley convert from New York state that doesn't title old cars... it was a big pain at the CA DMV.

Maybe I'm old school... still use the two cycle mix ratio according to the owner's manuals... 16 to 1, 32 to 1 and 40 to 1 is what I use most.

The 1939 Sachs Motorcycle is 16 to 1 and my old Evinrude Lark.

 

[sd455dan]

Lol! Guy brought an electric Poulan in to me the other day and said "man, this things is just not cutting good!". He too had the chain on backwards lol! I was trying not to laugh when I looked at it but boy was it hard to keep a straight face. Poor guy was running the saw to death and getting nowhere.........

Wish I could find another Super XL for parts, it sure was a good saw. My Stihl's and Husqvarna's are nice saws, but I used the Super XL for cutting dirty wood, stumps and such.

I guess that's better than pulling the trigger and having the guy say (WHATS THAT SOUND!??)

 

[sd455dan]

The thing about the old saws requiring lots of oil in the mix is a reflection of the quality of the oil at the time. I believe they just used straight 30wt. Comparing today's oil to oil from 1965 is apples and oranges. I'm running Mobil1 Racing 2T in my saws until I run out (they discontinued it a couple years ago, 3 quarts remaining) and then I will be switching to Stihl Ultra in the white bottle.

My point is that if you use a good quality name brand oil, 50:1 should be good in any saw whether it's 30 days or 30 years old.

Ian

I like to add a little more oil if the mix used to be 24:1 or less... I don't know if it has been mentioned but my understanding is when you mix a new 2 stroke oil at a much higher oil to gas mix (lower ratio) it can change the viscosity of the mix and reduce the rate, of the mixed fuels flow through the jets thereby leaning out the total air fuel mix. Most air cooled 2 strokes over heat if run on a to lean air fuel mix. Conversely most people assume the extra oil richens the mixture it makes the mix contain more lubrication but will actually push the air/ fuel ratio lean... my:2cents:

Thought I would add this most outboard oils should not be used in air cooled 2 strokes, with unlimited cooling outboards have a much easier time controlling cylinder and head temperature, air cooled 2 strokes need a better quality oil , we just ran into this problem recently when a relative built a scooter based on an old saw.

Apparently he had some old Valvoline outboard two stroke oil ,the scooter would start an run fine for about 5 minutes under load then get hot, quit. not restart till it cooled down, after a few days of trying everything he could think of he brought it to me . I asked what he was using for oil and when he showed me I just shook my head , gave him the above speach. We dumped the fuel- mixed some fresh Husky saw oil and gasoline I had.

He fired it up and no problem since .. in fact it goes like 45+ mph on 12"x 2 1/2" tires...told him to be careful...

 

[3v0]

Sometime a two stroke that will not run has the exhaust port clogged by carbon.

 

[DrBill]

I know this is an old-old thread but I've got to mention something here about pro-mix. This name has been bootlegged several times.. The stuff sold at the big box store is not the original brand that made the name popular. The real stuff is really good.

The real stuff is pro-mix ultra and is distributed by Sunbelt. This is the only variety that is original.. This stuff is Jaso rated and I've used it since it came out. You won't find any bad stories about this..

I even used it in my KTMs and Maicos, as well as the saws and eaters.

 

[CincyFlyer]

If it stated 40:1 = that entire bottle in a gallon of gas then that would make sense. I don't see how it could work for all ratios unless you adjust the amount of oil per gallon...

That bottle would make a 50:1 ratio, actually. Some old engines use twice that, even up to 20:1.

 

[RandyT]

I received a bottle of a multi mix a few years ago for me to try. It was a synthetic mix designed to replace all mix ratios. If mixed according to the directions was actually a 100:1 mix. this type of stuff has been on the market for about 20 years or more.