| Oil and emissions has become a hot topic with the release of OMCs
Ficht Fuel Injected motors as well as Mercury's DFI OptiMax
motors. These motors promise to reduce oil consumption and
emissions to near 4-stroke levels while still delivering on the 2
cycle's natural advantages of low weight and crisp acceleration.
Wouldn't it be great if we could capitalize on those improvements with
the current motors we own?
Well, you must might be able to, with today's high performance
Synthetic Lubricants. Lubricants - like the motors themselves -
have come a long way over the last few years. Today's lubes smoke
less and protect better than ever before. The top of the heap,
what I would term "Ultralubes", are Synthetic, TCW3 rated,
contain no carbon based petroleum products, and can provide those
excellent running characteristics I describe in addition to better
protection for ultra high rpm race motors.
The advantages are many. Synthetic Lubricants such as
Synergyn's TCW-3 rated Outboard Oil will smoke far less, provide better
protection, and smell much better than today's premium petroleum based
Manufacturer's (Mercury/OMC oil). Due to their basic composition,
these "Ashless" formulas do not have carbon to burn,
therefore, fouled plugs and excessive carbon buildup on pistons are a
thing of the past. In addition, these oils can be mixed at lighter
ratios. In today's Mercury 2.5 EFI 260 HiPerf motors, Mercury recommends
running their Synthetic Blend formula at 32:1. This is a fine oil,
but when run next to Synergyn, it smokes more and smells horribly.
In addition, the Synergyn oil can be run safely at 50:1 and it costs
less to begin with. This may sound too good to be true, but once
you make the switch, you'll be impressed like I was when I first started
using the product in my Drag Boat.
Synthetic Gear Lube also carries significant advantages.
This lube will provide added protection for a longer time - and actually
cost significantly less than the manufacturer's gear lube. We sell
our own line of Synthetic Gear Lube called "Rapid Red" that
will stick to the gears of your motor far better than typical lube, yet
is much slicker than petroleum based lube. Some users have actually seen
performance gains from using Synthetic based lubricants.
So, if you're still using your OEM recommended oil, try using
Synthetics. Today's synthetics can be mixed with petroleum based
oils, so you don't need to run out of your other oil, however to see the
full benefit of a synthetic, it's best not to mix the two and try to run
a 100% synthetic tank.
Sam Baker,
Baker Marine Support, Antioch, IL |
