Fuel Dinosaur
Posts: 83
Joined: 6/25/2002
From: Warrenton,
GA, USA
Status: offline
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I see your point in the previous post, but one problem folks do not seem to know. Despite all the hype, the more effective lubricant oils are quite expensive and most modelers will not pay for those oils, and some are specialty oils with relatively low production. Second, only in the U.S. and a few other countries do we even have the luxury of nitromethane. True it does help idle, and top end performance, but overseas, many engines are sold that are perfectly happy to run on FAI fuel. When we run low oil content fuels, we are largely compromising immediate performance for longer term output and lifespan. Another point is you seldom see an engine damaged from too much oil, but you will see a lot of engines nearly fried from using poor oils or too little oil. When you run your engine and see it really smoke when you land, you KNOW it has really been pushed to the limit or a little beyond? If you run many engines from about .15 size to at least 1.2 size on SIG 20% oil, half castor and half synthetic, they will be gooey and last a LONG time. You may need to clean them every few years, whether they need it or not. I can tell you that empirical experience mixing fuels for rat race and combat teaches you really fast how NOT to get a hole in the top of your piston or have the crankshaft crystallize on you and fly out the front of the engine.  Speed eventers even learned that even more quickly. Also, back during the old King Orange Internationals held in Miami FL off 27th Avenue, we tried Klotz oils and in many applications, the oil alone did NOT keep engines from burning up. We still had to use castor, which has been in use for well over 50 years now. Engines have greatly improved and we can now use about .40 size engines to match some older .60 sized engines. However, in our 2-strokes, the basic parts and need for oil remain the same. I have to call it as I see it and find it not a good idea to run 4-strokes on the pink stuff with that large excess of castor. Conversely, running nice ABC, ABN and AAC engines on 17% all synthetic oil is not always a good idea for most modelers. I know a lot of modelers do, but that is akin to saying I jumped off my roof 8 times and never broke my leg. That does not mean that I want to do that. Except for extreme competition flying, it is probably better to err on the side of a little more oil than too little. Modelers are not going to pay, as a group, for very expensive oils, and many, unfortunately, are avoiding castor. The article on the evils of castor and its quality did not help much either to clarify some of the issues. Castor AA and Benol (and a few others) have been around a long time and have served us well. The old fuel mixing dinosaur.
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Fuel for Thought - 
