ORIGINAL: XJet

I used to run BelRay back in the 1970s when I rode motorcross and could not believe that it provided as much protection as it did at the dilution ratios recommended. There's no way we'd have used a standard petroleum 2-stroke oil at those ratios.

These days I think most synthetics are pretty close in performance -- but I'm still reluctant to use the old big-name dino-oils.

When I ran out of "known quality" 2-stroke oil for my lawn-mower, I bought a liter of Valvoline 4-stroke mower oil. Before I'd used half of it my mower was stuffed. The piston and rings were badly scuffed in a matter of 10 hours running or less. This was after nearly a decade of reliable operation on Castrol's dino-2stroke oil.

I should have know better -- the thin blue Valvoline just didn't look like it was a good oil (when compared to the much thicker Castrol). I wouldn't risk a model gasser engine to anything but the best oil I can afford.