my buddie has a 2000 zr600 and he dont use artic cat oil he uses cheap 2cycle oil from walmart only 5 bucks a gallon we put on close to 1000 miles last week in the u.p and no problems has anyone tried this? i think iam gonna sent samples out to see if thier is a diffrence between the cheap stuff (TECH) and my polaris lube and switch my sleds over it beats 17.00 a gal for polaris oil i can get a 4 gal of TECH for 20.00
maybe the manufacuters are blowing smoke up are arses let me know what u think!

I think......

You spend big money on your sled, whats a few more dollars on oil.

I don't run OEM oil, as I do believe your paying a lot for the name. But I also wouldn't run cheap crap in any of my toys.

Try Amsoil, its less expensive and better than most on the market.

FishHog

P.S. your not going to see any difference in 1000 miles, but I will almost guarentee you will after 10,000.

I had a motorcycle, 1993 KLX650 (shared engine/tranny oil), that would get very difficult to shift on a hot day. I switched to a synthetic (from the standard petro base oils i was using) and presto, shifted smooth as silk no matter how hot it got. The reason for this is that synthetics don't break down under heat like petro bases, they retain their viscosity and shear strength much better in high heat and high stress conditions. How much more stressful can you get than a two stroke running over 8 grand down a lake or rail grade for miles at at time? Oil DOES make a difference.

They are not all the same. The most important things to look for are the ratings. For a small high speed engine like we run you want oil rated by JASO and ISO. JASO's highest rating is FC while ISO rates even harder to GD. Look for those ratings. Avoid ashless TC-W3 oils as they are made for cooler water cooled, constant speed, lower max rpm engines.

I have never run OEM oils very much but I also don't run the cheapest oils. Anything rated JASO FC or ISO GD will be a semi-synthetic (but not all semi-synthetics are so rated). I've got a 16,000 mile Polaris engine that doesn't know the taste of Polaris oil. At 13,000 miles I was going to change the pistons and rings. The ring gaps were only .004 over max allowable but the pistons showed almost no wear and no sign of cracking in the skirts so it only got new rings.

Boy oh boy i sure wouldn't put that cheap crap in my sled. I'm sure it doesn't matter but as for the person riding behind ya it does matter what oil ya use lol. I use oem but wanna switch to amsoil. Yeah ya pay a lot of money for a sled and put tons of pride into it just to turn around and give it cheap azz oil lol not me, but i don't buy the most expensive oil either cause ya do pay for the name mostly.

Got a buddy who runs only walmart in his either 00 or 01 indy 5. I run only shell advance in my 93 xlt sp.

Boy, that Walmart oil sounds good. Right now I run Arctic Blue oil from Fleet Farm at $9.99 ($8.99 on sale) a gal :) .

Auggie

Speaking of Arctic Blue. I have never had opportunity to use it but the website of the manufacterer has some good general info about oils and their application. I realize that one company might put out info that might make their product(s) appear in a favorable light. However, this info can also be found in many other places not connected with this company.

http://www.goa-northcoastoil.com/tips/2cycleol.html