What fuel is best for your engine?

What fuel is best for your engine?

There is a concern throughout the fuel industry that many of the world’s engine manufacturers are too conservative when recommending lubricating oil percentages for their products. A high lubricating oil percentage never hurt an engine … or did it? A growing body of experimental and practical evidence suggests that modern engines are being impaired by excessive oil content in the fuel. Here are three examples:

  • The engine has difficulty maintaining a reliable, low-rpm idle.
  • The engine has difficulty obtaining a crisp throttle-up.
  • The engine exhibits diminished wide-open throttle power.

THE TRADITIONAL MODELER
Suggest reducing the fuel’s oil content to a traditional modeler, and there’ll ...

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Updated: July 16, 2015 — 11:11 AM

7 Comments

  1. I have a simple approach if they won’t disclose their percentages I won’t buy from them period. I am also very vocal on the subject at the field and in the LHS. My first question to my fellow fliers is this: If they won’t disclose their percentages what have they got to hide? My second question is: If they won’t disclose their percentages what else are they hiding and is it worth risking your motors? Most people answer no to the second question. We vote for disclosure with our wallets.

  2. Seems they learned their pricing structure from the big boys (gas distributors)and rake in the extra profit when their costs drop. If Nitro is made in India, why do they buy it from China? Is it because the Indian refineries require large bulk purchases that the USA fuel blenders can’t or won’t make? This is one reason I have been experimenting with electric and gas powered planes… as for my gliders, they are not effected by this dilemma 🙂

  3. It seems to me that the swing is to gas engines, they are coming down in size and I believe a .60 is available now. So maybe in a few years this subject will be moot!!!

  4. Dave,
    Having been a modeller for 36 yrs now, I am still running the same Rossi .40 and .60’s. I have not had a single issue with either motor, and the bearings are still original. I only run Sig’s Champion fuel, 15% nitro and 20% oil (1/2 castor, and Half Klotz!!!!) I had heard all the hype, and went against what Clarence Lee advises about castor use, and used straight synthetics in my YS .60 and 61’s and ate the bearings in pretty short order, about 2-3 gallons. Same happened to my buddies Saito 4 strokes, loosing bearings. Castor during high heat becomes even more slick, breaking down to its ester
    components. I switched back to running straight castor, or the 50/50 both from Sig, and have never looked back. My YS 60 has 250 flights since the bearing were installed. (Boca’s cheap ones) Well over the 2-3 gallon limit reached, the bearings show no signs of wear and the engine still runs great on a pipe. I am sorry, I don’t agree what you propose. This isn’t just me and one other person here. We have had club members running OS .55’s eat chrome off the cylinders, any guess what fuel they were running? Cool Power Synthetic. I have 3 OS 55’s and none have ate the liner, and the same is true for our SPAD Pylon racers running 55’s on Caster based, 20% oil.
    RC cars may run on lower oil, yet I have not seen many 30+ yr old car engines out there, and the fact you may get a couple hundred RPMs, better transition, idle etc…Im not buying it man, I would rather have the longevity in my engines. I dont think Mr. Lee would agree with you either.

    Bryan

  5. As someone who has been involved with model airplanes for over 50 years and has always blended his own fuel,the information presented here is spot on . I have found the same results as the author. Thanks ,Skip Chernoff AMA 90423

  6. I am using wildcat 15% 2 & 4 stroke fuel in an os 46(old) also a super tiger 51. How much castor oil should I add to this to be safe?? Where is a good place to buy castor. Jim…

  7. The right composition for a diesel engines ,if there is eny one to help me,and the right mixture on a 4stroke engines 48 suprapass.

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