Red Armor vs Stihl Ultra Datapoint

[Heffalump]

Friend brought over two saws this weekend; a gorgeous "red lever" 026 and a very fine 028 Super. Both saws ported by the same builder. I had run the 026 before and after the porting, never knew it to have any problems. This was my first time running the 028.

Anyhoo, both saws seemed to have idling issues. They cut fine. Fast and fun. Friend was running 32:1 93 clear with Stihl Ultra. He left the saws at my place as I have a potential buyer. Yesterday, I ran a little experiment. I emptied his Stihl Ultra blend from his saws, and filled them up with my fuel, Red Armor 32:1 in 93 clear. Once re-tuned, the idling was ridiculously smoother and more even, and the throttle response was what it should have been.

I'm beyond familiar with the "this oil is better than that oil" phenomena, but has anyone else ever experienced this obvious a performance difference? I'm just looking for a sanity check (wrong place to look for sanity, I know) to make sure I'm not imagining this.

 

[PissRev]

Stihl Ultra sucks but the quality of the fuel probably made the biggest difference on how the saw ran. You can occasionally get a bad tank of gas even from a top tier fuel retailer.

 

[mgr1]

What color had the sparkplug? Black from carbon when you mix this oil more than 50:1.

 

[CoreyB]

I have seen slight differences with oil. Throttle response, ease of tuning, starting, but most drastic changes I have seen is with fresh fuel. I am sure a quick 're tune helped as well.
But stihl ultra is one of my least favorite oils.

 

[Heffalump]

@PissRev and @CoreyB , My fuel is 93 ethanol free, about 1 month old? It gets Sta-Bil as soon as it gets to my house, and then mixed with the RA. Friend said his fuel was also "fresh" 93 ethanol free. Mine came from the local Chevron station. I assume his is of the same "quality." I mean, I doubt he's refracting it in his basement.

@mgr1 , I didn't pull any plugs. Probably should have.....?

The best I can glean from the overwhelming abundance of oil threads is that some oils seem to like certain engine sizes better than others, and some oils seem to do better at certain concentration ratios than others. Given my discussions with my builder, and other small 2-Cycle afficionados, it seems to me that Stihl Ultra does not like being run in a chainsaw/blower/trimmer at 32:1.

Though I could be completely wrong.....

 

[mgr1]

On the German site is this been talked a lot of times. This Stihl oil is only good at a 50:1 mix. Over here there are not that many people that mixes there own fuel.

Aspen 2, motomix alkylaat fuel mixed at the factory.

 

[jakethesnake]

I’ve seen way different running on different oils. Take benol vs husky low smoke Night n day.

 

[jackjcc]

I’ve used amsoil and Stihl in my 066 and the amsoil had a much csmoother idle than the Stihl oil. I have no idea what this means or if one is better than the other.


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[huskyboy]

I’ve used amsoil and Stihl in my 066 and the amsoil had a much csmoother idle than the Stihl oil. I have no idea what this means or if one is better than the other.


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Amsoil is good stuff, that’s what I run in my saws with good results.

 

[danimal]

Stihl ultra is prbly one of the worst oil there is. From my own experience.
Also it breaks down rapidly, even mixed in a sealed can.
Epa approved tho.

 

[Heffalump]

Stihl ultra is prbly one of the worst oil there is. From my own experience.
Also it breaks down rapidly, ever mixed in a sealed can.
Epa approved tho.

Yes. I read that the Stihl Ultra " is biodegradable, degrading by 80% in 21 days."
https://llequipment.stihldealer.net...nts-and-fuels/oils-and-lubricants/oilhpultra/

WTF does that mean? It means that when my builder (@Chainsaw Jim ) opened up my 044 and said "please Dave, please, in the name of all that is holy, STOP using Stihl Ultra" I listened and switched to Red Armor.

 

[mgr1]

Is this red armor US only? Can't find it here in Europe

 

[Czed]

I don't like any of the stihl and husky oils
They worked good enough
But several saw's i fixed had stuck rings
From husky and many had excessive
Carbon deposits from stihl.
But my biggest problem is they give me headaches.
Red armor doesn't and was nearly half price of a 6 pack of 2.5 gallon mix
12.99 versus 23.99
Onsale.
After a time running ra it softened
The carbon deposits
In my older saws
And black residue flowed out the exhaust.
May not be the best but it does the job for me.

 

[PissRev]

Is this red armor US only? Can't find it here in Europe

If you have Shindaiwa or Echo dealers where you live check in there and see if they sell it.

 

[Keith Gandy]

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/302470032222

 

[Mastermind]

Stihl Ultra at 50:1 only.

It's good oil if used correctly. Not great oil....but good.

 

[jakethesnake]

Stihl Ultra at 50:1 only.

It's good oil if used correctly. Not great oil....but good.

Why you spose it dislikes heavier ratios

 

[Mastermind]

Why you spose it dislikes heavier ratios

I'm not smart enough to know......but I suspect that it is designed to run at 50:1, and anything more causes an overloading of the additive package.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Randys probably right about the "package" no pun intended.

My two year test on stihl ultra ended the other day. Stored for two years no E stihl ultra in a ms260 and a 670echo. The fuel is more like kero. No light ends little smell and run like *s-word but it did not separate or damage anything in the fuel system. I will store saws again wet with this oil. Extra Staybill was added to this mix. Fuel change and they run good.

 

[mgr1]

I'm not smart enough to know......but I suspect that it is designed to run at 50:1, and anything more causes an overloading of the additive package.

Maybe something with epa regulation?