Diesel lubricants possible 2 cycle alternative.
 

I have been poking around in the diesel world and found a few interesting threads, tests, and articles about the best possible lubricants for diesel fuel systems, more specifically injection pumps. My thinking is perhaps these could be applied to our engines. I did a little digging.

The additive in the test -Opti-Lube XPD- differs from the one in my crosshairs -Opti-Lube XL- in that XPD contains cetain booster and many other additives whereas XL concentrates mainly on lubrication. XL was not out yet at the time of the test, but even XPD is said to have a lower (better) HFRR score than TCW3 premix. In fact according to the data TCW3 scored quite low, 7th place.

The link to said test:

Lubricity Additive Study Results - Diesel Place : Chevrolet and GMC Diesel Truck Forums

This link is a test done between XPD and XL for comparison sake.

Opti-Lube posted a HRFF Test with pump fuel with XPD and XL from Intertek - Chevy and GMC Duramax Diesel Forum

As you can see they’re mixing XPD at ½oz/Gal. According to Opti-Lube the recommended ratio for XL is 1/8 to 1/4 oz per gallon. My thinking is at an 1/8 oz per gallon of XL you would be getting far superior lubrication than 2 cycle oil at 1 oz per gallon. It seems to me that with a Rotary Aviation adapter and a reservoir, straight XL fed through the MOP would be an extremely good amount of protection at any power level. or one could simply mix with their gas like many of us do. As for the chemical composition of both products, here are the MSDS’s. I don't know enough about chemistry to know what could be harmful to our engines in these products that isn't to diesel.

http://opti-lube.com/downloads/MSDS/DFI-XL-MSDS.pdf

http://www.aoc.nrao.edu/engineering/...gine%20oil.pdf

Finally, I contacted Opti-Lube about using this product in 2 cycle engines (similar enough not to confuse him with rotary talk) and this is what they had to say:

Me:
I have been wondering what makes Opti-Lube Xl diesel specific. If it's a better lubricant than 2 cycle oil, what's preventing someone from running it in a 2 cycle dirt bike or 4 wheeler per say?

“Hello,
I'm not sure on the XL in the application you are trying to use it for. It has only been tested as a diesel additive. It may work great for what you are thinking of doing, I'm just not sure. I do have people that run the additives in gas vehicles without problems and I usually recommend a half ratio of the diesel ratio. Hope that helps.”

Thoughts?

Interesting. Very interesting.

I put two stroke in my Toyota diesel 4 cyl turbo. Helps lube the pump and clean injectors etc. Not every tank, but every now and again. Can hear the difference.

Would be interesting how the diesel additives work in a rotary.

I don't know, but, It seems to me that the conditions inside an injection pump and those inside a rotor housing, are not the same.

The way two stroke oil works with gasoline, is when the mix is put into the hot chamber the fuel flashes away and leaves the oil to lube the apex seal and housing. Is there any evidence that this diesel additive will work this way?

The oil manufacturers are always trying to improve their products, and the engine manufacturers are always working with them to get the most out of their products.

So If this is indeed a new solution, I'd expect us to find out about it when the powersports guys start substituting this diesel additive for what they've been using.

Bumping this up to subscribe and show interest. I'm looking forward to reading more about this.

Bump... any more info on this topic guys?

I ran some mini preliminary experiments regarding separation. I have a small sealed glass container where I mixed 50/50, TCW3 & Opti-lube XL. I’ve determined that once mixed with 2 cycle oil, it won’t separate, even after a month of the jars going untouched. I then mixed it with gasoline, same result, no separation. Lastly I did a gasoline/TCW3/Opti-lube three way mix and after another month of sitting, no separation. There is another test I want to do and that is to see if Opti-lube separates in E85, but I do not have easy access to this fuel.

I have an RA OMP adapter and have been running straight TCW3 through it. I’ve decided after I finish the unrelated engine upgrades and get it back on the road, I will do a 50/50 Opt-lube/TCW3 mix. With the ratio of Opti-lube recommended, it should still be an effective amount administered into the engine, even when cut with TCW3. After a year I will tear the engine down to see if there is anything ‘off’ that could be related to poor lubrication and if I like what I see, I’ll then run straight Opti-lube.

Hi there.
I just stumbled upon this great thread.
Bit of a long shot but did you end up doing your experimentation ? If so, i would be veeeery interested in the result. Thanks man :nod:

Unfortunately my S4 oil metering pump adapter got damaged and I am unable to replace it with a new one as they only make the S5 version for some reason. I have opened WTB threads to no avail. With that said, I do not want to premix the XPD version with the fuel because of its cetane booster. The XL also has a small amount of cetane booster, smallest of their mixes, but it's still there and I am unsure if this will affect the gasoline's octane enough to cause issues when mixed.

In other words even the XL version I feel would best be suited for the oil metering pump to inject as I don't feel it would have any effect on the fuels octane administered this way. long story short, I need an s4 pump adapter or to modify a pump to continue this experiment and have had bigger projects in the way. I plan on getting back to this in the near future.

Ok i will be waiting for you then :)
The setup in your signature looks solid !

A diesel fuel additive will be desiged to lube a diesel fuel system not a two stroke combustion chamber.

This is obvious, but who is to say that it couldn't work in an application that it wasn't designed for? Opti-lube themselves stated there are customers using it in gas engines for lubrication purposes.. presumably 2 cycle engines. It has been mentioned that 2 cycle oil leaves a film after the combustion process. I cannot find anything that said weather or not the Opti-lube fuel lubricants behave this way. If they do, I see no reason why this wouldn't be a better option than 2 cycle oil. or possibly blending it with 2 cycle oil to make a hybrid with an increased HFRR somewhere in between the two.