Engine and car questions

[SemiSalt]

1) How good is this stuff? How long can you keep treated gas?

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2) My car is a 2010 Mazda 5 with 65K miles. Last oil change Aug 2019. Maybe 1000 miles since. Do we still take advice to change the oil a couple times a year no matter how little you drive? Would it make sense to use a synthetic oil in a car not being used much?

[LarryHoward]

1) How good is this stuff? How long can you keep treated gas?

2021-01-31_15-32-43.png

2) My car is a 2010 Mazda 5 with 65K miles. Last oil change Aug 2019. Maybe 1000 miles since. Do we still take advice to change the oil a couple times a year no matter how little you drive? Would it make sense to use a synthetic oil in a car not being used much?

When you drive it, how do you drive it? Short runs that don’t get the oil (not the coolant) up to temp tends to concentrate acids, and is really hard on the engine. If you get it up to highway speeds for a 15-20 mile run, then it’s not too bad. I am a believer in full synthetic and would comfortably go a year between changes but still make sure it gets “run well” every few weeks. My Porsche has both oil and coolant temp. The coolant is up to operating temp in 3-4 miles in the winter. Oil takes 10 or more miles to the point that I take the long way home at least 1/week to exercise it.

As to the gas? I’d worry more about it than the oil having rebuilt mower and outboard carbs due to phase separation. I’ve heard that the 1/2 life of gasohol is 2-3 weeks before it starts to deteriorate but you are probably ok for 2-3 months For my “summer car”, I run it down to about 1/8 of a tank and put in 4-5 gallons of non ethanol gas before putting it away for the winter. I don’t use the stabil stuff. So far, it works well.

[Jamie]

The additives in multi-grade oil have a finite life. I change on a calendar if I don't get the miles. Getting the engine hot for an hour or so also gets the moisture out of the engine and oil.

I put synthetic in my old Perkins which only gets 300hrs over 10 years. I can't think of any reason to use non-synthetic oil.

I wouldn't bother put an additive in my fuel unless the car was going to sit a good while.

[SemiSalt]

I should have explained the fuel stabilizer is for the lawn mower/ snowblower gas can.

[Ken Heaton (Salazar)]

I should have explained the fuel stabilizer is for the lawn mower/ snowblower gas can.

I always use Premium gas (generally no Ethanol in Premium gas in Atlantic Canada) and fuel stabilizer in the gas for my lawn mower/ leaf blower / snowblower / generator, etc.

I stopped having trouble with those small engines after long storage periods once I started using the stabilizer. I put it in every gas can as I never know what will be the last time I will use that small engine before it gets stored for a length of time. Cheap insurance I think.

I use synthetic oil for the mixed gas, I don't bother for the small 4 strokes. I do use synthetic in the VW's (they came that way from the factory back in 2007) and in the Yanmar in the boat.

[LarryHoward]

I should have explained the fuel stabilizer is for the lawn mower/ snowblower gas can.

I use only ethanol free in the off road engines. Mowers, trimmers, chainsaws, 4X4, outboards, v-8 powerboat. Only mix up a small can of 2 stroke at a time. Keep about 10 gallons or fresh non ethanol on hand for the rest. If it sits for more than 2 months, it goes in the Toyota and gets burned.

[kdh]

I use Stabil for the small engine ethanol gas. I always shut the engines down by closing off the gas supply. Haven't had any problems in a while.

[H B]

I should have explained the fuel stabilizer is for the lawn mower/ snowblower gas can.

I use only ethanol free in the off road engines. Mowers, trimmers, chainsaws, 4X4, outboards, v-8 powerboat. Only mix up a small can of 2 stroke at a time. Keep about 10 gallons or fresh non ethanol on hand for the rest. If it sits for more than 2 months, it goes in the Toyota and gets burned.

+1 - I don't see any reason to need Stabil in E-Zero, although I suppose it doesn't hurt. All my small engines (incl. boat which is a 1.0L Atomic4) run E-Zero.
Also, if I know it won't run for a while (i.e. snowblower in March, lawnmower in December) I try to run all the gas out of it so there is no fuel sitting in the carb. If you are running E-10, it can phase separate as Larry commented, and leaves lemon jell-o in the carb.

[SemiSalt]

I was at the Mazda dealer to get a new back window wiper blade, and asked the service manager my oil change question. He was appalled the my last oil change was in 2019. I promised I'd be in for an oil change in a couple weeks when my vax could be presumed to be in full effect

[Jamie]

Newer engines that are running on thinner weight oils, with thinner ring lands and narrower bearings for reduced fuel consumption are particularly sensitive to the oil quality.

[Olaf Hart]

Ouch, just down the road...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-24/ ... /100092954

[BeauV]

Ouch, just down the road...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-24/ ... /100092954

We have a race here in the western US called the Silver State (https://sscc.us) which is run on a Nevada highway closed for the occasion. It brags that it is the world's fastest race, meaning average speed. A married couple of doctors I knew died running it in a Testarossa. The front right tire failed and the car cartwheeled across the desert. Amateur drivers and, more importantly, pre-teams really don't belong in this sort of event. My friends were running on appropriately rated tires but they were consumer street tires and simply couldn't deal with the heat and load of sustained speeds above 180 MPH.

Sigh, My own Walter Mitty near misses driving fast across Nevada to get to the ski area in Utah and Wyoming, convinced me to sell the 996-turbo. Picking bits of bunny rabbit out of the intercooler grill, remembering the violence of hitting even a tiny bunny, and realizing that there was F**K-all I could do about avoiding killing the thing was a real eye-opener. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here today if I'd kept up my once a month trip across Nevada's Route 50.

[kimbottles]

I am quite happy to be retired from SCCA ProRally.
I shutter to think of some of the things I have done in a Rally Car.

Sailing seems so much safer (and Susan is happy to be aboard our sailboat, she never got into one of the rally cars.)

[BeauV]

I am quite happy to be retired from SCCA ProRally.
I shutter to think of some of the things I have done in a Rally Car.

Sailing seems so much safer (and Susan is happy to be aboard our sailboat, she never got into one of the rally cars.)

I was never the driver, only the "naviguesser". We ended up upside down three times, once after a cartwheel. I'm amazed I lived through that period of my life. Commuting in New York City by bicycle seemed safe after that stuff.

[avramd]

Hey All,

I found myself unintentionally in the middle of a relevant experiment here. The TL/DR of it is this: It looks like I have evidence now that StarTron engine stabilizer REALLY F*ING WORKS.

In my continuing frustration with the question "What is the line between which engines require me to fuss about gas degradation for them or not," I've had the following first time experience:

For the first time since I have owned my house (Jun 2012), my snowblower crapped out for no apparent reason. It started fine, and ran for 30-45 mins, and then just stopped, with fuel in the tank, and wouldn't start again. I've used it every winter but one. It came with the house. It's an old Toro with a Tecumsah 4-stroke engine. The symptoms seem exactly like every time I've had an outboard crap out when bad gas was the conclusion.

Here is my best guess as to what happened: I think I have probably put StarTron engine stabilizer in it every time I filled it, except the most recent time. Since I have never had a problem with the device, I don't worry too much about it. So putting the StarTron in it has never been a profound experience for me (he said, with exaggerated gravity ). It's always just kinda been "eh, maybe I should throw some StarTron in there." A tank of gas often lasts two, sometimes even three seasons, depending on how much it snows. So, it may be that I've only filled it 3 times ever. I'm fairly certain that I didn't put StarTron in it when I filled it last winter. Beyond that, I have no recollection.

Here is the weak link in the chain: Last winter I DID have a can of E0 in my garage. Did I use it? Did I remember that I had it? Did I drive to the gas station with a gas can like an idiot while I had a can of E0 right there, even though that would have been the best thing to use? I have no idea. I'm just certain that I did not put StarTron in it the last time, and have a pretty good feeling I have every other time.