By Terry Brown

 

The two stroke engine is still alive and well on our lakes but if you buy a new engine its more and more likely that a four stroke could be in your future. Mercury and Yamaha have four strokes in just about all model lines and although Evinrude still has two stroke technology their HO has more similarity to a four stroke in many regards. 

 

Gone are the days of mixing oil in the gas with four strokes, they are quieter, and performance has increased. Fuel economy has also been aided by four stroke technology. Even though outboards will never probably be gauged on miles per gallon very highly, there are little things owners can do to increase that effectiveness as well. A good synthetic oil used in four strokes increases their effectiveness. Better cold starts, less smoke and less engine wear are bi-products of lubrication.

 

We are fortunate here at the Man Cave to have two boats for testing. One is a Ranger Banshee 168 with a  9.9 Yamaha electric start four stroke and the other is a Ranger Z520 with a 250 Yamaha VMax two stroke. With two great lubrication companies on board in Royal Purple and Lucas Oil here at Wired2Fish we can test products over the long haul and see if marketing claims meet desired outcomes. So far we have been impressed with both companies offerings. We currently run all Lucas in the Z520 and all Royal Purple in the Banshee.  Lets talk about the Banshee first. We will highlight the Lucas products on the Z520 later.

 

Since early spring we have run Royal Purple products solely on this boat. This boat gets the most use, a factor not taken lightly, due to  proximity of two different horsepower restricted lakes near the office. We have changed out lower unit lube, four stroke engine oil and packed wheel bearings with Royal Purple grease. We use Royal Purple Maxfilm on it as well to lubricate, protect, and eliminate rust.

 

I have used Royal Purple Gear Lube for years and have had zero problems. (https://www.wired2fish.com/Media1193/Man-Cave--Changing-lower-unit-lube.aspx) I continue to base buying decisions on my experience and that experience tells me that a small "heavy" boat with a small outboard needs an advanced formulation to protect gearing and synthetic oil is a must for that application.

 

I also drained and refilled the engine with Royal Purple four stroke oil March 1. The filter was changed at the same time. There were no issues with the outboard prior to servicing but I had noticed I was using more fuel than when it was new. No reason to worry much with a 3 gallon fuel tank but it was evident I was losing performance. The Royal Purple changed all of that.

 

After changing to the Royal Purple SAE 10W-30 oil, per manufacturers specifications, I noticed right away the engine started easier, no smoke, and I regained the horsepower I had lost. Even though its only a 9.9 horsepower engine a couple of RPM's make a big difference. I also noted that my fuel consumption decreased back to the standards of old.

 

Royal Purple offers cooler running temperatures that helps engine life too. My engine is running cleaner with less emissions and with the performance I was hoping for.

 

You can purchase Royal Purple products at Tackle Warehouse and have them shipped directly to your door.