EXOL OIL

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

Ideally, the crankshaft will be one that you built in the first place & can validate runout & build quality, the actual kit utilised, &, of course, the type of Exol oil used exclusively)

I can assure you there's a few LCGB BSM winning members and BSSO Championship winning racers that can vouch for the run out and build quality!

That was never in question!

However, analysis of a crankshaft requiring a rebuild of unknown provenance cannot be totally representative if the original build quality is unknown, surely?

On the other hand, if such an example exists where a crankshaft built by you, was returned to you for rebuild after utilising Exol Optima @ 2%, then I would be interested to know.

[jonashford]

Ive used exol fully synth at 4% for around 6 years along with a few mates. Ive had the rings gum up twice in that time never had a crank go tho or a bearing. Done many many thousands of miles won the lcgb bsm using it so did my riding companion that year, many euros on the stuff blah blah. Its a bit smoky stinks in raw form but its dirt cheap compared to other oils. You pay ur money you makes ur choice. wen doing high mileage the saving in oil makes a big difference imo

[Storkfoot]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll give the Exol fully synth a go

Hmmh. I didn’t. I bottled out and bought SiP oil, the one they offer as fully synthetic but, in reality, isn’t.

I did this as I had previous good experience of this oil.

Next time I pull the engine apart I may have a better idea as to whether that was a good move.

[Scooterdude]

Thanks for the replies. I’ll give the Exol fully synth a go

the one they offer as fully synthetic but, in reality, isn’t.

Really? Why?

[Storkfoot]

I’m referring to SIP oil, not Exol.

[Scooterdude]

I’m referring to SIP oil, not Exol.

I know you were. I was just curious as to how/why you came to the conclusion their fully is only semi..

[Storkfoot]

I’m referring to SIP oil, not Exol.

I know you were. I was just curious as to how/why you came to the conclusion their fully is only semi..

It’s marketed as “SIP Formula Race 2-Stroke synthetic oil” but it’s not fully synthetic, apparently.

[dscscotty]

So had a little time to photograph crankshafts/Big end bearings that have been run on exol,
Pic1-2 This was a TS1 motor, the conrods big end eye showed signs of overheating (Bluing) as did the BE cage and the rollers,

,



Pic 3-4 another big end ran on exol-bluing/overheating visible on rollers/ cage/ pin





pic 5-6 Big ends/pins from TS1 running motul semi



Big ends exol-motul semi


spot the exol ran BE


Crank pins-exol

non exol


When it all goes wrong an RB20 rod/bearing/pin=The owner was running a high grade castrol fully synthetic @2% after listening to his mates and reading internet forums regarding 2 stroke oil % ratio's , a very expensive lesson in the art of Lambretta crankshaft under lubrication.

[Dazts1]

That’s just made my mind up. I’m still running at 4 percent. And hovering around 7/7500 rpm on Sunday with the occasional blast up to 8500rpm over the 115m ride home. I’d say I’d be in the danger zone with a percentage drop on the oil with crap pump fuel we using on the road. I’ll stick to 4 percent and give you the crank to strip at the end of the season. See how it looks.

[Jeff t]

I’ve used exol optima at 3% for a good few years both on my imola GP and a small block mugello on my S2. Never had any issues and both have been stripped down. Now I can’t say I examined the crank in detail but there was no immediate evidence of any issues. I’m almost out of oil now and this thread has got me thinking if I should change and what to.

[ToBoldlyGo]

Blimey! That's sobering. I was using the Exol semi. Not sure I'll be doing that again.

[dickie]

Blimey! That's sobering. I was using the Exol semi. Not sure I'll be doing that again.

But which oil has what problem?

I'm confused.

Is it the full or semi that causes problems? Then, what is the problem? Ring gumming? Lack of lubrication? I've even heard holed pistons blamed on exol.

I can understand all but the holed piston. But are they all really to be attributed to exol, and if so, which type?

[Meds]

If you go back a few pages - I had gummed rings on 2 scooters.
Both sets were worn - one set had done in the region of 5000mls the other much less
I use exol fully synth.

[dickie]

If you go back a few pages - I had gummed rings on 2 scooters.
Both sets were worn - one set had done in the region of 5000mls the other much less
I use exol fully synth.

Thanks, so is the semi ok? Or are people seeing problems with that too?

Was it fully synthetic on those cranks that scotty was showing? Or simply too little oil?

[ToBoldlyGo]

I had a knackered small end bearing running on the semi. Plain lack of lubrication by the look of it. But there was another little incident that did make me wonder. I was running the semi on another scooter and it had a bit of a harsh edge to it. Changed to Groundsman and straight away the engine seemed to settle down and run smoother. Goes beautifully now. That's not proof I know, but it does make you think. But even so if you put the two side by side, so to speak, you'll notice that the exol is thinner.

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

As none of us are in 'laboratory conditions' where everything can be verified for precise comparison, we can only go with our own experiences & preferences.

From what can be seen, that particular RB engine doesn't seem to be happy with a crankshaft run with Exol, but I have experienced no such issues with the engines I have built.

That said, the oil way slots in the conrods I have, have always been enlarged significantly compared to the one that is depicted having failed. Just saying......

[dscscotty]

The knackered RB rod was actually ran on high grade castrol fully synth but @ 2%, he just spent to much time listening to his mates and reading internet forums, and did not heed advice or infact those of the supplier/manufacturer who states in their info regarding the kit that %4 is a requirement, this was a very expensive lesson.

[Scooterdude]

I’ve just started using Exol fully synthetic at 4% as a sort of experiment really more than anything else, my thinking is most people seem to run this oil at 3 or even 2% and complain about ring sticking.

Judging by the pictures above 3 or 2% is clearly not enough oil and apart from the excessive wear obviously there will be a lot more heat generated, so I’m wondering could this excessive heat be over cooking the oil to the point of turning it into a thick tar like substance hence the ring sticking and blocked ports etc? is that plausible, I’ve no idea.

One thing I have noticed though with this Exol oil is the same as one of the above posters has remarked and that is the engine seems to have a very harsh edge to it all of a sudden, something it didn’t do when running on Groundsman.

[HxPaul]

I’ve just started using Exol fully synthetic at 4% as a sort of experiment really more than anything else, my thinking is most people seem to run this oil at 3 or even 2% and complain about ring sticking.

Groundsman is a semi-synth oil.As far as I can see you're comparing apples and oranges.Why dont you compare Exol Super semi - synth with groundsman,that'll be a better comparison.

[bsso78]

I use fully biodegradable second hand chip fat at 3.65% and recently completed a round trip to Greggs over the road flat out all the way there and back. Ran faultlessly. I think that’s all the proof needed.