# Amsoil Sabre oil. Any good?



## hardpan (Dec 7, 2011)

I've read casual mentions of Amsoil Sabre oil as being OK. Is anyone aware of actual testing that makes the comparison between Amsoil and others like Stihl Ultra synthetic. I am certain that the best we can do for our engines is use the best oil. Personal experience is of course valued from the heavy users/pros.


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## cheeves (Dec 7, 2011)

hardpan said:


> I've read casual mentions of Amsoil Sabre oil as being OK. Is anyone aware of actual testing that makes the comparison between Amsoil and others like Stihl Ultra synthetic. I am certain that the best we can do for our engines is use the best oil. Personal experience is of course valued from the heavy users/pros.



There are many threads of oil on AS with many test results and experienced users. Amsoil is better than OK. It is one of the best if not the best oil out there. I use it.


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## komatsuvarna (Dec 7, 2011)

Reckon we could get an oil sub forum ??:biggrinbounce2:

Amsoil saber is fine oil, just don't mix it at 100:1. About any modern day synthetic oils are good at 40-50:1.


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## Nitroman (Dec 7, 2011)

Blendzall bey-beh! Ahhhh the smell of castor and AVgas in the early afternoon.....

www.blendzall.com


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## bushwackr (Dec 7, 2011)

I have used a gallon and a tish this year. My saws, weedeater, fogger ,and now my ice auger couldnt be happier. I use it in anything 2 stroke.


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## cheeves (Dec 7, 2011)

*Belmont Co., Ohio*



Nitroman said:


> Blendzall bey-beh! Ahhhh the smell of castor and AVgas in the early afternoon.....
> 
> www.blendzall.com



I used to live out near there! Belmont County Ohio. I lived off of rt. 70 in Belmont and Bethesda. Still have friends out there. One Jimmy Boyle has a realestate and bails bond business in St. Clairsville, right up the hill from Martin's Ferry. Still writes and calls regularly. Nice people out there. To tell the truth miss it. Fantastic deer hunting and the firewood is to die for.


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## dboyd351 (Dec 7, 2011)

Many of the guys on the Lawnsite forum swear by Amsoil Sabre for their handheld trimmers and such. Like komatsuvarna said, don't mix it at 100:1, though. I think at 50:1 you would be fine.


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## hardpan (Dec 7, 2011)

Interesting. I have never heard of Blendzall. We tend to trust an oil name that is shared with the name of a major saw manufacturer, and they do want their product to last, but realistically they make chainsaws and not oil. I use only aviation gas and I simply want to match it with the best oil I can find. I already use Amsoil in my cars and trucks but I know many companies have different quality levels in their different products.


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

Check my sig and you'll know what's good enough for all my chainsaws, and has been for years. You'll also learn how to spell it.


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## K&L Landscaping (Dec 7, 2011)

I have flirted with the idea of switching to Amsoil Sabre for the cost savings but the STIHL HP Ultra has been fantastic. If it isn't broke...


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## Wolfcsm (Dec 7, 2011)

It sure seems good to me. I mix a bit less than 50:1 but no where near 100:1. Works well in modern saws as well as the 30 year old ones also.

My question: How does it do combating some of the issues with ethonol?


Hal


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## hardpan (Dec 7, 2011)

I wouldn't dare go to 100:1. Probably some day we will though like we now use 50:1 in engines that were designed for 32:1. Lube has advanced so much and will continue to get better.


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## CJ1 (Dec 7, 2011)

I have ran Sabre and have no complaints about it. But like was stated DO NOT run it at 100:1. I am at about 30 gallons of fuel with Amsoil Dominator used this year between the saws and dirtbikes at 45:1 and it is my oil of choice. Also I don't sweat the ratio anything between 40:1 and 50:1 is good. CJ


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## CJ1 (Dec 7, 2011)

My question: How does it do combating some of the issues with ethonol?


Hal[/QUOTE]

Hal this is JMHO but nothing will fix ethonol but fresh fuel, OR buy gas with none in it. I go out of my way to be sure of it. Ethonol is a poor idea in Anything in my book. CJ


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## RTK (Dec 7, 2011)

Amsoils not bad, just don't even think of running it at 100:1. Of all the oils I have tested it seemed to leave the hardest deposits of all


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## Wolfcsm (Dec 7, 2011)

CJ1 said:


> My question: How does it do combating some of the issues with ethonol?
> 
> 
> Hal



Hal this is JMHO but nothing will fix ethonol but fresh fuel, OR buy gas with none in it. I go out of my way to be sure of it. Ethonol is a poor idea in Anything in my book. CJ[/QUOTE]

It is starting to be where there is ethonol in most gas. My John Deere dealer also sells Echo and Shindawa saws. He has been touting Shindawa RED ARMOR as a way to mitigate the effects of ethonol. Said that one of his commercial accounts ran 60 trimmers on it this year. In a normal year he replaces about half of them. This year only 3 needed replacing.

Hal


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## pops21 (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm a amsoil user also. Well I switch from stihl ultra to amsoil dominator. Dad likes the stihl premeasured bottles. So when he gets new gas stihl ultra goes in. If I get the gas its a toss up between the two.


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## CJ1 (Dec 7, 2011)

Wolfcsm said:


> Hal this is JMHO but nothing will fix ethonol but fresh fuel, OR buy gas with none in it. I go out of my way to be sure of it. Ethonol is a poor idea in Anything in my book. CJ



It is starting to be where there is ethonol in most gas. My John Deere dealer also sells Echo and Shindawa saws. He has been touting Shindawa RED ARMOR as a way to mitigate the effects of ethonol. Said that one of his commercial accounts ran 60 trimmers on it this year. In a normal year he replaces about half of them. This year only 3 needed replacing.

Hal[/QUOTE]

Thats good to know, hope I can always find non eth gas. CJ


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## johnfawn2000 (Dec 7, 2011)

hardpan said:


> i've read casual mentions of amsoil sabre oil as being ok. Is anyone aware of actual testing that makes the comparison between amsoil and others like stihl ultra synthetic. I am certain that the best we can do for our engines is use the best oil. Personal experience is of course valued from the heavy users/pros.


hardpan, i have used amsoil dominator,amsoil 2000,maxima k 2,maxima 927.i have great service and in some of my saws u and still see the cross marks from machining the jug.i dont use n e of the oils 1oo to 1 ratio.i may be wrong, i will get corrected on here for sure if i am wrong. I mix from 32 to 40 to 1 ratio.i cut a lot of firewood for my own use, my thinking like this is by a repair mechanics,is hard to burn one up with too much oil.we all remember when it was 16:1,u could hear someone cutting wood an look an see where they are by the smoke rising.i use premium grade gas 93 octane and above.i am not a big fan of ethanol. I almost forgot, i am going to try one the name is manhattan oil,(manhattan oil.com),suppose to protect as good or better,this person 1cut on here told me about it,he builds race saws,great stuff. I hope this helps and may have confused even more,works for me.good luck


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## indiansprings (Dec 7, 2011)

I'm sure it is good oil, I wouldn't dare run it 100:1. I'll have to look and see if we have any dealers close. I have had fantastic luck with Ultra. It must have excellent stabilizers as I have left mix in string trimmers all winter and fired them up five months later with no issues at all. Ultra is also the cleanest/less carbon of any oil I've used, but I wouldn't be opposed to run Amsoil if it is price competitive.


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

pops21 said:


> I'm a amsoil user also. Well I switch from stihl ultra to amsoil dominator. Dad likes the stihl premeasured bottles. So when he gets new gas stihl ultra goes in. If I get the gas its a toss up between the two.



Dominator is an injection oil designed for high performance 2-stroke snowmobiles and similar engines. I've run it often in my snowmobiles. It is not designed as a mix oil as Saber is. I'm not saying it won't work, but I'm saying it's not formulated to stay mixed in suspension in gasoline as well as Saber is. 

So abandon the Dominator for mix applications and stick with the Saber!

Here's my bottom line. While Amsoil has proven itself for me again and again and again over the years, any top grade synthetic chainsaw mix oil beats conventional oils for wear and protection. Almost all my saws are used, and many of them came to me with lots and lots of carbon and deposits gumming things up. Half a dozen tanks of synthetic (in my case Amsoil) mix really cleans things out and smooths things out.


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## Slamm (Dec 7, 2011)

I ran it one summer at 80:1 with no problems, after a landscaper told me he ran it at 100:1 in everything he owns saws, trimmer and blowers. He had a poulan that is the same 13 years old and is used almost every day and it has never needed any PC work ....... so I tried it. I had no problems.

But it doesn't cost that much more to run it at 50:1 at which point there is an obvious blue film that runs down the side of the piston and can be seen through the muffler port on some saws after running, you can see it at 80:1 but it isn't as much. So I run 50:1.

I thought I had heard or read that the Saber 100:1 had the same amount of "active" ingredients as other oils at 50:1, not sure if that is true, but if that is the case then I'm closer to 25:1, for a standard oil, LOL.

As far as hard deposits, I've got saws that have run for 4+ years on Amsoil and they barely have any deposits when compared to most any other oil in a 2 stroke.

My experience with it,

Sam


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

Slamm said:


> As far as hard deposits, I've got saws that have run for 4+ years on Amsoil and they barely have any deposits when compared to most any other oil in a 2 stroke.
> 
> My experience with it,
> 
> Sam



My experience as well, with a few more years.


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## johnfawn2000 (Dec 7, 2011)

StihlyinEly said:


> Dominator is an injection oil designed for high performance 2-stroke snowmobiles and similar engines. I've run it often in my snowmobiles. It is not designed as a mix oil as Saber is. I'm not saying it won't work, but I'm saying it's not formulated to stay mixed in suspension in gasoline as well as Saber is.
> 
> So abandon the Dominator for mix applications and stick with the Saber!
> 
> Here's my bottom line. While Amsoil has proven itself for me again and again and again over the years, any top grade synthetic chainsaw mix oil beats conventional oils for wear and protection. Almost all my saws are used, and many of them came to me with lots and lots of carbon and deposits gumming things up. Half a dozen tanks of synthetic (in my case Amsoil) mix really cleans things out and smooths things out.


STIHLinELY, MY BAD,MASSIVE BRAIN POOT I USE SABRE, NOT DOMINATOR,THANKS FOR BRINGIN THAT UP


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

And hey, where the heck is Gary, anyway????


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## cheeves (Dec 7, 2011)

StihlyinEly said:


> Dominator is an injection oil designed for high performance 2-stroke snowmobiles and similar engines. I've run it often in my snowmobiles. It is not designed as a mix oil as Saber is. I'm not saying it won't work, but I'm saying it's not formulated to stay mixed in suspension in gasoline as well as Saber is.
> 
> So abandon the Dominator for mix applications and stick with the Saber!
> 
> Here's my bottom line. While Amsoil has proven itself for me again and again and again over the years, any top grade synthetic chainsaw mix oil beats conventional oils for wear and protection. Almost all my saws are used, and many of them came to me with lots and lots of carbon and deposits gumming things up. Half a dozen tanks of synthetic (in my case Amsoil) mix really cleans things out and smooths things out.


This is one of the reasons I love this site. You learn from the pros.


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## pops21 (Dec 7, 2011)

StihlyinEly said:


> Dominator is an injection oil designed for high performance 2-stroke snowmobiles and similar engines. I've run it often in my snowmobiles. It is not designed as a mix oil as Saber is. I'm not saying it won't work, but I'm saying it's not formulated to stay mixed in suspension in gasoline as well as Saber is.
> 
> So abandon the Dominator for mix applications and stick with the Saber!
> 
> Here's my bottom line. While Amsoil has proven itself for me again and again and again over the years, any top grade synthetic chainsaw mix oil beats conventional oils for wear and protection. Almost all my saws are used, and many of them came to me with lots and lots of carbon and deposits gumming things up. Half a dozen tanks of synthetic (in my case Amsoil) mix really cleans things out and smooths things out.



I just looked it up. It can be used for both injection and non injection. Here is a copied peice off the amsoil page.
Applications (2-Cycle Recommendations Chart)
DOMINATOR is recommended for use in high performance stock or modified two-cycle motors, including air or liquid cooled snowmobiles, personal watercraft, motorcycles (Moto X), ATVs, go-carts and outboard motors*. Good for use with coated or non-coated pistons, high-octane racing fuels and exhaust power valves. Compatible with most other two-cycle oils, however, mixing oils should be minimized.


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

pops21 said:


> I just looked it up. It can be used for both injection and non injection. Here is a copied peice off the amsoil page.
> Applications (2-Cycle Recommendations Chart)
> DOMINATOR is recommended for use in high performance stock or modified two-cycle motors, including air or liquid cooled snowmobiles, personal watercraft, motorcycles (Moto X), ATVs, go-carts and outboard motors*. Good for use with coated or non-coated pistons, high-octane racing fuels and exhaust power valves. Compatible with most other two-cycle oils, however, mixing oils should be minimized.



My information comes from personal conversation with Amsoil techs. 

Your piece pulled from the Amsoil site, where it talks about mixing oils, is not talking about "mix" oils as they are blended with gasoline before use, but about mixing other oils with Amsoil oils. 

Once again, Dominator will work in chainsaws. But since it's an injection oil, it's not designed to remain suspended in pre-mix gas/oil as well as Saber.


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## pops21 (Dec 7, 2011)

Trust me I would use saber if I had it but I don't. This is some left over from a few years ago that I had stored in the basement.

It says nothing on the amsoil website about being strictly for injection. Although they do have oil that is specifically for injection. The dominator is not. Here is some more copy and pasted peices.

DOMINATOR® Synthetic 2-Cycle Racing Oil (TDR) 
DOMINATOR®, an AMSOIL exclusive formulation, lubricates and protects high-performance two-cycle motors, both on and off the track. High-performance motors, particularly those that are modified, operate hotter and at higher RPM than recreational motors, and they need good oil for peak performance. DOMINATOR is engineered for racing. It has the right film strength and clean-burning properties for “on the edge” operation.

* Not suitable for long-term use in outboard motors as a TC-W3 type oil, although excellent as a race oil for short-term use where motors are periodically inspected. 

^ Its a racing oil. Not a injection oil although it can be used for injection. I have the oil from when I rode dirt bikes a few years ago.

Here is another.

Provides excellent film strength for high heat, high RPM motors 
Reduces friction for maximum power 
Recommended for use with coated or non-coated racing pistons 
Suitable for use with exhaust power valves 
Recommended for use with high octane racing gas 
Burns clean; helps prevent ring sticking and plug fouling 
Provides excellent protection at 50:1 pre-mix or in injection system 
See Article: Two-Cycle Engine Applications and Lubrication Needs


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## HARRY BARKER (Dec 7, 2011)

StihlyinEly said:


> My information comes from personal conversation with Amsoil techs.
> 
> Your piece pulled from the Amsoil site, where it talks about mixing oils, is not talking about "mix" oils as they are blended with gasoline before use, but about mixing other oils with Amsoil oils.
> 
> Once again, Dominator will work in chainsaws. But since it's an injection oil, it's not designed to remain suspended in pre-mix gas/oil as well as Saber.


uh,oh wrong again.


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

I know, pops. Been there, read that. And then I talked to the techs. 

Just saying. 

In the end, it's all good if it works for you.


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## pops21 (Dec 7, 2011)

StihlyinEly said:


> I know, pops. Been there, read that. And then I talked to the techs.
> 
> Just saying.
> 
> In the end, it's all good if it works for you.




I know. I wasn't trying to argue with you or be a *ick. I've only made about 5 gallons of it ever. It tis just earl. Heck im sure you can still run 30w oil and be fine. Like they did back in the day. I've heard stihl even allowed 30w to be ran in there saws up threw the 1980's


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

pops21 said:


> I know. I wasn't trying to argue with you or be a *ick. I've only made about 5 gallons of it ever. It tis just earl. Heck im sure you can still run 30w oil and be fine. Like they did back in the day. I've heard stihl even allowed 30w to be ran in there saws up threw the 1980's



Oh, no worries! I know a Richard Cranium when I see one. And you aren't him. :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange: :hmm3grin2orange:


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## porsche965 (Dec 7, 2011)

Sabre, splash of Klotz Super Techniplate brings it to 42:1. Plenty of protection, smells good. 

I ran my first saw, a new 076 @ 100:1 on Optimax and then on Amsoil for 12 years. Never a problem. With the ported saws and higher reving engines 42:1 makes me feel better.


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## slipknot (Dec 7, 2011)

Didnt the old Moblil MX2T have the same base stocks as amzoil? Actually I think it was said that amzoil got there base stocks from mobil. Is this true anyone know?


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## hardpan (Dec 7, 2011)

Wow, what a tremendous response from pros and occasional users like myself. Thank you. I have always been very particular about the lubricants I use and when I was a maintenance mechanic at a steel mill i saw first hand that lubrication is the cheapest and most effective preventative maintenance there is. The cost of equipment failure, downtime, and repair/replacement in general can destroy our objective at any level. The life of a 2-cycle engine is often brutal balls-to-the-wall so we protect it the best we can. I will include sabre (or saber, now I'm unsure of the spelling) with my next order. Honestly I am in no way connected to Amsoil but they should pay me something for starting this thread.LOL


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## StihlyinEly (Dec 7, 2011)

hardpan said:


> Wow, what a tremendous response from pros and occasional users like myself. Thank you. I have always been very particular about the lubricants I use and when I was a maintenance mechanic at a steel mill i saw first hand that lubrication is the cheapest and most effective preventative maintenance there is. The cost of equipment failure, downtime, and repair/replacement in general can destroy our objective at any level. The life of a 2-cycle engine is often brutal balls-to-the-wall so we protect it the best we can. I will include sabre (or saber, now I'm unsure of the spelling) with my next order. Honestly I am in no way connected to Amsoil but they should pay me something for starting this thread.LOL



Shoot, if they paid you, they'd have to pay all the other 4,947 people who have started Amsoil Saber (yeah, Saber, look it up on the Amsoil Web site) threads in the last couple of years on AS.


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## eyolf (Dec 7, 2011)

I don't know much about Ammzoil: there isn't an easy way to get it in my area. But I'm sure its a good enough product...if it wasn't it wouldn't be around/

In my opinion, 100:1 works for lightly-loaded equipment because 90% of the oil separates out of the fuel-air mix inside the engine, and mostly stays down in the bottom end until enough accumulates to get picked up again. If you're running the engine hard, really pumping the air through, those higher velocities will pick up more of the deposited oil.

A modern 50cc hi-perf chain saw spins out at 14K, drops a little under load of course, but that's still a lot better than the commercial-grade weedeater that is all out of revs at 8K: saw blades and trimmer line just won't take more. Weedeaters from Costco and walmart struggle to make 7K, so they aren't even working that hard. Some blowers and vacs spin a little higher, but not much and run at a steady pace/constant load. Ice augers idle a lot. That means to me that you can get by with 100:1 in most stuff, most of the time, mostly. But you're really asking for trouble with a saw at 100:1

I run 43:1 in everything largely because its easy for me to measre out 3oz/gallon. Even an antique Techumseh ice auger and antique saws...with some exceptions: really, really old two-strokes with plain wrist-pins, cast-iron rings in cast-iron bores will probably survive with modern oils at thin ratios, but they run smoother and the rings seal better with more oil. These olde antiques are just put together loose and need the oil to fill in the spaces.


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## Wolfcsm (Dec 8, 2011)

eyolf said:


> I don't know much about Ammzoil: there isn't an easy way to get it in my area. But I'm sure its a good enough product...if it wasn't it wouldn't be around/
> 
> In my opinion, 100:1 works for lightly-loaded equipment because 90% of the oil separates out of the fuel-air mix inside the engine, and mostly stays down in the bottom end until enough accumulates to get picked up again. If you're running the engine hard, really pumping the air through, those higher velocities will pick up more of the deposited oil.
> 
> ...





Actually very easy to get the products. THe AMSOIL website AMSOIL Synthetic Two-Cycle Oil Has the information and everything can be ordered online.

Hal


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## CJ1 (Dec 8, 2011)

This is just my experience with Dominator for the last 8 years or so. I have had no setteling issues, dirt bikes sit for 4 months or so, carbs look good, fuel in tank is always good. I don't even check the carbs anymore. Fuel in the leafblower sits for 11 months, no problem. Bikes/saws are always clean and powervalves are not gummed up like other oils that I have used. The place where Dominator shined was in the small bore dirtbikes. Some other oils even Interceptor would allow scuffing in the 65cc and 80cc bikes and the Dominator would protect in the worst cases. Dominator can be used as a injection oil but I have always mixed it. Most full blown race sleds and bikes are all mix and that is where all of my experience has come from. I think I have used it 1 time in my 800 rotax engine as a injection oil with no problem either. I have used a bunch of other oils also and the only oil that gave me problems was Klotz R50. If you were not running the crap out of it it would foul plugs in my bikes and chainsaws. JMHO. CJ


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## CentaurG2 (Dec 8, 2011)

I run both amsoil sabre and stihl ultra at 50:1 10% etoh and have noticed no difference in saws performance between the two brands. Amsoil is available at my local NAPA store but it only comes in quart bottles so it is less convenient to use than the stihl brand. The Amsoil does give the mix a good deep blue color as compared to the much lighter ultra.


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## shibainu (Dec 28, 2013)

I run my 8 saws(1973 to 2012 models) on 100 to 1 mix of Amsoil saber for years plus two leaf blowers and two weed wackers with no problems at all! We also ran a 175cc yamaha full throttle for 5 miles ( full throttle0 with a 200 to one mix OF SABER to see how it worked. No problems at all compression was up to factory specs. We went on to race that same bike on 100-1 mix for 2 more yrs. with the same piston, rings,etc. Very little( soft) carbon build up with little to no smoke. Don't be afraid of saber at 100-1 mix. You will be gas rich and oil lean. Gas is the cooling agent and oil is the lubricating agent. Check out oil consumption on the new direct injection 600cc skidoo snowmobiles. It's somthing like 1qt, every 1000 miles.


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## Twisted Priorities (Dec 28, 2013)

View attachment 324688

Mixing at 100:1 seems a bit risky. Maybe 50:1 would be a safer mix ratio.
I've only used the Stihl oils from the dealer and Castrol since they manufacture it for Stihl.


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## Twisted Priorities (Dec 28, 2013)

Amsoil


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## KG441c (Dec 29, 2013)

Look at the jaso certifcations. They are fa, fb, fc,fd. The test progress in lubriticity and time to failure as they climb the ladder. Fd being the best. Stihl Ultra is FB. Look on the Stihl Bottle.


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## Belj (May 11, 2022)

I have a 660 purchased in 2006. I use Amsoil Sabre mixed 100:1 and it seems to work just fine. I used it as well in a Husky clearing saw for years. I picked up the wrong gas can by mistake and the residual Amsoil kept it running for 15 min or so before it seized. So, I think 100:1 is safe.


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