Difference between 2- and 4-stroke lubricating oil

Engines have represented a stepping stone for humanity to simplify not only the way we transport ourselves, they also simplify many of the tasks we perform every day, including the machinery we use to perform them.

From the first internal combustion engine patented by Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir in 1858, which allowed a cart to move at 3.2 kilometers per hour by gas compression. 

Its evolution by Nicolaus Otto, who transformed it into the time engine that is most popular today. However, there are different applications for both types, even the lubrication they require is very different in each case. 

car polisher and buffers

Why are 4-stroke and 2-stroke engine lubricants different?

 Before knowing why the lubricant is different, it is necessary to understand the peculiarities between a 4-stroke engine and a 2-stroke engine : 

• The 4-stroke engine has a lubrication chamber independent of the combustion chamber. This means that the lubricating oil from the engine will be recirculated throughout the engine to lubricate and maintain temperature, while in the combustion chamber the fuel will burn and generate movement in the internal components of the engine.
• Within the 2-stroke engine cycle there is no such chamber. The fuel mixture enters the lower part of the piston during the escape time in the combustion chamber, in such a way, it waits for the piston to go down due to the same previous explosion so that the pressure generated by the movement of the piston downwards it push inside.

 Because there is no lubrication chamber in a 2-stroke engine, the lubricating oil mixes with the fuel.As the mixture enters the lubricant as well and because the motor oil particles have different densities and weights than those of the fuel, they move towards the surfaces.

However, at the time of the explosion, the lubricant also burns and therefore comes out together with the particles that leave the engine during the exhaust time.

Each turn of the engine there will be new lubricant and therefore, each time fuel is refilled, the mixture must be carried out by filling the tank in a ratio of 1 liter of lubricant for every 20 liters of fuel. 

Advantages of a two-stroke engine lubricant

 Despite the differences between a 4-stroke engine lubricant and a 2-stroke engine lubricant, the latter has some advantages in terms of performance: 

• Protects all components by coming into contact with the entire interior of the engine.
• Cleans the injection system and prevents formations in the entire system.

 To obtain these benefits in a 4-stroke engine it is necessary to add a gasoline or engine additive . Learn more about the interesting history of the automotive industry by clicking on this link , and especially about the operation of the different applications.