Ask the Editors: 2-Stroke Oil Ratio Question
Taking the place of the injector.
Let’s start with the obvious – the 400L left the factory with an oil injector. Premixing the gas and oil wasn’t a concern when the machine was new. We would start by making sure the oil injector is not functioning or or absent entirely before mixing it externally.
That being said, our testing reveled the oil injector to keep things between roughly 36 / 38:1 – which coincides with Polaris’s official recommendation of a 40:1 ratio.
Contrary to common misconception, there is some leeway with 2-stroke gas/ oil mixing ratios. Most will run fine anywhere between 32:1 and 50:1. 50:1 produces the least amount of smoke but also provides the least amount of cylinder lubrication during combustion. Most riders err to the side of cation by fattening up the oil content on the logic that fouling up a spark plug by running a little too much is a lot cheaper than replacing a seized piston. We tend to agree.
Here is a simple conversion to help remember the ratios:
128 Ounces = 1 Gallon
128/32 = 4
128/40 = 3.2
128/50 = 2.56
So you would mix 3.2 ounces of oil per gallon to achieve the desired 40:1.
