i have a praire 300 4x4 and i am wondering if it is better to use atv oil from the dealer or is regular motor oil good.

 

Now I'm not a Kawasaki owner,but I know that the motorcycle oils are supposed to be better in ways, but as long as you use something like pennzoil,valvoline etc. etc. it ought to be alright

1986 Honda 200SX
1986 Suzuki 230 Quadsport

 

With a manual or auto clutch-manual shift type atv they have what is called a wet clutch. Esentaly that means the clutch is submerged in the engine or gearbox oil. With that type of configuration you canot use a automotive grade oil. Car type oils have friction modifiers in them that will make the clutch slip and cause premature wear. But belt driven quads have the clutch in the belt housing non lubricated so you can use just about any proper grade oil you want and additives (slick50). The car type oils that have friction modifiers in them are really better as far as wear is concerned. You can even use a good quality synthetic for a much lower price then the bike dealer wants. I hate to say it(iv never liked penzoil) but Penzoil has a new synthetic out with a additive package that contanes "Penzane" used by NASA and it is really quite a good oil. Synthetic oils reduce wear to almoset unmeasurable amounts,lower operating temps on average 30% and last at LEAST 50% longer.
BUT never use them in a engine that is not broke in. At the very least use a good quality name brand oil and ONLY the atv manufacturers filter. Dont get cheap and use a car filter (just try to drive your car like your quad HEHE). Well i hope i could help a little.

Good luck
Chris

 

Muddiver, if you use a good quality automotive engine oil, you won't have any trouble with your ATV. The dealer may have "Kawasaki ATV Oil" or some other name that sounds wonderful, BUT they don't make oils. They just buy it from a manufacturer and have it bottled with their advertising on the label. You then are paying for that bottling and advertising. The same goes for oil filters. Your Prairie has a liquid cooled engine with a thermostat, so it is running at the same controlled temperatures as your car. Ask your dealer if your warranty is still good if you use something for example like Quaker State 10W-30. He will tell you it is. At Price and Markle here in Canada, they sell Wix oil filters that the Kawasaki filter has a cross reference to, and are just as good for about 1/4 the price.

 

js it is true they dont make their own oils BUT they have oil made to their specifications. It is not just say Quaker State with a diffrent lable.
There would be SERIOUS fines if they did. There is random testing in the package and blending plants to make shure that dosent happen. As far as filters are concerned just buy a wix or what ever brand you want and cut it open then cut open a factory one and look at whats inside. You will see a diffrence in the filter fibers and the designe. Your oppinion is valued but you should give it on a subject you know somthing about. Your use whatever fits idea is not the best way of thinking for someones 5k or 6k investment. Its the old saying "Hammer it to fit and paint it to match" dosent work for me. I dont know much about tires or fenders but i know LOTS about oil and filters.

 

Muddiver,

Lets take a different look at the logic behind this issue. An ATV engine is an internal combustion engine that is not unlike any other. It has pistons, values and other internal components that are much like those those found in your lawn mower or car engine. Since the primary purpose of oil is to lubricate these components, it is safe to say that any oil with an ATV label must perform much like the conventional type oils. And furthermore, if the manufacturer was creating a "special blend" just for ATV's, it must still perform as a conventional oil in order to protect the basic engine components.

What you are saying is great "dealer talk" to make you pay a higher price for oil. Truth is, there are thousands of ATV owners out there who have been saving their money and using conventional oils with problem-free performance.

 

I looked on a bottle of Honda GN4 and the label stated that the oil was comparable to SF and SG.
So... if our fluid engineers out there can tell us the difference between SG and SJ we will have our answer here.

The first difference that I know of is SJ has a higher detergent level.

Secondly, I don't think that SJ has the protective additive Zinc but I am not positive on that one.

How about it engineers, let's put this one to rest.

 

READY REFERENCE


Small Engine Oils

Small engines include small two-stroke-cycle and small
four-stroke-cycle spark ignition engines. Two-stroke-cycle enignes find
application in:

Outboard marine engines
Personal water craft and jet skis
Scooters, mopeds and all-terrain vehicles
Chain saws, lawn mowers and other portable implements
Snowmobiles

Small four-stroke-cycle engines are used in:

Motorcycles
Lawn mowers and other implements

Two-Stroke Engine Oils

Water cooling is widely used in outboards. Most engines in other
applications are air-cooled or liquid-cooled. The engines have various
preferences for oil performance, depending upon the degree of cooling,
engine design, and type of service.

Major performance requirements for two-stroke engines include:

Protection against piston and cylinder scuffing
Protection against ring sticking and exhaust blocking
Smoke reduction
Protection against deposit-induced preignition
Rust prevention

For air-cooled two-stroke engines, lubricating oil performance is
classified according to API, JASO, ISO and TISI (Thai Industrial
Standards Institute). For outboard engines, oil performance is classified
according to NMMA.

Air-cooled engines: API TA, TB and TC are the oldest performance
categories for two-stroke air-cooled engines, although API TC has been
the most prevalent and demanded category. Because one of the engines
required for API TC testing is unavailable, oils can no longer be tested
for this performance category.

In 1994, the Japanese Automobile Standards Organization (JASO)
defined a specification that describes three quality levels for low-ash
air-cooled two-cycle engine oils: FA, FB, and FC. Lubricant
performance is assessed according to four performance criteria:
detergency, lubricity, exhaust blocking, and smoke. Performance of a
candidate oil is rated against that of a reference oil.

The thrust of the JASO specification is the low-smoke requirement,
which is especially stringent for the FC performance category. This
requirement arises from the need to alleviate smoke problems in Asian
cities. JASO FC will be the predominant performance level.

An International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Global
Specification for two-stroke oils has also been developed. This
specification standardized the requirements described in the JASO
document and established an additional, higher international performance
level. This standard is expected to be established in late 1998.

The difference between the JASO and ISO specifications is the inclusion
of a performance category higher than JASO FC and an additional
requirement to evaluate piston varnish. These oils will be required to
provide higher detergency and ring-stick protection than the JASO oils.

JASO and Proposed ISO Two-Cycle Index1 Ratings

ISO Global Specification
—
GB
GC
GD
JASO Specification
FA
FB
FC
—
Lubricity, min
90
95
95
95
Initial Torque, min
98
98
98
98
Detergency, min
80
85
95
125
Exhaust Smoke, min
40
45
85
85
Exhaust System Blocking, min
30
45
90
90
Piston Varnish2, min
—
85
90
95


1Index = (candidate oil/reference oil) x 100
2For ISO category only

The TISI Category applies to oils being marketed and used in Thailand
and other Asian countries. Oil performance with respect to detergency,
lubricity and smoke for this category is evaluated in 125-cc Kawasaki
engine. Oils that meet the JASO FC smoke index requirement are
judged to meet smoke requirement of this test.

In addition to these performance classifications, the miscibility and
fluidity characteristics of oils must be appropriate to serve in either a
premix (lubricant into gasoline) or lubricant injection system. These
characteristics are described in SAE Recommended Practice,
"Two-Stroke-Cycle Engine Oil Miscibility/Fluidity Classification —
J1536," which covers four grades of oil: F/M 1 for tropical climates,
F/M 2 and 3 for temperate climates, and F/M 4 for Arctic climates.
Fluidity is assessed by its low-temperature Brookfield viscosity, which
must be below certain absolute values for each grade. Miscibility is
determined by observing how readily it mixes with gasoline, compared
to a reference oil for each grade. SAE fluidity/miscibility grades and their
low-temperature viscosities are:

SAE Grade
Allowable Brookfield
Viscosity1 (cP), max
Reference Oil2 for
Miscibility
1
3500 at 0°C
VI-GG
2
3500 at -10°C
VI-FF
3
7500 at -25°C
VI-D
4
17,000 at -40°C
VI-II


1Both miscibility and Brookfield tests must be run.
2Results for candidate oil must not exceed those for reference oil by
more than 10% to pass miscibility test.

Water-cooled engines: Performance requirements for outboard engine
oils are defined by NMMA. They include:

NMMA (BIA) TC-W — Now obsolete
NMMA TC-WIIÒ — Now obsolete
NMMA TC-W3Ò — Now obsolete
NMMA Recertified TC-W3Ò

In 1994, the industry decided that all existing TC-W3Ò certified oils
must be recertified by passing two consecutive Mercury Marine 15-hp
engine tests. In addition, some base oil/bright stock read-across
provisions were allowed. Tests required for obtaining a recertified
TC-W3Ò qualification for a totally new oil are outlined in the table.

NMMA will grant reblending/rebranding licenses for only the recertified
TC-W3Ò category. All other previous categories are considered
obsolete. The NMMA license number for TC-W3Ò began with a 3,
whereas that for recertified TC-W3Ò begins with R.

Four-Stroke Motorcycle Oils

Traditionally, four-stroke motorcycles used oils designed for
spark-ignited four-stroke passenger car engines. However, due to the
inclusion of fuel economy requirements in the latest API Categories,
many oils have been formulated to contain friction modifiers. In a
motorcycle wet-clutch application, these additives cause clutch slip and
power loss. Therefore, JASO established new specifications for
four-stroke motorcycle oils. In addition to API categories SE to SJ, the
oils are classified according to their frictional characteristics as
determined in an SAE #2 test procedure defined by JASO.

These specifications are outlined below. In the future, four-stroke
motorcycle OEMs may specify either MA of MB oils for their engines.

Performance Classification Standards Required
for JASO Four-Stroke Motorcycle Oils

Standard
Classification
API
SE, SF, SG, SH, SJ and possible new future classification
ILSAC
GF-1, GF-2 and possible new future classification
ACEA
A1, A2, A3 and possible new future classification
CCMC
G-4 and G-5


Physical/Chemical Properties
for JASO Four-Stroke Motorcycle Oils

Property
Value
Test Method
Sulfated Ash (% mass), max
1.2
JIS K 2272-85
Evaporation Loss (% mass), max
20
JPI-5S-41-93
Foaming tendency/stability (ml), max
Sequence I
Sequence II
Sequence III

10/0
50/0
10/0
JPI K 2518
Shear Stability, EOT Kinematic
Viscosity (mm2/s)
xW-30 > 9.0
xW-40 > 12.0
xW-50 > 15.0
JPI-5S-29-881
HTHS Viscosity (mPa-s), min
2.9
JPI-5S-36-91


1Test conducted by diesel injector method under standard test
conditions (30 cycles)

Performance and Standard Indexes
of Four-Stroke Motorcycle Oils (JASO T 904-98)

Property
MA
MB
Dynamic Friction index (DFI)
>1.45
and
<1.45
or
Static Friction Index (SFI)
>1.15
and
<1.15
or
Stop Time Index (STI)
>1.55
and
<1.55
or

 

thanks for all the replys. i think that a filter like wix or fram that have the same filtration would be the same ???right??

 

Thor,

Thank you for sharing that information.

If I am reading the information correctly, an ATV wet clutch performs best with an oil that carries the MA specification since it provides a higher friction value. Those oils that carry the MB classification would be less suited for four-stroke ATV use.

It will be interesting to see which oils carry the MA designation.