Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

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jimh
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Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby jimh » Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:15 pm

A corollary topic to the announcement that BRP was stopping production of Evinrude outboard engines has been speculation about the availability of their semi-synthetic and full-synthetic two-stroke-power-cycle engine oil in the future. I find no cause to worry.

If you have purchased retail containers of XD100 or XD50 oil in the past year or two, the container and its label no longer has a prominent branding as Evinrude. The oil is branded under the BRP XPS brand. This is a result of standardizing the branding of many BRP oil products across all the BRP power sports products with two-stroke-power-cycle engines, including the SKI-DOO snow machines, the SEA-DOO personal watercraft, CAM-AM vehicles, and so on.

There is no reasonable basis to infer that XD100 or XD50 oil will become scarce in the future as a result of the stopping of production of Evinrude outboard engines.

biggiefl
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby biggiefl » Wed Jun 17, 2020 2:32 pm

Will other brand oil work well with E-TEC technology such as Optimax oil or Yamaha oil? I used to get 2.5-gallon containers of Optimax oil at the Whaler sponsored rendezvous as a door prize which my Yamaha HPDI friend was very happy with it. I believe Len also used the Optimax oil in his Evinrude Ficht as they were nowhere as advanced and complicated as the E-TEC oiling system.
On my 24th Whaler. Currently in the stable: 86 18' Outrage, 81 13' Sport(original owner), 87 11' Sport, 69 Squall(for sale cheap).

dtmackey
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby dtmackey » Thu Jun 18, 2020 7:18 am

No surprise with the move to brand Evinrude XD oils under the XPS line and use packaging that's already in use and in far greater demand than the previous Envinrude version. The streamline approach will save BRP money and should have been done years ago.

XPS oil for SkiDoo is very different than for Evinrude outboards. The SkiDoo oil is red, appears slighly thicker in viscosity and does not have that pungent amonia scent that Evinrude oil has.

If anyone is questioning where to purchase XD oil for their Evinrude, I've use Domo online and they ship right to your door. I expect XD oil to be available for years to come.

https://domo-online.com/evinrude-oil/

D-
Last edited by dtmackey on Thu Jun 18, 2020 1:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

jimh
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby jimh » Thu Jun 18, 2020 8:08 am

The XD100 oil is the only oil recommended by Evinrude for the E-TEC if the oiling rate is changed to the XD100-ONLY setting. E-TEC engines with the oiling rate set to the TCW3 mode can use any TCW3-rated oil.

The advantage of XD100 is its nearly full-synthetic base and very low ash and carbon. As DTM' notes, XD100 does have a strong odor; it has a smell that one would associate with a fishing port.

The packaging under the XDS brand is in black containers. The earlier packaging was in translucent white containers. The new black containers might be a bit sturdier than the translucent white ones.

ASIDE: in my own E-TEC engine the oil rate remains set to the TCW3 rate, but I use XD100 oil. My total fuel consumption per season is quite modest these days, and saving perhaps $75 a year on oil by setting the engine to the XD100-ONLY setting doesn't feel like a mandatory cost-saving move. The overall oil-to-gasoline consumption rate is about 1:55. Lately I have been only consuming about 225-gallons of gasoline per season, which equates to 4-gallons of oil. I figure a little more oil than needed is better than a not enough oil as needed, so I leave the oiling rate at the TCW3 setting.

jimh
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby jimh » Thu Jun 18, 2020 2:09 pm

dtmackey wrote:XPS oil for SkiDoo is very different than for Evinrude outboards


The XPS Lubricants product for SKI-DOO is branded as XPS LUBRICANTS E-TEC 2T FULL SYNTHETIC oil. Apparently each BRP power sports group has an XPS oil blended specifically for use with their products. Since the SKI-DOO snow machines operate at really cold temperatures, the oil for them probably takes that environment into consideration in its formulation.

I am guessing the "2T" comes from Acadian French for two-stroke, perhaps "deux-temps."

jimh
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby jimh » Sun Jun 21, 2020 9:21 am

COROLLARY TOPIC: cost of two-stroke-power-cycle oil and effect on operating costs

I have found that the fuel-oil consumption ratio on my E-TEC engine (with oil rate set for standard TCW3 oil use) averages to about 55:1. To assess the cost of having to use oil in proportion to the gasoline, I will use these figures:

Gasoline at a fuel dock or on-the-highway station, averaged together = $4.00-per-gallon
XPS brand XD100 full synthetic oil for E-TEC, refill per gallon from bulk container = $35-per-gallon.

The cost of 55-gallons of gasoline is then $4 × 55 = $220
The cost of 1-gallon of XD100 is then = $35
Total cost of oil and fuel for 56-gallons = $255/55 = $4.64-per-gallon

Increase in fuel cost over just gasoline = $0.64
Percentage increase = 0.64/4 = 16-percent

In a typical season, my boating will consume 225-gallons of fuel based on 50-hours of engine run time and average fuel consumption of 4.5-GPH. My added costs for using oil would then be four-gallons of oil at $35 or $140

To compare with a four-stroke-power-cycle engine that circulates lubricating oil, the cost of that oil, an oil filter, and the labor of changing the oil at end of season should be used to get a total cost for the four-stroke-power-cycle engine operating cost.

The cost of 7-quarts of OEM recommended oil, based on two 1-gallon bottle at $28 = $56
The cost of OEM recommended oil filter = $12
Total cost of oil and filter = $68
Labor at 0.75-hour of shop rate $75 = $56
Total cost of one oil change = $124

It appears that there really only about a $16 per season added operating cost for a two-stroke-power-cycle engine compared to a four-stroke-power-cycle engine on the basis of about 50-hours of engine run time and the total costs of oil, filter, and labor. I could easily reduce the cost if I used a lower cost oil instead of the premium cost XD100. In any case, given the total cost of boat ownership per year and seasonal operating costs, an increase of $16 is completely insignificant.

Of course, this analysis neglects the costs of the tools, hoses, pans or other containers, rags, funnels, and proper and safe disposal of the oil and used filter involved in the process of changing the lubricating oil, as well as the time lost in use of the boat to have the oil changed. A shop may add some of those costs to the charges for an oil change.

Certainly it is possible to perform the oil change yourself, but this chore is usually done at the end of season, when the weather is the least suitable for working on the engine outdoors.

For boaters with higher engine running hours, the cost of the two-stroke engine operation increases in direct proportion to increased run time. The cost for the four-stroke engine operation increases in increments of each oil change, and the interval of the oil change could be lengthened to occur less frequently, say perhaps once every 100-hours of run time.

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Phil T
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby Phil T » Sun Jun 21, 2020 6:38 pm

I think you need to review your shop rate. Typical yard rates are north of $100.
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jimh
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Re: Evinrude XD100 and XD50 Oil: availability in the future

Postby jimh » Sun Jun 21, 2020 11:13 pm

PHIL--I have seen some lower rates for oil changes. The dealer usually lets the new kid in the shop do them. Also I have seen a shop line up four or five boats on trailer in a row, and do all of the engine oil changes nearly simultaneously.

For me, were I to own a four-stroke-power-cycle engine, I would do the oil change myself, as that task is less hassle than hauling the boat to a shop for them to do it.

The newer Mercury FOURSTROKE engines seem to have been designed with particular attention given to making changing the lubricating oil in the crankcase sump as easy as possible. Those engine have special fittings provided to attach drain hoses and a special tray under the oil filter to catch any oil dripping. The task of changing oil on those new FOURSTROKE engines is now much less messy than on prior engines.