There have been some questions raised about why the new Arctic Cat 6000 C-TEC2 600 engine requires a dedicated oil. Here’s some background to help answer the question.
As I wrote in a comment on another story here today, I personally would follow an OEM’s warning/recommendation regarding oil use in their DSI/DI/SDI 2-stroke engine. I’ve been to the oil supplier for these brands and seen firsthand the blown ETEC engines that had run an aftermarket oil in the long term dyno durability tests. Not pretty.
Arctic Cat C-TEC2 600 and C-TEC2 Synthetic Oil
With the arrival of the new Arctic Cat C-TEC2 600 engine with Dual-Stage Injection comes new oil formulated specifically for it: C-TEC2 Synthetic. Both the C-TEC2 engine and oil represent the next progression of design and performance, with one dependent upon the other.
There are three critical facts to consider about the oil requirements of this engine: The first is that the new C-TEC2 600 uses less oil than any previous Arctic Cat snowmobile engine – as much as 50-percent less in certain conditions – thus placing even greater demands on the formulation.
The second is that the unique design features of the new engine (such as Dual-Stage Injection, electronic oil pump; slotted piston window; fuel/oil premixing in the fuel rail and new APV exhaust valve design) demanded a new unique blend of additives and base stocks that didn’t previously exist in any other oil.
And the third: With less oil lubricating vital engine components coupled with unique requirements of the new technologies, the C-TEC2 600 engine required an entirely-new oil to meet the performance and durability requirements demanded by Arctic Cat and its customers.
“As the engineers who developed this engine, our performance and durability requirements of the oil are extremely high,” said Kim Chervestad, 2-Stroke Engineer at Arctic Cat. “It has to deliver outstanding protection against wear; provide optimum detergency to keep the engine components and power valves clean; emit the lowest amount of exhaust smoke and odor; and provide the easiest cold-starting in the industry.
As a result of the greater demands of the oil for the new engine, Arctic Cat and its oil engineers co-developed the C-TEC2 engine and synthetic oil in partnership with one another.
Over a four-year period of development, engineers identified the unique oil requirements of the engine; developed a series of bench and dyno tests to evaluate engine/oil performance; and commenced an unprecedented on-snow testing program across an entire range of temperatures and elevations.
All totaled, a team of engineers produced and evaluated 15 different formulations, during which they accumulated over 8,500 hours of dyno-testing and over a quarter million miles of field-testing to perfect and validate the new C-TEC2 Synthetic Oil.
“This is why we say with great confidence that C-TEC2 Synthetic Oil is the only oil approved for the new C-TEC2 engine,” said Chervestad.
Lighter Viscosity = Ideal Cold-Temperature Performance
One key feature of the new Arctic Cat C-TEC2 Synthetic Oil is its superior cold-temperature performance.
Thanks to a significantly lighter viscosity compared to Arctic Cat APV oil and the leading aftermarket synthetic oil, C-TEC2 Synthetic delivers 50-percent easier starting in cold temperatures.
C-TEC2 Synthetic Oil is the only 2-cycle engine formulation specifically for the C-TEC2 600 and is approved for all other Arctic Cat 2-cycle snowmobile engines. It comes packaged in an industry first flexible pouch for easy pouring, convenient storage and reduced waste. The MSRP for the 48-oz. container is $20 U.S./$23 Canada. It will be available in August.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot…
The addition of the 7000-Series C-TEC4 Yamaha 1049cc 4-stroke engine to the 2014 Arctic Cat model line brings with a revised formula for its 4-cycle synthetic snowmobile oil.
C-TEC 4 Synthetic Oil is engineered from synthetic base stocks for high lubricity and protection against wear. It features a premium additive package that helps prevent oxidation, deposits, piston ring sticking and sparkplug fouling.
It is formulated for and proven for use in all Arctic Cat 4-cycle snowmobiles, including turbo-charged engines. And it’s the only oil recommended for the 7000-Series 1049cc three-cylinder engine.
So what is a gallon go for? Being most sleds being run right now are using probably twice what the new 600 uses I can not see any downside to using this oil. Being it is less than $50.00 a gallon anyway. My old sled, 600 ZL is using oil at a rate of 28:1. My 09 F-8 is close to 40:1 so both use considerably more.
There are 128 ounces in a gallon so using $20 for 48 ounces the price of a gallon would be $53.20.
Can we run this oil in our older cats, weed wacker, etc?
Flinstone yes it can be used in older cats as stated in tha article,and I would think running it in a weedwacker would be o.k.
I read the article on the e-tech rotax engines that also said that a specially formulated oil was required in that engine. I’ve seen riders run KLOTZ in the e-tech engines with no problems though.
If you look at the new C-TEC-2 600 engine design with the window slotted pistons,electronic oil pump,dual stage injection and fuel oil mixing in the rail it is designed to maximize lubrication even though its using up to 50% less oil. So other than for warranty purposes I would be interested to know what would happen if KLOTZ was run in this new engine? I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS just curious.
The way the new C-TEC-2 600 engine looks to be well thought out and engineered. It looks that Cat hit all the bases that the other DI first and second year designs missed than some.
Even though I may only have several years of Snowmobiling left due to mobility issues this new breed of Cat engine and chassis called the el tigre’ 6000 have me excited about the sport again. Now all I need is a free one and I’ll be good to go.
Keep up the good work
EXT Special
They seem desperate when they release such a limited amount and advise using just their oil. The gas station isn’t going to stock this oil. I wonder how many dealers will actually stock this oil? I also wonder about spark plugs.
Law states that NO manufacturer can demand you use their oil ONLY or they won’t cover warranty if you damage your engine.. But in saying that if you use any other oil other then Arctic Cat make sure the label on it says it’s approved for this type of engine.. Then if you burn down an engine they CANNOT refuse to repair it under warranty.. If they do the courts will rule in your favor.. The car manufacturers tryed this once and they failed..
Ian, you go ahead and try it then and see if you win. Cat has specifically stated that the reason for the need to use this oil is Viscosity. You will lose! Price for a gallon of this btw just found out is going to be the same as there other oil so 46.00/ gallon. considering how much less you will be using it will be maybe a gallon and a half a year for most riders. I can afford that and bet you can to.
use any other oil other then Arctic Cat “” MAKE SURE THE LABEL ON IT SAYS IT’S APPROVED FOR THIS TYPE OF ENGINE “”.. Then if you burn down an engine they CANNOT refuse to repair it under warranty
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NOTE upper case within quotations.
also be aware they send oil sample taken from the oil tank to have tested for traces of any other types possibly substituted ALONG THE WAY, which also would void.
Just sayin’ to be aware of this too. MOPAR’s attempt at cornering some foolish customers lead to the “MAGNUSSON/MOSS act of 1974” (In case anyone wanted to do more research on this topic).
Do thorough research on this case folks. Do not just take the word of some Internet gossiper’s.
WHATEVER part fails or is damaged is what has to have been replaced (or “oiled/lubed” in this case) by something that meets Cats specifications AND approval!! (No oils produced currently meet their requirements.)
Anything short of that (meeting specs and approval by Cat) and Cat cannot be forced to warranty or “forced to supply for free” the oil to customer under warranty period,, it has to be approved by them plain and simple.
My opinion! Run the cat oil! I have been running apv synthetic in my f7 since 2004 and never a problem cleanest power valves my dealer ever saw! As far as the c-tec 2 oil, why on earth would you spend 11 grand on this sled and not use the oil cat recommended! I don’t care if its 100$ a gallon I would still buy it! Thats like buying a diesel pickup and complaining that diesels 4.20 a gallon and d.e.f fluid is 2.50 a gallon! You need it so run it!!! Just my opinion!! Thanks for the great article John! Bleedn green till the day I die! O ya, my casket will be a snowmobile as well!!!!!!!
Informant and Ian…You are both correct. Arctic Cat cannot legally “force” you to use their oil unless it is supplied for free. This discussion was already brought up between Amsoil and BRP for the E-tec engines after BRP told their customers that they cannot use Amsoil products in the E-tec engine. Amsoil did an extensive study with their products in the E-tec engines proving that Amsoil products met or exceeded the oil requirements for the E-tec engine. It should be an interesting winter. There are thousands of people who will not have access to the C-tec oil. Here is the link for the 18 page study..
http://www.amsoil.com/lit/G3039.pdf
Do not worry Gentlemen, Amsoil will do a similar legal study for the Cat 600.
You can always buy one bag of Ctec 2 and stash it in case the engine does lock up…you can drain the oil line and oil resevoir and fill with Ctec 2…then bring the sled to your dealer.
They spent 8500 hrs dynoing the sled with this oil….they also spent years putting together the 2012 procross sleds and look how they were.
CI, my point is that “if another company’s oil(s) DO NOT MEET the same Exact specifications REQUIRED by Cat, then they are at their own risk of losing warranty coverage on the ENGINE itself.
The whole M/M act of ’74 was due to a certain Chrysler dealership telling new car buyers that “if they didn’t use MOPAR lubes exclusively”, their WHOLE autos warranty was void.
That was long before oils became nearly as specialized as they are today.
Wanna risk your warranty loss over $25-40 per season?
And a full Amsoil / Klotz user myself. So to ahead, TRY DRAINING and REPLACING the aftermarket oil and risk losing it. (Kinda hard to get 100% of contents out without leaving some sort of tracks of tampering.)
I’m certain Cat has looked into this “Amsoils research” BS just based on past yrs experiences.
Concerned:
How the hell are you going to replace the oil on the bearings and internal parts. That is what they are going to check. My god! Save 5 bucks and take a chance like this is so utterly teenage like for some of you. WL. 85-90 percent of the pro cross sleds out there are just fine. Oil is $46.00 a gallon. Last time I checked Amsoil was over $40. But go ahead and try it. Viscosty, Viscosity, Viscosity! Amsoil needs to meet that spec and as of right now, they dont!
“So go ahead” (not to ahead)
Thanks Jim R.
Glad to know some are seeing daylight and breathing oxygen.
Oh boy, another oil argument. The only question I have on this whole thing is from the very last line in the article, seems like yamalube4 would be on the list.
Guys, I’m cool with having a debate about the pros/cons of oil on here, but no name-calling or flaming.
As for who will stock this oil, I’d be very surprised if any gas stations stocked it the first year or two. But, I’d be willing to bet that EVERY Arctic Cat dealer will.
I’m trying to get an idea of how many miles the ZR6000 will go on a tank of oil. I would bet more than 300, but is it 400 or more? It’s an answer I’m looking for.
I understand that people don’t like being told what kind of oil to buy… And yes, you can split the hairs about what’s legal and start chasing down that path… And I wouldn’t expect that the short term use of another premium synthetic oil would destroy your engine…
… but when a manufacturer co-develops an engine and oil together… and that engine uses 50% less oil than previous 2-strokes, is very clean/lean… I personally would respect their advice. Saving a couple bucks a gallon is not my first priority.
To all
I was just curious to what would happen if one used KLOTZ.
The only reason I mentioned it is that a certain snowmobile show on YouTube runs KLOTZ in the E-Tec rotax engines they run.
If I were to get an el tigre’ C-Tec 600 I would most likely run Cats oil as long as its under warranty.
Any way we got the 600 many of us were waiting for so let’s be happy about that.
Can anyone say el tigre’ 800 C-Tec?
John: As far as how far one can go on a tank of oil, my old sled uses about a quart of oil every 125 miles and holds just short of a gallon so can go about 425-450 safely. I know my oil use is 28:1 on my last fuel/ oil fill up as well. 65:1 would more than double my times between fillings and pretty sure the new Cats hold at least as much as my sled does so you should be able to go at least 800 miles before the light kicks on telling you to refill. That in majority of sleds gives you one tank of fuel to get to oil if you dont have it on you.
I guess I’m in the camp that uses Cat oil as specified. Ever since I bought an APV sled in 2002, I’ve gotten into the habit of buying the oil specified by the manufacturer. Since I haven’t had any trouble with it on my last two sleds, I certainly would go with the C-Tech-2 oil as specified.
Like a couple others have stated, trying to save 5-10 bucks per gallon (or $50 a season roughly) on a $10,000+ sled just doesn’t make sense. The risk isn’t worth the reward, IMO.
I am very pleased to see that the oil is priced nominally with other oils in the market place. That, in itself, would make it even more of a no-brainer as far as I’m concerned….
I love the portable bag idea. Kind of like Kwik Trip’s milk in a bag concept. The real question is does it pour green? LOL. I may have to try this out in my 73 tigre’s. Currently, I use Klotz in my mix and I will admit, I am addicted to the smell. What do you think, Klotz men’s cologne?
I agree that at least during the warranty period… just run the OEM oil and be done with it. However, 65:1 is nothing special IMO. My 03 F7 came out of the box running 80-85:1 — by time I realized it was this lean I already had several hundred miles on it with 0 issues. I adjusted the oil pump to bring it down to 55-60:1. After warranty on my Crossfire and F8 I also adjusted to that same level – again with 0 issues. 65:1 seems to me to be about the sweet spot of where today’s engines should be.
The ratio is 65:1 at full load, it is less than that at lower loads etc (could be as lean as 150:1)
After running demos this weekend in old forge, I can say that the average guy will get way more than 500 miles to a tank of oil.
The two demo sleds where **** pounded for over 400 miles each before the lights started flickering (somewhere between 400 and 425 miles), The oil sensor is up pretty high in the tank (I would guesstimate that at least 1/3 of a tank of oil was left,) I can’t give you an average ratio, or comment on fuel mileage as we where filling the sleds from jugs all weekend
The way i see it is, if you can afford to plunk down 10-12 grand on a new sled, you better not b*t*h about paying 50 for a gallon oil. its called protecting your investment. In a few years, that sled is gonna be a serious collectors item. Kinda like the 79, am i wrong?
Listen to Krom he knows what he is talking about it will run very lean at idle and low throttle
Gonna be really interesting seeing all the folks looking for the oil when (thru early reports) many expecting to get one of these sleds are going to be disappointed.
Seems dealers are rumored to be limited to 2 units??
So Informant. Why are thes sleds going to be looking for oil when you can go twice as far on a quart as a normal sled. I always bring oil with me on over nighters. Pretty simple thing there. I can go 4-500 miles on a tank and this sled will go 700-1000 miles on a tank. Taken care of I guess.
Jim,, seems that some dealers are thinking of not even stocking any since (updated) dealers are now rumored to be limited to 1 unit?!
Just going by what sources tell me is all.
I love it when someone says they here some dealers are not going to stock this oil since there is maybe a limit of one when this is the oil that is replacing all the other Cat synthetic oils. I bet your source is the internet and we all know that the internet is not allowed to lie. Lol! Re-read the part of this oil replacing the other synthetics and get back to me. Going to be the same price so betting against your source.
My dealer is a small time dealer btw and he has at least 4 coming from snow check alone with extra show room sleds as well.
Jim, I personally used to work for a neighboring dealer and the source I have is the main service tech from that dealer who is at another dealer now (no internet bull sh:t).
At this point they have not committed to stocking it.
Just remember Jim, you are posting on “The Internet”, Lol
Informant. Why would they not stock it since you can run it in any cat and it is going to replace the existing oils? If you order a sled and your dealer sells you the wrong oil and it burns down, who is to blame? Dealer is going to get the shaft Big Time. This is not rocket science so give it up. The sled requires this oil and if you run other oils and have issues you are going to be the one paying or your dealer and I dont know any dealer who likes to pay for warranty work out of his/ her pocket. I can gaurantee you if I ordered this sled I would order the oil for it. Probably 4 gallons at a time. Are they not going to order it for me?
Well Jim, one sled allowed and (MAYBE) 1 case stocked UNTIL there’s a demand for more than that. And based on sled qty’s TOLD from reps at Cat to them, I don’t blame them. Time will tell is all I can say at this time.
The dealer is praying there’s a typographical error on Qty’s somewhere along the line btw.
Well Jim, one sled allowed and (MAYBE) 1 case stocked UNTIL there’s a demand for more than that. And based on sled qty’s TOLD from reps at Cat to them, I don’t blame them. Time will tell is all I can say at this time.
The dealer is praying there’s a typographical error on Qty’s somewhere along the line btw.
Oops!
John, spill in aisle 4.
C-TEC2 Synthetic isn’t going to replace APV Synthetic, at least for the near term. Could it happen a couple (or more) years from now? Sure.
IMO, a dealer would be foolish not to stock C-TEC2 oil, even if they only sell a single ZR6000. You don’t need to have amazing powers to foresee that the more C-TEC2 sleds/engines that are sold, the more need for this oil.
If a customer doesn’t have a nearby Cat dealer (or a nearby dealer that’s wise enough to stock this oil) there’s always online sales, either directly through Cat or through online retailers (shameless plug here for this site’s title sponsors Country Cat and Ken’s Sports).
So I think it’s pretty misleading to suggest that there will be difficulty in obtaining this oil.
might be hard to find “out on the trail” but yeah online and dealerships no problem. oh and as a plus, with it’s collapsible package, as you top off, you can squeeze the container down and make room in your pack for more cup cakes.
In talking to test riders the sled in the 50-60 mph neighborhood should pull at least 16 mpg and oil ratio will be closer to 75:1. That gives you a range on a gallon of oil of right around 1,200 miles. Most people wont even use an entire gallon in a season. That is Cheap when you consider the oil is $46.00/gallon.
Living in Sweden and have 320 miles to nearest Arctic Cat dealer. Bought a new Norseman 6000 and the warrenty is only covered (more, it is a demand because it will fail if I use other than Cat oil) if I use Cat OIL.
Q1: Should I even care about sending it to Service because of practical reasons I’m going to use other than Cat oil?
Q2: I havent seen Cat oil other than at Cat store
Q3: Should I have down time on my Sled if the Store does not have the OIL in stock when I need it.
Q4: In Sweden the price of the Cat oil is near Gold prices. $84 for a gallon, the high performance Oil that I have used for my M8 and F7 is at $43 a gallon. And that is about what BRP and Polaris takes for their oil at store.
Q4: Look at Q1-Q4 and ask yourself if I or ppl in the same situation should go with other brand just because of practical reasons?
@John Sanberg, I will say… if you dont have a Cat dealer near your place, change Team.
I have a 2019 ctec2 zr6000, and will use the oil, smells good also. So can I use this in my non power valve 500 Sabercat 500 motor (Suzuki)? If so drain or use most of the amsoil I am using in it now? Also, being a much thinner oil, how will the affect my ratio, going thru a mechanical oil pump? Thanks
I guess my 2014 Skidoo Renegade 800 E-Tech is so stupid it does not even know that it’s not supposed to run well on Klotz. As little as it snows in Southern MI it may never wear out..
I was riding it one night about 40 MPH on ruted up solid ice trails it was like 10F out and the sled was running hot.. I need to add ice scratchers..
There were some places where there was still some snow off trail .. If I drive through the snow and spun the track to get snow on the heat exchanger it would cool the engine down nicely ..
Moral of the story if you run it too hot you can burn it down no matter what brand of oil you use..
After reading many comments I see there are all dated 2013 ,, I wonder how this worked out?
I paid $32 per Gallon for my Klotz .. use it in chain saws and weed wackers too..
You know if you used some other oil and really thought it was too lean you could dump some oil in the gas tank .. maybe 125 to 1 maybe 100 to one.. At one time think AMS oil tried to claim 80 to 1 or 100 to one..
BEL RAY oil claimed up to 50 to 1 but I liked to mix it at 40 to 1 in air cooled Motocross bikes..
I ran low on klotZ one time and bought 1 quart of Ams oil at a gas station .. I am not overly impressed with AMS oil for the price..
But if you want to buy AMS Oil you need to become a dealer to get a reasonable price.
Otherwise just go to Auto Zone and buy Mobile 1 ..
Years ago I bought Yamalube by the case.. it’s really not that good . I bought a 2 stroke road bike used Yamaha RZ-350.. The seller used Sikolene Synthetic and he gave me 1 quart .. then I went back to Yamahalube it smoked did not run as good so I put Klotz in that too,.,. I was very impressed with Sikolene however..
Also if anyone really is addicted to Klotz smell they do sell Klotz scented candles..
Back in the late 70’s early 80’s the Pro Motocross teams used Bean Oil at 20-1 pre mixed..
They amateurs always mixed gas on race day .. and used up the oil premix in their Van on the way home from the races..