We racked up many hours of hard use on both Alisyn's full synthetic Pro Gear and Pro Power lubricants.

One of the most important (and often confusing) decisions we make as performance boaters is the lubricating oil we choose to run in our high performance engines. Weather you run a highly-modified or stock engine, the importance of using high quality lubricants is just as great. We began using Aerospace Lubricant’s Alisyn oils almost two years ago, and have been using their products exclusively ever since that time. With the kind of abuse our driver Helmut Freitag can subject our test engine to, we aim to report on our long-term findings on how well Alisyn Pro Power 21 2-cycle and Pro Gear 21 lower unit oils have handled our stress testing.

Since our original test of Pro Gear 21, many of our readers have asked how a zero-weight oil can match and even exceed the protection of 80-weight gear oils currently being used. What makes Alisyn lubricants exceptional? It’s the additive package they developed and use in all of their products. The additive package gives the oil its protection and performance qualities, and it is this formula that distinguishes Alisyn from all other products available today.

Originally developed for use in airport surveillance radar pedestal gearboxes, their lubricants needed to provide 100% reliable performance in temperature extremes. Since this application required a lower viscosity oil that would not freeze or break down, a massive two-year development effort resulted in a successful lubricant that would provide the same protection as much high viscosity oils, in a low-viscosity formula.

Alisyn oils are used by many manufacturers of racing engines, such as Honda Development’s Indy race engines, Ilmore Engineering, and several NASCAR and Formula One teams. How’s that for a solid pedigree? Read on…..

Alisyn Pro Gear 21 Synthetic Gear Lubricant

Through testing, we found that a mix ratio of 40:1 was ideal for high performance engines, providing needed high-RPM protection without any carbonization.

Back in December of 2005, we were stunned by the gains we achieved by using Pro Gear 21 Type 1 less-than-zero weight lubricant in our Mercury Sportmaster lower unit. The reduction in parasitic horsepower losses due to the extremely lightweight lubricant rewarded us with unprecedented gains in top speed in multiple tests using two boats. But many have asked how well such a thin lubricant could protect gears in the long term, under constant hard use.

Pro Gear 21 is highly developed high performance lubricant designed to withstand the kinds of loads that traditional heavier lubricants have been required to manage. Since lower unit gears operate submerged in these high viscosity lubricants, more power is needed to overcome the hydrodynamic drag created by such thick lubricants. Going from 80-weight gearcase oil to less-than-zero weight Alisyn allows more power to be used for propulsion, and our gains were a consistent near 2-MPH increase in top speed.

As mentioned, our initial tests proved the power gains, however questions on our forums have been raised about long term use of such a low viscosity oil – and that’s just what we’ve been using for a few years in our Mercury Sportmaster gearcases all this time.

We run the gearcase high and fast – a recipe for the best possible speeds, as well as extreme loading on the bearings and gears. We had Speedmaster Marine, located in Long Island NY, once again disassemble our gearcase for inspection after long term use. Upon complete disassembly of our Sportmaster gearcase, there was no visible wear on gears or bearings. Gear teeth looked new, and even the shifting engagement surfaces looked new. Pro Gear 21 continues to provide the required gear and bearing protection while giving us the benefit of added power. But what if water did enter the gearcase? Pro Gear 21 is designed to be non-foaming, and it will resist water intrusion and breakdown of the lubricant – so you should be protected in the event of a seal failure.

For those of you that are not looking for the highest top speeds or quarter-mile times, Pro Gear is available in heavier weights, which would be ideal for the casual boater that generally does not change or check their gear oil as often as performance enthusiasts might. As we reported back in 2005, Pro Gear 21 is a win-win situation for easy speed gains, and that conclusion still remains.