A Common List of Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of 2 Stroke Engines:

- Two-stroke engines do not have valves, simplifying their construction. 
- Two-stroke engines fire once every revolution (four-stroke engines fire once every other
revolution). This gives two-stroke engines a significant power boost. 
- Two-stroke engines are lighter, and cost less to manufacture. 
- Two-stroke engines have the potential for about twice the power in the same size because
there are twice as many power strokes per revolution.

Disadvantages of 2 Stroke Engines:

- Two-stroke engines don't live as long as four-stroke engines. The lack of a dedicated
lubrication system means that the parts of a two-stroke engine wear-out faster. Two-stroke
engines require a mix of oil in with the gas to lubricate the crankshaft, connecting rod and
cylinder walls.
- Two-stroke oil can be expensive. Mixing ratio is about 4 ounces per gallon of gas: burning
about a gallon of oil every 1,000 miles.
- Two-stroke engines do not use fuel efficiently, yielding fewer miles per gallon. 
- Two-stroke engines produce more pollution. 
From: 
-- The combustion of the oil in the gas. The oil makes all two-stroke engines smoky to some
extent, and a badly worn two-stroke engine can emit more oily smoke.
-- Each time a new mix of air/fuel is loaded into the combustion chamber, part of it leaks out
through the exhaust port.
 What's the difference between a 2-stroke engine and a 4-stroke engine?

Gasoline and diesel engines are both available in either 2-stroke or 4-stroke versions

In a 4-stroke engine the sequence can be written:

1. Compression Stroke. The piston goes up and compresses a fuel/air mixture (in
a gas engine) or just air (in a diesel).
2. Power Stroke. The fuel is ignited (by a spark in a gas engine, by being injected
into high temperature air in a diesel.) The energy released drives the piston
down. This provides the momentum necessary to keep the crankshaft turning
and make the other three strokes happen.
3. Exhaust Stroke. The piston goes up and pushes the burned gases out the
exhaust valve.
4. Intake Stroke. The piston goes down and draws in new air, or fuel/air mixture,
ready for the next compression stroke.

In a 2-stroke engine, the last three strokes are combined into one.

1. Compression Stroke. The piston goes up and compresses a fuel/air mixture (in
a gas engine) or just air (in a diesel.)
2. Power Stroke. The fuel is ignited and drives the piston down. As the piston
goes down it not only turns the crankshaft but also pressurizes the fuel/air
mixture in the crankcase which is about to be admitted to the piston for the next
cycle. Near the bottom of the stroke, an outlet opens and the exhaust gases are
released. Even nearer the bottom of the stroke, an inlet opens and new fuel/air
(which was just pressurized by the piston) rushes in ready for compression.

Because a 2-stroke engine gets a power stroke twice as often as a four-stroke engine,
it puts out about twice as much power (and makes twice as much noise) as a four-
stroke engine of the same size.

The downside is that, because the 2-stroke engine is sloppier about how it expels
exhaust and takes in fuel, doing them almost at the same time, it is more polluting.
Also, the 2-stroke engine lets fuel into the crankcase, where the piston can pressurize
it prior to intake. In order to keep the crankcase lubricated, you have to add expensive
lubricants to the fuel, and even so, 2-stroke engines don't last very long.

So 2-stroke engines are used in chainsaws and lawnmowers, where power/weight is

important, but the engine isn't used for long periods so pollution and engine life are
less of a concern. The continuously used engines in cars and trucks are 4-stroke
engines.