June 12, 2012 1:49 AM PDT
Good info. I have always run the highest octane I could get and usually try to stay with major brands. After reading that article I may try moving down a grade and see what happens.
June 12, 2012 2:54 AM PDT
Well Black9 that is definitely a great and informative article. I have suspected that lowering the octane a notch would not effect performance of my basically stock twin cam ever since I was forced to use that 85. I will now definitely do a comparison test. As for ethanol, I have not seen ANY pumps without the 10% warning, and I have avoided the few 15% that I have come across. Thanks for the link, one more reason I state that this is the Best Damn Biker Site on this here web thing.
And in my Ford 460, I did try premium to see if the cost versus mileage (avg 7.5 to 8.5 - 9.0 with a tail wind) was worthwhile and it is not, and it runs a little hotter with premium.
June 12, 2012 4:42 AM PDT
91-93 whichever I can get, no preference on brand. Can't get Ethanol free here though.
June 12, 2012 6:38 AM PDT
Manual calls for 91 octane but I can usually find only 93 as the closest match. But I don't buy Citgo gas. I figure Hugo Chavez doesn't need to sell his gas here if'n he can't stand the US govt.
June 12, 2012 7:42 AM PDT
Per my manual the following regarding oxygenated fuels," fuel system damage or performance problems resulting from the use of an oxygenated fuels exceeding more than the percentages above are not covered under warranty."
(ethanol mix only 10%, MTBE mix 15%, methanol(methyl/wood-alcohol- 5%)
thanks for the link Black9, a lot of good info there.It sounds like the Harley motors git better performance n mileage from the higher octane boost,from what I am reading here.
Calif has 4 diff major suppliers,now that I have a better understanding of the advantages & disadvantages of the different types of fuel,I am going shopping for another gas brand,maybe the cheapo stuff is doing some damage to my performance & mileage.I have tried running the higher test, yet the bike runs poorly, so I went back to regular.
June 12, 2012 7:58 AM PDT
Lowest we have here in UK is 95...
Other 2 grades available are 97 and 99...
My truck runs on the 99 under normal conditions but when I race it I make my own mix which is 105 to 107.....
oh and...No Ethanol in ours....but then again, our gas price at the moment for 95 is approx $10 to $11 a gallon, depending where you go...
June 13, 2012 12:21 AM PDT
Jetman, yours is actually the same stuff ... your rating system in the UK is different from ours:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating />
I'm surprized you don't have ethanol over there though ... you grow a hell of a lot of rape, at least in the north where I have family! You must be shipping it all over here!
June 13, 2012 12:39 AM PDT
89 in my 1998 Wideglide....engine pings at higher octane
93 in the TC motors....just because of the efficiency of EFI s
Peace
June 13, 2012 5:58 AM PDT
I prefer Chevron/Texaco because of their additive, "Techron", which is reputed to be effective. Hondas run best on 87 octane.
Higher octane rating means a highter percentage of non-combustible additives, that means the fuel ignites at a higher temperature and keeps it from detonating before the piston hits the top of its stroke in high compression engines, like H-D.
blurplebuzz wrote...
What brand of gas are you using ?
I run regular 87 who ever has the cheapest around.Will using one brand be any advantage over using Qikstop or cheapie gas?
I have a liquid cooled Honda,manual says use 87.
TIA !!!
June 13, 2012 10:21 AM PDT
Jetman, yours is actually the same stuff ... your rating system in the UK is different from ours:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating />
I'm surprized you don't have ethanol over there though ... you grow a hell of a lot of rape, at least in the north where I have family! You must be shipping it all over here!
Ethanol mixes are only for Agricultural machinery.....
| "regular" gasoline in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US |
91–92 |
82–83 |
87 |
| Pertamina "Pertamax" gasoline in Indonesia |
92 |
|
|
| Shell "Super" in Indonesia |
92 |
|
|
| n-butane |
94[7] |
90.1 |
|
| 2-methylbutane |
|
90.3 |
|
| Pertamina "Pertamax Plus" gasoline in Indonesia |
95 |
|
|
| Shell "Super Extra" in Indonesia |
95 |
|
|
| Shell "FuelSave " in Malaysia |
95 |
|
|
| "EuroSuper" or "EuroPremium" or "Regular unleaded" in Europe, "SP95" in France |
95 |
85–86 |
90–91 |
| "Premium" or "Super unleaded" gasoline in US (10% ethanol blend) |
97 |
87-88 |
92-93 |
| Shell "V-Power 97" in Malaysia |
97 |
|
|
| Shell "V-Power 98", Caltex "Platinum 98 with Techron", Esso Mobil "Synergy 8000" and SPC "LEVO 98" in Singapore |
98 |
89–90 |
93–94 |
| Great Britain, Slovenia and Spain, "SP98" in France |
98 |
89–90 |
93–94 |
June 14, 2012 2:20 AM PDT
If you look at the text right above the chart you will read the octane is measured in AKI in the US and Canada and RON every where else in the world.
--------------------------------------------------------
Difference between RON and AKI
Because of the 8 to 10 point difference noted above, the octane rating shown in Canada and the United States is 4 to 5 points lower than the rating shown elsewhere in the world for the same fuel. See the table in the following section for a comparison.
---------------------------------------------------------
So basically 94 AKI (US) is the same as 98 or 99 RON (every where else in the world)
Now that we settled who has the biggest... oops I mean highest octane, back to the question on brands.
To many people gasoline is gasoline, they select the octane and assume that no matter what brand it is it is all the same. However gasoline are slightly different from brand to brand. Some mfg use additives to help keep you engine clean, etc - you've all seen the commercials. The thing about the gas at the QuikiMart is they do not have their own gasoline line and typically buy from many different sources. So if your bike/car runs good with QuikiMart gas today... it may not tomorrow. I tend to stick with the major brands for quality consistency, and I really haven't seen QuikiMart gas all that much cheaper anyway.
June 17, 2012 12:32 PM PDT
So maybe the question should be what of the diff formulas/brands out there on the market would best perform in a watercooled motorcycle, as opposed to a oil cooled motorcycle.
Between Qmart, & local Arco gas=BP & Qstop I have found the Qstop gas to be poorest in quality.
Also is anyone getting gas w/out Ethanol ? or some sort of aditive?
octane available and non-ethanol is pretty much unheard of. We make gas here and I can't buy it!!???