[JTucker]

No ethanol fuel has made it to our area. Any body having good results with it?

 

[TS Tinker]

No ethanol fuel has made it to our area. Any body having good results with it?

Non ethanol fuel in my area is always regular or 87 octain and is more expensive than Premium or 92-93 octain. My 1700's seem to run better on 92-93 so that is what they get. I haven't tried it in them but I do run it in my other small gas motors. Replacing fuel lines in them was getting old.

 

[PatC]

Out here in the inland Northwest, all non-ethanol fuel seems to be premium (91+ octane). I run 87 in mine but have had no ill effects from it.

 

[Idahoser]

If I can get it, I use it. Small engines are hit hardest by ethanol.

Before I traded in my gas powered Ram for a diesel, I was using e0 for a couple years, and regularly got 2mpg better than I had been on e10.

It was a bit of a trip to get e0, so I'd fill up the truck and several 5gal cans, and rotate the oldest cans into the truck whenever I needed a fillup. They didn't sit long enough to worry about treating them, but if I did want to I could use the old pink Sta-Bil.

 

[PatC]

Problem is, the higher octane offsets any MPG gains I'd get in my bike, since it's set up to run on 87 octane. If I run premium in it now, I get worse mileage than with regular, and it runs a bit more sluggish as well.

 

[MT Buckeye]

Problem is, the higher octane offsets any MPG gains I'd get in my bike, since it's set up to run on 87 octane. If I run premium in it now, I get worse mileage than with regular, and it runs a bit more sluggish as well.

That's funny, mine is just the opposite. My bike runs sooooo much better on premium that I carry some octane boost in my saddlebag in case I can only get 87.

 

[Strompilot]

Problem is, the higher octane offsets any MPG gains I'd get in my bike, since it's set up to run on 87 octane. If I run premium in it now, I get worse mileage than with regular, and it runs a bit more sluggish as well.

Pat--you ride a VN1500, it appears. Isn't the recommended fuel for that bike 87 octane? If that's the case, then it makes no sense to run higher octane fuel in it anyway. At least that has been my experience running premium fuel in any engines designed for regular 87 octane.

Now my '10 Nomad was recommended to run on premium fuel, but when only 87 octane was available, as is often the case in some of the small communities, it seemed to do ok on that.

 

[PatC]

Pat--you ride a VN1500, it appears. Isn't the recommended fuel for that bike 87 octane? If that's the case, then it makes no sense to run higher octane fuel in it anyway. At least that has been my experience running premium fuel in any engines designed for regular 87 octane.

Now my '10 Nomad was recommended to run on premium fuel, but when only 87 octane was available, as is often the case in some of the small communities, it seemed to do ok on that.

Well, we've gone around and around here on octane and fuels. What I've discovered after looking into it is that from the factory, my '04 Classic owner's manual recommends 91 0ctane fuel. However, that's using the Japanese and European method of octane calculation, which is usually the RON method. (Research Octane Number). There is also a MON (Motor Octane Number). The RON is a lot higher than the MON, but are nearly identical in ACTUAL ocrtane . In the US, we don't use one, we average them both. That's why on the pump it says "87 octane (RON+MON/2) Octane rating is simply the speed at which the fuel burns to prevent pre-detonation in high compression engines. lots of guys think it's somehow a better grade of fuel, but it isn't. It's simply designed to burn slower and thus not as hot, which on a bike set up lean from the factory is warranted. But once I opened up the air, pipes and so on, 87 gets me better throttle response, better mileage, and certainly lower cost.

In the US they take the RON number of 91 for regular, add the MON number of somewhere around 83, and average it to get 87. They are basically the same octane rating. In other words, 87 octane is 91 in Japan and Europe.

Here's an article that explains it better than I:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2012/09/octane-ratings

 

[Idahoser]

I used to have a Ford Aerostar minivan. It was specified to use 87. However I discovered that I got better mileage and less pinging if I used higher octane.

You should know how your engine behaves with different octane levels and with or without ethanol (for as long as they insist on forcing it on us, since it's never going to be "good" for an engine).

 

[PatC]

I would urge anyone to use whatever octane they want,, but it works best for me to use the lowest I can get without knocking or pinging. But I really don't see how a standard compression engine runs better with a fuel that retards detonation.

Maybe it's witchcraft! LOL

 

[gossfrank]

you will have more power on reguler then supreme if your bike d'ont pink with the regulare if you have a motor that pink suprem will be better pinkin i the result of an explosion before your spark plug light up in tath case you use higher octane sorry for my English i am a french canadian

 

[waldowales]

Well, not quite right. Firing before the plugs fire is rare, usually caused by a hot spot in the cylinder, and is called pre-ignition. Pinging is caused by the flame front propagating too rapidly after the spark plug ignites it. Higher octane slows the flame front and reduces the tendency.