A fuel Question

[zbunker]

Hello all,
I found a place that sells ethanol free fuel. I always run Hi-Test (91) on my '14 RT and get mileage in the 30's depending on the type of riding. The ethanol free fuel is 87 octane and cost more than diesel. Gonna run a couple of tank fulls of the ethanol and see if it cost effective. Will keep all abreast of what I find.

But on another level would it be better just to run ethanol free anyway?

Thanks,
Ron

[Bob Denman]

I would certainly think so...
I can't wait to see the results of your test; good luck!

[ARtraveler]

Based on all the nightmares we hear about ethanol, if ethanol free is available, then I would recommend using it.

We do not have ethanol added to our fuel here, so I guess that I am lucky. Highest octane available is 90. My 's run great on the 90 and not so great on the 87.

When I have choice, I choose 90. Now where is the picture of the Dos XX guy?

[DrewNJ]

I'd choose the proper octane first.

[Dragonrider]

Ethanol is death for engines - just ask any professional fisherman.... My friends have spent thousands over the last couple of years converting their Valk's carbs to all silicon carb parts, because the ethanol eats the rubber parts up, and puts sludge in the motor...

[jcthorne]

Spyders do not have carburetors nor rubber parts in the fuel systems that are incompatible with ethanol. Does not make ethanol good, just that we don't have the problems many older engines and power equipment have.

[Bob Denman]

We're not "bulletproof"; but we're also not in too bad a shape with it!
If I had access to a source for it; I'd run ethanol-free fuel; I tried it in Springfield, and saw an immedtate 3 mpg jump in fuel economy!

[DrewNJ]

And our spyders do not run on the water, or stored on the water, or do we buy gas at a marina that may see less fuel turnover and have its typically aging tanks in the ground right next to the water.
Marina gas and marina gas stations are horrible!

While ethanol is not ideal, its more of an issue for boats that get marina gas and have never seen ethanol. This became mainstream only a handful of years ago when marinas started seeing ethanol in their fuel.

The majority of us on the land have been running ethanol through our vehicles for quite some time now with no ethanol related failures in modern day equipment..

[Dragonrider]

Find someone with a 2013 Spyder with gas fume issues, remove the cruddy gas & replace with non-ETOH gas, then ask about the fumes.

[Chupaca]

to see your results. If you can find it use it. I can't so run 91+ sea foam now and again and all is well...

[DrewNJ]

Except for a marine environment, I honestly can't remember when I've used non-ethanol fuel. With that said, I also cannot remember the last time I've had any sort of fuel related failure on anything I've owned. Nor can I remember any friends or relatives ever having a failure in any of their vehicles related to ethanol fuels.

Its not ideal, no doubt. But a much larger concern for watercraft, especially older watercraft.
But, we don't have 13' Spyder with fuel/heat issues either... [emoji57]

[valkraider]

Any vehicle built in the last decade will have zero issues with ethanol up to 10% - as long as you are driving the vehicle.

For fuel storage the concern is that ethanol absorbs more moisture than gasoline. The way this predominantly happens is condensation on the inside of the tank.

I have done much research because here in the northwest we store our boat all winter.

If you plan on storing fuel - try and get as little ethanol as possible, use fuel stabilizer, and fill the tank so there is less surface area exposed on the inside of the tank.

If you drive a vehicle, no worries. You'll burn the fuel before the ethanol absorbs moisture.

Ethanol does slightly lower fuel economy. Depending on the engine setup, 10% ethanol will reduce your fuel economy by 2 to 8 percent (there are some rare engines that do better on ethanol - but not these engines, and not very many).

People claiming ethanol problems on modern vehicles are full of BS. Every vehicle made in the past 10 or 20 years has been made to handle E10. The vast majority of the population of the USa has been using E10 at least in the winter months - for many years. Most of the large population states went to E10 year around a long time ago.

We have a 1998 Valkyrie and a 2003 VTX running on E10 since day 1 for tens of thousands of problem free miles.

We even have multiple boats using E10 with no problems - but the boats are not stored in the water - but they are stored outdoors in the rainy northwest...


--
Posted from my iPhone using the "Tapatalk" app.

[Bfromla]

Hiya, same question, been working on about a month now i avg 30 in town & 50 hwy e- free. thanks to gas cubby app on my phone. Otherwise I'd never know!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Brian Kay]

I used non-ethanol or ethanol free gas when I was riding in the mountains of north Georgia. I was convinced I felt a performance difference and noticed that I received improved miles per gallon efficiency... Even though it was 87 octane. So when I woke up the next day, I searched for a gas station near me that sells E-free gas, and low and behold the gas station 3 miles from my house sells E-free 90 octane. You bet your butt I'm going to be filling up there for now on. If I believe it will be better, then it will lol. Although I really don't care about the gas mpg's, but I do care about the woo-hoo performance.

By the way, the twisties in N. GA were fun and I was exhausted after putting in several hundred miles of sight seeing.

[Bob Denman]

If you were exhausted after "sightseeing" , you were doing it right!!

[jcthorne]

Find someone with a 2013 Spyder with gas fume issues, remove the cruddy gas & replace with non-ETOH gas, then ask about the fumes.

Trouble is the problem is not with the fuel, its with the fuel system that does not contain said fuel. The Ethanol fuel was the prescribed petrol for the vehicle long before they were designed and released. Its not as though the rules changed on BRP after they were built. Its a design defect, not bad gas. Its the same gas every other vehicle runs. Non-ethanol fuel is simply not available in large parts of the country by federal mandate and has been for a long time.

[Orange Spyder Man]

I put over 100,000 miles on 2 GoldWings... 2002 & 2005.. using 10% blended ethanol/gasoline ... without any ill effects to the engine or components ... most modern vehicle engines can use gas & 10% ethanol/gasoline fuel..