Sunoco Optima Fuel

[JS3535]

Just wondering if anyone has used this fuel in their Spyder? It’s a 95 octane ethanol free fuel made for small engines or storage vehicles. I don’t usually worry about fresh fuel because I’m always riding however my Spyder is probably going to be parked for awhile so I thought about getting some of this and running it through before it gets parked. I’m in California so it’s hard to come by ethanol free fuel at the pump. TIA for all the input....I feel this is going to be a big topic.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Just wondering if anyone has used this fuel in their Spyder? It’s a 95 octane ethanol free fuel made for small engines or storage vehicles. I don’t usually worry about fresh fuel because I’m always riding however my Spyder is probably going to be parked for awhile so I thought about getting some of this and running it through before it gets parked. I’m in California so it’s hard to come by ethanol free fuel at the pump. TIA for all the input....I feel this is going to be a big topic.

It will work, however I'll bet it's not priced the same as 91* .... The NON-ethyl thing is Good, but I wouldn't pay more for it, modern large engines are made to use the Ethyl crap .... small engines not so much ....... annnnnnnnnnnnd reg. 87* works fine .... been using it for 45,000 + miles ..... Mike

[CopperSpyder]

I have never used Sunoco Optima Fuel. I use 93 Octane with Stable 360 at every fill up. I have let my Spyder sit in the garage on a battery tender in the winter for 10 weeks + in the past including this past year and have never had a problem, starts right up runs great. I have decided to get a trailer and bring the Spyder with me to Florida next winter no more missing the ride.

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Sunoco? You mean that name still exists in the gasoline world? I wonder who owns it. Sun Oil doesn't exist any more does it?

[Highwayman2013]

Sunoco? You mean that name still exists in the gasoline world? I wonder who owns it. Sun Oil doesn't exist any more does it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunoco_LP

[Revalden]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunoco_LP

I just read that Wikipedia piece, It was a nice read. Very busy S.O.B.s.

[triplethreat]

Using a higher octane gasoline than what the manufacturer recommends is a solid waste of money....and actually decreases performance from the engine. The higher octane requires a higher compression ratio to fully ignite the fuel in the combustion chamber.....and as far as I know, the compression ratio is a fixed number unless you have had engine modification done. So if you are running a gasoline with anything higher than the recommended 91 octane, the engine is not performing as well as it would with 91 octane.......and you are hurting the performance and wasting money.

[Mikey]

I have never used Sunoco Optima Fuel. I use 93 Octane with Stable 360 at every fill up. I have let my Spyder sit in the garage on a battery tender in the winter for 10 weeks + in the past including this past year and have never had a problem, starts right up runs great. I have decided to get a trailer and bring the Spyder with me to Florida next winter no more missing the ride.

I use the Stable 360 in my gas cans for all my small engines, and put it in everything that's going to be stored for any length of time!! works for me

[PMK]

For what you described, using the Sunoco would be great. However, to be effective, you would need to burn as much of the ethanol fuel out of the tank, refill with Sunoco non ethanol, ride and refill again to eliminate the ethanol.

Readers here make various recommendations regarding additives. Myself, I use Yamalube Fuel Med RX. Not only does it contend with ethanol phase separation, but also has focus on stopping ethanol induced salts and corrosion that other fuel stabilizers do not contend with.

[carbonation]

Optima is an excellent storage fuel, but not necessary for daily use.
Been around a while, proven track record.
Run to empty, refill with Optima, sleep all winter, or however long your down season is in sunny CA.

[Big F]

Nice to hear someone else uses 87 octane!! A few of the Spyder owners in our riding club have to have 91 octane when we are out on an organized ride and get upset when they cannot find a station with 91?????? I have had 4 Spyders over the years and have used 87 octane in all of them and NOT A PROBLEM!!! I also get the same gas mileage as those that insist on 91 octane.. so what is the big deal with 91 octane?? Go figure..
BIG F

[JS3535]

I have stage 1 flash so 91 or higher is recommended. Also, the 1330 has a 12:1 compression ratio which is pretty high and would run better on higher octane fuel to prevent knocking. Since I don’t know the exact parameters of the ECU and where the timing is set I prefer to run the highest I can find at a pump. The Optima just happens to be a 95 octane (because I have never seen a 87 race fuel) and its ethanol free which is always a plus.

[stevencovert]

If I'm near a marina I'll fill with non-ethanol as much as possible. I also run 87/89. The Ethanol additive is also a nice thing if bike is not going to be ridden for a while. I have two 2008 GS's with over 30K miles on each, and doing a plug change I inspected the injector boots and down in the carbs with the tiny camera for kicks - saw nothing unusual, looked brand new. Doesn't appear that Ethanol is doing bad things - but I am no mechanic. Still don't like using Ethanol though after it did mess up so many of my small engines.

[carbonation]

Just bear in mind that marina gas does not have to meet any top tier requirements because it's not for road use.
When a tanker delivery truck fills up, lets say a full load of 8600 gallons, about 860 gallons of ethanol is loaded first. Then one of the BOB's (CBOB, RBOB, CARBOB) is added, for regular fuel that is 85 octane blendstock. At the end of the fill process, if it's a name brand fuel, about 1 gallon of additive (BP Invigorate, Mobil Synergy, etc...) is splashed in. No names get a standard dose of EPA approved FI cleaner.
That's why the water factor comes in. If the fuel absorbs enough water to cause phase separation where the alcohol and water mix are layered in the tank, you have 85 octane gas left floating on a pool of yuck.
Marina fuel wont get the alcohol, but also will not get the additive to keep the injectors and valves happy. It is very likely straight 91 octane CBOB with no additive of any kind because it is not intended for road use. That does not mean it wont work, or is bad. It does mean that you should consider doping every tank of fuel with an additive of some kind. If you don't feel like playing at home chemist, Yamaha Ring Free or Fuel Med RX, or Bell Performance Ethanol Defense are excellent adds. A home brew of 50/50 Seafoam and and Chevron Techron has been my go to for a long time. Zero problems here on many, many bikes both 2 and 4 stroke.

[canamjhb]

Another vote for YamaLube. I used this for years in the fuel for my 2 stroke dinghy motor (a 30HP Tohatsu). When I was "Snowbirding", my boat sat in the water in Seattle for 7-8 months each year. At the end of the boating season, I would disconnect the fuel line and run the motor until it ran out of fuel. The next Spring, I had no issues with the old fuel. I also put a couple of glugs of SeaFoam in my fuel tanks for winter storage. But my main treatment was with Yamalube which I added to each tank all season..... Jim