87 Octane fuel

[shelbydave]

Talk about raising the dead, almost exactly a one year old post raised from the dead.

I've tried them all and did not notice any difference in performance or mileage once the rotax had a few hundred miles on it.

JT

You'll probably see it again too... Actually, the octane rating is far less important than some other common mistakes people make...

1. No need to run a tank of premium to "clean her up". In fact, it probably does just the opposite, if you are regularly using a lower octane fuel. The burn inhibitors could tend to collect, whereas running the fuel you normally run, the engine / computer is tuned for that.
2. Stay away from ethanol if you possibly can - 10% would be the highest, and never 15%.
3. Avoid constantly changing brands of fuel. Pick one, and stay with it. While the formula is the same across the board, there are some brand specific additives that are used, and mixing those additives constantly can also leave deposits, or residue, as each additive alone may do wonders, when they are mixed, they may do harm. Try to stay with one brand, or use the "sister" brand if in a region where your brand isn't available (Exxon / Mobil for example). So that being said, you don't do yourself any favors by chasing the cheapest gas.

 

[Knarfoh]

I was wondering if I'm the only RT rider using the 87 octane fuel? I've tried 93,91,89 & 87 octane fuels. To me the Spyder RT runs best on 87 octane and gets a more complete fuel burn. Its very flat here and no mountains and at sea level mostly. I've never noticed any engine ping or knock using the 87 octane.

Anyone have input or thoughts on this?

The differences may be subtle but they are there. I rode a considerable amount of time using just 87 octane when I first bought my 2012 RT-S. At some point I switched to 93 and I can tell the difference.

Where I live (Ohio) the difference in price is usually around 20 cents a gallon so for 80 cents more on a fill-up I am happy to stick with the higher octane.

I never heard any pinging or clanging either with 87 octane.

 

[Chupaca]

choices, choices..!!

It works fine no doubt..and the ultimate choice is yours.. Manufacturer said so and this will not void your warranty..now for us the savings do not make up for not using the best in these techy machines..who's to say that some of these O2, lean/rich mixture, limp home problems are not from nanny not finding the adjustment needed when the 87 is not optimum..jmo...use what works for you, hope you don't pick your doctors the same way...:dontknow:

 

[Mr. White]

I use 87 in BR1 and my Gold Wing trike, Punkin'. The reason....the ranch next door has several vehicles and a 250 gallon bulk gas tank. I stay up late and sneak over around 1:00 am, waiting for his huge bull to be asleep and fill up a couple of five gallon cans. I have mentioned if he thought about 93 and he said with the amount of gas he uses, he can't afford to upgrade....oh, well, I will just have to live with this.

:spyder2:

 

[shelbydave]

I use 87 in BR1 and my Gold Wing trike, Punkin'. The reason....the ranch next door has several vehicles and a 250 gallon bulk gas tank. I stay up late and sneak over around 1:00 am, waiting for his huge bull to be asleep and fill up a couple of five gallon cans. I have mentioned if he thought about 93 and he said with the amount of gas he uses, he can't afford to upgrade....oh, well, I will just have to live with this.

:spyder2:

:roflblack::roflblack: That's funny right there... I don't care who you are!! :roflblack::roflblack:

 

[Firefly]

Whatever you do, don't bother with mid grade. Mid grade is a huge scam. Most (if not all) pumps mix mid grade on the fly using premium and regular. There is no set ratio they have to use.... so you could be getting 80% regular and 20% premium.
At least that's what I've been told.
If you're gonna pay the extra... Might as well go whole hog and do the 93.

 

[BajaRon]

You will never hear your Spyder knock or ping because (as others have said) the computer simply retards the ignition to compensate for lower octane fuel. Retarded ignition gives you less power and less fuel mileage (whether you notice it or not).

The colder it is and the higher the altitude, the lower the octane, (and the easier you ride - added to this post), the lower the octane you can get away with.

I realize everyone has their own opinion and that's fine. But you have to understand that we are dealing with the laws of physics here, and you may find they don't bend much to opinion.

 

[shelbydave]

You will never hear your Spyder knock or ping because (as others have said) the computer simply retards the ignition to compensate for lower octane fuel. Retarded ignition gives you less power and less fuel mileage (whether you notice it or not).

The colder it is and the higher the altitude, the lower the octane you can get away with.

I realize everyone has their own opinion and that's fine. But you have to understand that we are dealing with the laws of physics here, and you may find they don't bend much to opinion.

I like how you stated that. Although it's not easy, the octane decision should be driven by your environment, and driving habits over price per gallon.

 

[AbNormy]

Id run any pure gas i could find but since there ain't none i run startron

From Deep in the Hart of Texas!

 

[Jeriatric]

No 2% milk for me and nothing less than highest octane available for me:spyder:

 

[Dan McNally]

I've been using premium, but have discovered there are some stations in the area that sell ethanol-free gas, but only in 87 octane. I'm going to give it a try, since I assume no ethanol is better than a higher octane with ethanol. Does anyone have any data on that assumption?

 

[spydaman60]

Only the RT requires higher octane. The RS models are fine with the 87.. last time I checked.

I go with what BRP says. Ran 87 on my GS/RS for 56,000 miles. Tried a few tanks of 91-93 and it was a waste of money.

My 2012 RT says 91 --- so that's what I run.

couldn't agree more. our 2012 rss runs great on 87 and the few times i've tried the 91 and 89 i didn't see any difference, mileage or performance wise!

 

[Magdave]

Its a Porsche and pronounced Pour Sh A.

And her I though it was Porch something to swing on :joke:

 

[spydaman60]

I use 87 in BR1 and my Gold Wing trike, Punkin'. The reason....the ranch next door has several vehicles and a 250 gallon bulk gas tank. I stay up late and sneak over around 1:00 am, waiting for his huge bull to be asleep and fill up a couple of five gallon cans. I have mentioned if he thought about 93 and he said with the amount of gas he uses, he can't afford to upgrade....oh, well, I will just have to live with this.

:spyder2:

gotta love it!!!!!:roflblack:

 

[chipshotin]

go go juice

we run on the mid grade here in delaware ...always good performance and gas milage....some say lowering the windshield gets better gas mileage too...it all comes down to that right hand...im a half twister ..slo and steady
:yes::yes:

 

[Bob Denman]

With the difference in price being maybe a quarter per gallon; Assume a four gallon refueling and I'm sorry to have to ask if that dollar all that important? :dontknow:
Put it another way...
Assume that you ride 10,000 miles per year
You get 30 mpg
Total gallons used: just a bit over 333 gallons
Assume again 25 cents per gallon price differential...
That's $83.33 over the course of an entire year...

 

[NancysToy]

With the difference in price being maybe a quarter per gallon; Assume a four gallon refueling and I'm sorry to have to ask if that dollar all that important? :dontknow:
Put it another way...
Assume that you ride 10,000 miles per year
You get 30 mpg
Total gallons used: just a bit over 333 gallons
Assume again 25 cents per gallon price differential...
That's $83.33 over the course of an entire year...

Amen!

 

[flybuddy]

Good math...Amen +1ray:
When gas was 50 cents a gallon, it was about a dime more to get premium, a 20% difference.
Now it's like 6 or 7%. Not worth considering on a 20K (+) machine.

 

[Bob Ledford]

Some body read his post!

Is it a full moon yet? Strange things are happening around here lately!

 

[Bob Ledford]

Half a LOF


you do that for two years and you can a free LOF service!