For the last two tankfulls I've gotten 36 miles per gallon and I know I'd do better if I'd ride it as easy by myself as I do with my wife on the back. We rode about 150 miles at 30-50 mph, through back country roads and the fuel gauge was at half full. I rode about 50 miles myself at 65-80 mph with several full throttle moments and used the rest of the tank. I have a K&N air filter, custom polished stainless steel muffler with 2 3/8 inlet, and 93 octane.
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Gas mileage with mods
- Thread starter Spydyr
- Start date
I don't know about the rest of your mods, but putting 93 octane in an unmodified (stock compression) Spyder is a waste of $$. No performance improvement will be gained by using hytest in an engine designed to run on regular (87 octane) BTW I get about 36 MPG running on backroads @ 60-70. My $.02 worth.
I know most people think that because the Spyder is capable of running 87 octane, that is all that should be run in it and that there is no benefit from higher octane. BRP's recommmendation is a "minimum" of 87. Temperature, humidity, and elevation can't change the compression ratio but they can change the volumetric efficiency of the engine and somtimes a higher octane will run better. The main reason I run 93 is because it is usually a higher quality fuel. 87 octane is stockpiled and used by all major fuel retailers from the same stock. 93 is upposed to contain additives specific to the company(Exxon, BP, etc), and be fresher fuel. I guess instead of 87 and 93 I should refer to them as regular and premium, but at 15 cents difference between our regular and premium I don't think a 5 gallon fill up wastes too much money to try it.
smokster
New member
seems to me nowdays the 93 in just sitting longer in the tanks at the stations and therefore would not be as fresh
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
According to what I have read, and looking through the Spyder parts catalog, there is no knock sensor on this engine, so the ECU cannot detect detonation and retard the timing to compensate.
-Scotty
NancysToy
Motorbike Professor
Anything is possible. More research needed here...or someone connected to the BRP engineering department. A lot of the higher compression engines these days need little knock control due to the sophistication of their fuel management systems. Spyder certainly will knock, BTW, at low rpms under load. On the other hand, the Spyder doesn't seem to run a bit different on higher grades than it does on 87, so I can't see a good reason to bother. My wife's HHR, will run without knocking on regular, but premium is recommended, and results in noticeably improved performance. Spyder just doesn't seem to care.
W
Way2Fast
Guest
If you can hear "knocking" at low rpm's under load I can't think of a better reason to use premium fuel. Your engine is yelling out for help !! 87 is the bare minimum fuel to use and is probably boarderline acceptable under ideal conditions. With a compression ratio of over 10-1 premium is the way to go in the Spyder. Yamaha has a 9.5-1 ratio and they warn not to use fuel below 91 octane in their new Raider motorcycle.
Remember the saying "penny wise and pound foolish" I opt for the extra 20-25 cents per gallon and use premium at every fill up.
Richard
SpyderMark
New member
I can hear BRP's momma when it was growing up. "Now BRP," she says, with her hands on her hips, "Just because Yamaha jumped off a cliff, does that mean you should?"
Since this product seems to be squarely aimed at a market segment which values performance, it seems to me BRP would have specifically mentioned in the Spyder Operator's Guide any possible performance gains to be had using higher octane fuel. After all, GM did with the HHR...
Be that as it may, the manufacturer's guidance clearly says 87 octane is appropriate, and will not hurt your engine. Until we have hard DATA from a reputable source telling us otherwise, I think the manual remains our best guidance on fuel specification.
The fact that someone is experiencing pre-ignition or detonation with their Spyder using 87 octane gas does not indicate a requirement (in contradiction of the manual) for a higher octane. My troubleshooting would begin with the source of the gas -- it likely came from a bad batch. I would try filling up at a different station and see what happens.
If that doesn't fix it, I would assume a problem with the machine since the manual says I can use 87 octane. In my mind, a trip to the dealer would be the appropriate response. Using a higher octane gas might just mask a problem that could worsen if not attended to by a mechanic.
Believe me, if the extra buck-and-a-quarter made me "feel" better about it, I would fill up with Premium everytime and ryde with a smile. :2thumbs: My daughter pays ten bucks a bottle for "salon grade" shampoo -- I use 98-cent-a-bottle Suave from Wally-world. But that's ok, because it makes her feel good about herself. (Come to think of it, maybe that's why my hair is falling out...)
For me, I know if I filled up the Spyder (or my Honda Accord for that matter) with Premium, all I would feel is a little sheepish for paying for something I don't need.
Regards,
Mark
W
Way2Fast
Guest
Let that 87 gas sit for a period of time...like over the winter in the northern climates...and you will be lucky if it has 84 octane when used.
AMTJIM
New member
I have experienced an 87 to 91 change over. We had a ford focus in washington, said it needed 91 to run, but ran just fine there on 87. Cool wet weather, no A/C needed....then we move to the desert. Anything below 91 and it would throw a fit and become a mechanical bull...the experience lead me down an unexpected path of becoming a local favorite at the rodeo...true story!
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