What Type of gas should I use in my 2021 RT Ltd?

[RayBJ]

From post here and in other threads it seems many people consider the owner’s manual to be a bunch of garbage. I personally do not claim a lot of expert knowledge in all things mechanically related, but having a science based degree I do believe in science and believe that the engineers and product developers but great time, effort and testing into developing this product we call a Spyder. I do not think their recommendations are based on random whims and therefore I’m going with what the manual says not only regarding octane, but break in recommendations, oil types and viscosity, air pressure in (OEM) tires, recommenced torque values, etc etc etc. Peter got it right, the manual does specify a specific octane for the US octane rating system which is what I use when it is available but I don’t hesitate to use a lower octane if that’s all that’s available when I stop for fuel. Likewise, I prefer non ethanol fuel (again based on science) when it’s available but I’ll run E10 if that’s the only option when it comes time to fill up since BRP puts it in print that 10% ethanol fuel is compliant with their product.

I just don’t get why people all over, not just this forum, think they know more than the engineers, scientist and developers that test practically every aspect of a product before bringing it to market. Are they always 100% right, no, but they are way more likely to be right than most of us who have no particular expertise with a particular system or product in order to override the experts. If an individual wants to override manufacturers recommendations for themselves that’s fine and dandy, but to advise others they know better than the manufacturer knows their own product is baffling to me.

I couldn't resist replying to this comment. No disrespect to those who actually think designers are infallible. Can you say, 'recall'?
I've worked my entire career in the technical support arena. Not an 'engineer' but a technical support resource. I repaired every kind of business machine from electro-mechanical cash registers, acctng machines, mini & mainframe computers, and cars/bikes. Basically, every manual for these products have lots of BS as to how to maintain them. Frequently, it's the lawyers' or accountants' inputs that cause head-scratching for those of us in the 'field'.
That said, I bought a '20 RT and I found it unsafe for my riding style as 'engineered' by the geniuses at BRP! After 'breaking' my RT by adding car tires, sway bar, and shocks the RT is now a very capable machine - no thanks to the pencil-neck engineers that live in the Ivory Tower.

 

[ARtraveler]

"THEY" can never bust you for using the owners manual recommendations.

But who reads the manual? :roflblack: :roflblack: :roflblack: :roflblack:

 

[Adventurer]

I couldn't resist replying to this comment. No disrespect to those who actually think designers are infallible. Can you say, 'recall'?
I've worked my entire career in the technical support arena. Not an 'engineer' but a technical support resource. I repaired every kind of business machine from electro-mechanical cash registers, acctng machines, mini & mainframe computers, and cars/bikes. Basically, every manual for these products have lots of BS as to how to maintain them. Frequently, it's the lawyers' or accountants' inputs that cause head-scratching for those of us in the 'field'.
That said, I bought a '20 RT and I found it unsafe for my riding style as 'engineered' by the geniuses at BRP! After 'breaking' my RT by adding car tires, sway bar, and shocks the RT is now a very capable machine - no thanks to the pencil-neck engineers that live in the Ivory Tower.

Please re-read my post. Did I say they are infallible, no I did not. My post clearly says they are not always 100% right.

Did I say no improvements could be made no I did not. I’ll bet we can both agree that BRP Connect can be improved!

If you think about all the multitude of systems and components that must work right for this machine to work right it’s mind boggling to my feeble brain, so the potential for recalls is tremendous but as a percentage of possibilities recalls are few.

This machine is produced for the masses so not everything that can enhance the performance is going to be on there from the factory who is certainly trying to produce an affordable machine. Not sure why you hate accountants, but I think it is highly unlikely that accountants make “all” the final decisions that seems to be a popular idea on the internet.

I find my 2021 RT completely rideable in its factory form. Now if my riding abilities and style ever reach the level of yours I may indeed improve the performance with car tires, sway bar and shocks. In fact I’ve already investigated all three of these components for future improvements, but I certainly don’t find it unridable in its factory form.

 

[Motogordo]

The owners manual suggests you use 91 octane.

 

[Baron14y]

Just filled up with 87 octane with 10% ethanol, for the first time. I can feel no noticeable difference.:clap:

 

[Schreckftw]

The higher the compression on my engine the higher the Octane I normally run. I think the 1330 is 12:1 which is high so I run try and run at least 91 when I can. I will do 93 if I must. I get the best performance and speed out of 90 with 0 ethanol. I am however a very very spirited rider. I have yet to look into rather the Spyder has a knock sensor. I would assume it does but not sure. If so you can run lower octane without developing a knock even at such a high compression and it will adjust to the fuel you run. At the end of the day its in a 3 cylinder with 115HP. We are not breaking track records here! Maybe we see a 1-2% loss in fuel mileage between 97 and 93 octane. The cost of the higher end premiums is not worth that little bit of mileage gain IMO.