higher octane fuel in the 300 is a waste of time & money, it has been proven here on the forum before, heck even i did it as a test & recorded it on fuelly.com
Best fuel to use for bikes?
So boys and girls, just wondering what people put in their bikes and why? Iv been putting 95 in my 250 for the past couple of months now, have a feeling it might have clogged up the fuel injectors. But that's probably from long term use lol
Anywho, tried the 98 and noticed a bit of lag on the bike, wasn't pinging like on the 95... Might try it again next time fill up!
Thoughts?
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Anywho, tried the 98 and noticed a bit of lag on the bike, wasn't pinging like on the 95... Might try it again next time fill up!
Thoughts?
Sent from Motorcycle.com Free App
61 - 80 of 203 Posts
One of the reasons I purchased a 300 is because you can (and should) use 87 octane. It's only a 10.6:1 compression ratio. That's like a honda civic - you wouldn't put 93 in a civic, would you?
Dave
Dave
Me too. I bought this bike as an economical commuter and needing premium is a deal breaker.One of the reasons I purchased a 300 is because you can (and should) use 87 octane. It's only a 10.6:1 compression ratio. That's like a honda civic - you wouldn't put 93 in a civic, would you?
Dave
There's more to it than compression ratio, small bore engines usually need less octane than large engines do on a given compression ratio. I have heard that the Honda 250cc six cylinder grand prix engine that Mike Hailwood rode back in the sixties was run using very low octane gas. It was claimed that premium gas burned too slow to keep up with that engine's piston speed.
I think your record on fuelly.com would be a great resource for anyone in AUS. It would be nice to see someone in the states do a similar review because there are laws around requiring companies to add additives and ethanol to a certain percentage in order for the gas to burn cleaner so while the octane might be the same between AUS and the US I'm not sure the actual gas is equivalent.higher octane fuel in the 300 is a waste of time & money, it has been proven here on the forum before, heck even i did it as a test & recorded it on fuelly.com
But if you ask me it's not the actual Octane you are putting into the motorcycle that makes the most difference it's the brand, station, and day you get it.
For example during the summer months there is a large concern that with everyone out on the road air pollution will get worse, so the Oil companies change the fuel formulation and give it a different Ried Vapor Pressure value. Which in turn would give you different results.
Additionally gas loses energy when it gets hot, If you were to fill up an average car at 60 degrees you should get about ~500 miles out of it before needing to refuel but if you fill the tank up when it's 90 degrees out you get about 10 miles less out of the tank.
If you fuel your vehicle up in Canada on a 90 degree day you will get ~490 miles out of the tank but you'll pay for less fuel because their pumps adjust the cost based on the temp. Costco does this in warm weather states but no one else does state side.
If you are buying 93 octane fuel for additives to clean engine gunk and reduce emissions then you probably want to buy the only scientifically proven additive in 93 octane gas and that is Techron which is sold by Chevron or Texaco. Other companies offer 93 with additives but they don't have any science to back up their claims of reduction of engine gunk or emissions.
I would suggest anyone looking for the "best fuel" fill up on a tank from all your local gas stations and see what one works best for you. Try to buy them all on a day with approximately the same temp though so you can get a more accurate read on cost/mileage.
Yeah, Chevron is awesome but they don`t exist in NY unfortunately.
You could always get their additive. It's 12 bucks a bottle and you put it in a almost empty tank then fill it.
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Pretty sure 91 is required in the civic SIOne of the reasons I purchased a 300 is because you can (and should) use 87 octane. It's only a 10.6:1 compression ratio. That's like a honda civic - you wouldn't put 93 in a civic, would you?
Dave
The SI has a higher compression ratio, thus premium fuel is required.Pretty sure 91 is required in the civic SI
The normal Civic runs plain old 87 octane.
Basically, when it comes to octane, run whatever the manufacturer says. Putting in higher octane fuel than what is recommended by the manufacturer is just a complete waste of money.
Rotate between Shell and Chevron/Texaco. All you need to do! In the states that is.
Pretty sure 91 is required in the civic SI
Beat me to it. And this.The SI has a higher compression ratio, thus premium fuel is required.
The normal Civic runs plain old 87 octane.
Basically, when it comes to octane, run whatever the manufacturer says. Putting in higher octane fuel than what is recommended by the manufacturer is just a complete waste of money.
Dave
87 here. Going by the manual, runs fine, no difference I can see/feel from the few times I tried different grades. 87 it is for me.
One of the biggest problems is the fact that how you ride the bike will make far bigger differences in fuel economy than the brand or grade of fuel will, but you'll give credit or blame to the fuel.I think your record on fuelly.com would be a great resource for anyone in AUS. It would be nice to see someone in the states do a similar review because there are laws around requiring companies to add additives and ethanol to a certain percentage in order for the gas to burn cleaner so while the octane might be the same between AUS and the US I'm not sure the actual gas is equivalent.
But if you ask me it's not the actual Octane you are putting into the motorcycle that makes the most difference it's the brand, station, and day you get it.
For example during the summer months there is a large concern that with everyone out on the road air pollution will get worse, so the Oil companies change the fuel formulation and give it a different Ried Vapor Pressure value. Which in turn would give you different results.
Additionally gas loses energy when it gets hot, If you were to fill up an average car at 60 degrees you should get about ~500 miles out of it before needing to refuel but if you fill the tank up when it's 90 degrees out you get about 10 miles less out of the tank.
If you fuel your vehicle up in Canada on a 90 degree day you will get ~490 miles out of the tank but you'll pay for less fuel because their pumps adjust the cost based on the temp. Costco does this in warm weather states but no one else does state side.
If you are buying 93 octane fuel for additives to clean engine gunk and reduce emissions then you probably want to buy the only scientifically proven additive in 93 octane gas and that is Techron which is sold by Chevron or Texaco. Other companies offer 93 with additives but they don't have any science to back up their claims of reduction of engine gunk or emissions.
I would suggest anyone looking for the "best fuel" fill up on a tank from all your local gas stations and see what one works best for you. Try to buy them all on a day with approximately the same temp though so you can get a more accurate read on cost/mileage.
In over 3000 mile of riding, I have only had two tanks that got less than 70 mpg and one tank where I achieved 79 mpg, my last two fill ups were around 75 mpg. I looked at fuelly.com and very few riders match my fuel economy with this bike, and it has nothing to do with the octane of the fuel I buy.
Ill never get that high of mpg because I keep the rpms up for the sound.
I used to make Chevron gasoline and that is the only gasoline that I will put in my bikes.
You might be surprised at how hard I accelerate. It's not so much how you accelerate that ruins gas mileage, it's that you have driving habits that make you use your brakes all the time, thus causing you to have to accelerate all the time.Ill never get that high of mpg because I keep the rpms up for the sound.
Accelerating a vehicle from zero to 60mph takes the same amount of energy as lifting it 120.25 ft straight up in the air. That energy is exactly the same no matter how fast or slow you accelerate. The idea that you can get away from producing that energy by slowly sneaking up to a 60 mph cruising speed is just as ridiculous as thinking your house will cost you less if you take out the longest mortgage offered.
I don't think it was mostly about acceleration as it is keeping the RPMs up higher most of the time at a lower gear to keep RPMs higher. Running an engine at higher RPMs takes more fuel as it takes more energy to make the engine run faster than it does slower.You might be surprised at how hard I accelerate. It's not so much how you accelerate that ruins gas mileage, it's that you have driving habits that make you use your brakes all the time, thus causing you to have to accelerate all the time.
Accelerating a vehicle from zero to 60mph takes the same amount of energy as lifting it 120.25 ft straight up in the air. That energy is exactly the same no matter how fast or slow you accelerate. The idea that you can get away from producing that energy by slowly sneaking up to a 60 mph cruising speed is just as ridiculous as thinking your house will cost you less if you take out the longest mortgage offered.
What I don't understand is why they optimized the bike for "bum-juice" fuel?
I have never understood why BMW optimizes even its slowest and most pedestrian motorcycles for premium fuel.
To me, a high performance motorcycle that burns regular represents higher technology than a motorcycle of equal performance that needs premium.
To me, a high performance motorcycle that burns regular represents higher technology than a motorcycle of equal performance that needs premium.
Cheaper cost. As you say, takes a lot more money and know how to squeeze performance out of an engine without relying on compression than it is to be lazy about it and design the cylinder and head for more compression. Then again, BMW has always done this. Even with their cars they do the same thing. It also has a side effect of making adapting forced induction a pain in the ass as forced induction artificially raises compression even more and would make your required octane go up. That and they may share ECUs or at least their programming, with other models to keep costs down which are setup with timing for a higher octane rating.I have never understood why BMW optimizes even its slowest and most pedestrian motorcycles for premium fuel.
To me, a high performance motorcycle that burns regular represents higher technology than a motorcycle of equal performance that needs premium.
I agree with you though, It's much more impressive to me to get as much performance as you can from a lower octane requirement of fuel, rather than take the easier way out and just upping compression and timing. It also tends to be more fuel efficient too.
Also, corrected mpg is "worse" on premium. One can go farther on the same amount of money using regular so real world fuel economy on the same bike using 93 vs 87 would have to be much better. Depending on the spread at the station, it could have to be markedly more.
That's why, as awesome as the 390 KTM Duke is likely to be, since it needs premium, I had to cross it off the list.
Dave
That's why, as awesome as the 390 KTM Duke is likely to be, since it needs premium, I had to cross it off the list.
Dave
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