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Message started by petervt on 06/11/16 at 11:16:36

Title: gas octane
Post by petervt on 06/11/16 at 11:16:36

New to biking and wondering does 92 octane help the bike or it doesn't matter thanks Petervt

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by old.indian on 06/11/16 at 11:44:46

The S40 with the stock 8.5 compression ratio does best on 86 octane non-ethanol gas. Higher octane is unnecessary and more expensive.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by Dave on 06/11/16 at 19:33:45

Yep...what old.indian said. The low compression engine does not benefit from the use of higher octanes.

It can benefit from the use of name brand fuels - which have more additives than economy brands. The detergents and additives in the name brand fuels help to keep the valves and combustion chamber clean.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by azmav on 06/12/16 at 18:54:08

I read somewhere else on the forum way back on this issue, I remember someone saying that 87 is best for stock, and higher octane for a heavily modified bike with more hp. I use the 87 myself on stock, I am curious about the mods though.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/12/16 at 19:52:32

You can use the cheap stuff. It's a low compression engine.

And, I know you're new and all, but I am kinda the self appointed grammar police, local smarty pants, hassler and heckler and I wanted to welcome you and go ahead and break the ice.
And, by the way, petervt is not how you spell pervert,but those of us who are a bit lysdexic unsterdand.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by Kris01 on 06/12/16 at 20:09:01

726D6B6C71764777477F6D612A180 wrote:

And, by the way, petervt is not how you spell pervert,but those of us who are a bit lysdexic unsterdand.

LOL! I read that too! ;D

You'll only need "higher than 87 octane" if you up the compression or somehow advance the timing. Any other mods won't affect the octane needs of this engine.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by RaleighGuy on 06/27/16 at 04:43:18

I most definitely believe you guys and it's really good to know that I don't need to put premium gas in my stock S40. And I found a station about 6 miles up the road from my house that sells ethanol-free gasoline that's not much more expensive than regular gas. But still..... I wonder why the sales manager of my local dealership told me to "ONLY USE HIGH OCTANE" if it's not really necessary. This is just 10 days ago, mind you!! :-?

It almost made me feel like I'd be some kind of low-life or cheapskate to put such "inferior" fuel into my shiny, new, vulnerable baby boulevard and take the chance of it beginning to run like crap-o-la. :-/

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by Dave on 06/27/16 at 05:47:45

Sad thing about Premium is.....it spends more time in the tank at the fuel station and it not all that fresh - they sell a lot more regular and it gets replaced far faster.

I did a fuel storage test a while back....and the Premium was the first fuel to go bad.

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1382699778

Your Savage doesn't need Premium with the stock piston.....it will run just fine on Regular.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by VortecCPI on 06/27/16 at 08:16:17

While I agree that technically these docile low-compression engines only require 87 octane (as stated in the Owner's Manual) if you ride in a lot of slow or stop-and-go traffic in very high heat and you like to hammer your engine with the stock lean carb listen for detonation/pre-ignition. In that case a little higher octane is good cheap insurance to prevent detonation/pre-ignition.

On our air-cooled dirt bike engines head temperatures can soar when the going gets slow or stopped. Our builders/racers/tuners all recommend higher than 87 octane even with the low-compression 9:1 stock piston. That is because the stock cam is so short/small that it builds very high cylinder pressures at very low engine speeds. All that being said, dirt bikes tend to see far more abuse than our street singles.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by Kris01 on 06/27/16 at 17:12:19

You don't always hear pre-ignition/detonation though. I ride in blistering heat and don't have any problems with 87 octane. You are correct though. I've thought about using 89 octane in the summer months but have never done it. Once the light turns from red to green, the engine cools down to the "87 octane heat level". Yeah, it's a technical category. ;D

I think the sales manager is used to selling high compression sports bikes. Besides, as a sales tool, an engine that NEEDS high octane MUST be a fast one! Time to change dealerships!

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by RaleighGuy on 06/28/16 at 04:57:43

754C574D0E0F3E0 wrote:

---------------------------------------------------

You might be right about needing to change dealers but in a relatively small city like Raleigh, there's only one other dealer nearby and I've heard BAAAAD stories about that one. High pressure sales folks, ripping people off by doing unnecessary work, etc.

Honestly, if I can learn how to do some basic work on my S40, then I'd like to visit the dealer as little as possible. One of the first things I'd like to learn is how to clean the carburetor correctly (and maybe replace that factory petcock). I'm not very mechanically inclined but normally I pick up on new stuff pretty fast. About the only thing I've done on my cars is change the oil, rotate the tires and replace an occasional set of front brake pads.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by WD on 06/28/16 at 08:27:38

Kris01 lives one county east of me. Same riding conditions most of the time.

On 87 octane in the summer, my bike gets 45mpg and sounds like a cement mixer full of scrap iron rolling down a quarry wall. In the winter it sounds fine and gets 53mpg.

On 89 octane in the summer, the bike is smooth, quiet and gets 48-53mpg. In the winter it is gets 56-58mpg.

On 92 octane in the summer, it runs like crap and gets 33-35mpg. Winter is fractionally better.

Summer blend ethanol gas is garbage. Summer blend pure gas is garbage, but you can get a couple extra miles per gallon usually.

Winter fuel needs to be ethanol free or at minimum have an ethanol buster added to your tank.

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by Kris01 on 06/28/16 at 18:06:00

31343539293434363E5B0 wrote:

I'd like to visit the dealer as little as possible

Keep repeating that to yourself! ;)

Title: Re: gas octane
Post by batman on 06/28/16 at 18:20:41

Really, buy a manual, and read through this site ,and never take your bike to a dealer !they over charge and wont be as informed as you .