| Author | Message | ||
     Redtail69 |
Hi guys, My Buell tech said that nothing gets these motors running like race fuel. In his opinion, by changing the pipes,filter,tfi whatever, we only gain a couple of ponies here and there. He says that race fuel will really make these engines go off. That being said, has anyone tried adding octane boosters to their bikes? | ||
| Buells Rule! (Dyna in disguise) |
Get a new tech. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Higher octane is only higher knock resistance. Unless you have higher than stock compression ratios you should look elsewhere for more hp. Having said that...some race fuels are said to have significant gains because they use oxygen bearing additives. I have not personally seen this, however I have seen the difference between 110 octane race gas and 87 octane pump gas in a stock compression ratio suzuki sv650....nothing.. this is on back to back dyno runs. (Message edited by diablobrian on April 25, 2005) | ||
| Eexb |
Your tech is an idiot - use the octane rating recommended in the owner's manual (91 ?). E | ||
| Buell_rider_2003 |
i use 94 oct no problems yet | ||
| Diablobrian |
higher octane ratings won't hurt your engine. You just don't get any more out of the fuel than you would out of 91 octane with compression ratios of lower than about 10:1. Save the cash at the pump and use it elsewhere for real gain. Oh yeah.....Redtail, get a new tech. (Message edited by diablobrian on April 25, 2005) | ||
| Norrisperformance |
www.badweatherbikers.com/cgibin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=32777&post=431691#POST431691 | ||
| Gearhead998 |
I know for a fact that HD runs race fuel in their engines when dyno testing longevity and performance, but I still run 93 in mine. I have run octane boosters in other cars that I've had, and didn't notice a difference. Your tech must be pretty green. | ||
| Redtail69 |
Where do you guys get 94 octane? | ||
| Chainsaw |
I believe higher octane is typically available at lower altitudes. There is a reason for this, but it escapes me. 91 octane is Premium in Denver. I believe I've seen 93 and 94 in California. | ||
| Robxb |
In NJ, Sunoco gas stations sell 94 oct. | ||
| Lpd22 |
OH has Sunoco 94. Been working fine. 93 when i cant find a sunoco. | ||
| Deerhunter17 |
Sunoco 94 is it's 93 octane with ethanol (115 rated octane ) added. The blend is such that they get the extra one point octane boost for rating, but two problems. 1). It's raises the oxygen content, may or may not be a problem and 2). The ethanol evaporates at such a low temp, that with nominal heat you could actually be losing it through evaporation ( especially on hot days, maybe small quantities at least ) before you even get the fuel cap on. In a sense you pay extra for the on octane boost, and most likely end up with their 93 anyhow... Its the same reason you only see oxygenated fuels in the northeast in the winter months. Now I know this might be a stretch in some minds, but believe me, I had the opportunity to be a tech while my kids ran quarter midgets, and under some heavy scrutiny we did some fuel research due to the fact that some cars fuels were testing illegal. Turns out they were running Sunoco 94, and the test was for oxygen content. When the the equipment was set up ( using a base fuel, in this case texaco 89 ) all other pump fuels tested were with 6 units ( I don't remember the actual unit terminology, basically it was the oxygen content ) of the base except for the Sunoco 94. It sent the meter to as much as the high 40's. I went online and researched, found the info directly from Sunoco. Anyhow, long story short, I think you could save a few cents and get more predictable performance with the 93. | ||
| Redtail69 |
Well I have yet to find anything other than 91 octane here in the bay area. But I distinctly remember there was a time when you could find 92. | ||
| Socalbueller |
In my experience the east coast has better gas. I remember when Cali went to 91 from 92 and nobody could tell me why or cared. A couple of years ago I was driving from Massachusetts to LA and my car never had a problem with 87 until it got to the west coast. Within a week it was pinging up every hill if the temp was above 60 outside. Another situation I was driving my 88 Mustang from LA back to Mass and as soon as I got a tank of 93 past Texas my mpg went up 2-3. I had my timing advanced in the stang for a little more power and drivability that is why I ran 91/93. As far as I could tell it wasn't pinging on 91 but still did better with 93. I have heard toluene makes a great octane booster, plus has more energy per gallon than gasoline does. So you should see an increase in hp with that. | ||
| Elyaswolffxb9s |
Cali has crap gas, plane and simple. It is for emissions (do not ask me why CA has some f'ed up vehicle related laws) But as far as the rest of the west coast goes... well have you ever seen a map of oil pipelines across the US? The distribution out here is pathetic, there is one pipeline that maybe goes 300 miles in OR and WA. Compare that to the spider web of lines on the east coast. Now the fuel has to be trucked everywhere, which rises prices, (this is now a theory of mine so take it with a grain of salt) and causes the fuel to be exposed to air and sit for longer. While it may of been 91 or 92 when it was made, it has now degraded over the time in transit and lost a octane point or 2. Back when I was 17 and had a Ninja 250 I put booster in at every fillup. Back then I must of thought it made a difference (man think of how many grocries I had to bag to waste money like that), I have since learned otherwise... not to lament here but everything did seem simpler back then... (Message edited by elyaswolffxb9s on April 26, 2005) | ||
| Elyaswolffxb9s |
Well speak of the devil... I came across a link to this article on my car forum. It is about using pure toluene as an aditive. He seems to know his stuff, siting F1 references... http://www.elektro.com/~audi/audi/toluene.html | ||
| Martin |
Some additives can affect your O2 meter | ||
| Hogs |
Elyaswolffxb9s, Hey buddy I want to thank you for that article...I used to use that back in the 80`s turned on by a friend who race top fuel Harleys and HEs gone But I could not remember what it was only had a small amount , I can tell you that it worked Great in a 98 inch stroker and one could smell it when burning nice smell :-)) I also think it is used in the production of Bowing balls or something like that , don`t quote me on that though ,( i think I mixed it back then 10 percent ) Now Again I know where to get it etc..( and the proper name ) thanks again And I will dump it in my buell , Hope others chime in and give their opions on this???? | ||
| Hogs |
Oh BTW just because its got a different Smell I DOn``t recommend sticking ones nose down by the pipe and smelling it ,Just like I wdn`t stick my nose down and smell any exhaust LoL | ||
| Elyaswolffxb9s |
No problem Hogs, you just need to let me know how it runs! | ||
| Eurotwins |
I once tried Unical 104 in my 748R and the bike ran like s**t. had to drain the tank and toss $5.69 per gallon away. Unfortunately all we can get it SoCal is 91 oxygenated fuel...John | ||
| Craigster |
The only octane booster I've ever found to do anything for power (not counting actual oxygenated race gas) is Price Chemical's Power Fuel. I've seen 4% power gains on the dyno. Problems are: Cost (although cheaper than race gas), It eats paint like a 6 year old to a PB&J sandwich, and since it contains nitromethane you pretty much can't race with it in a gasoline limited class. | ||
| Metalstorm |
Redtail69, I think the closest place to you to get high octane fuel would be at Sears Point Raceway..err..excuse me...at the Infineon Raceway (gak) but it's really not worth it. Run Chevron 91 or 76 91 & you won't have any problems. Put the good gas in the bike and save the cheap gas stations for the cage. | ||
| Hogs |
Got my hands on some toluene today will try it at the safe level of 10 to 20 percent once the weather breaks here Rain rain rain... | ||
| Racertroy |
for what it's worth...i've heard the higher octane fuels will eat up O2 sensors quickly --troy |
