| Author | Message | ||
     Argentcorvid |
So, in their infinite wisdom, the local gas stations have decided to stop carrying 89 octane mid-grade gasoline. one local news article quoted one of the Gas stations' regional managers as saying that it was due to the increased volume of ethanol they are required to sell and will replace it with 87 (with ethanol), continue to carry 87 without ethanol along with 91/92. this is all well and good for their larger 3-pump installations, but most of the locations along routes that I ride with only have two choices and now only carry the two types of 87! It doesn't make any sense at all, because the 89 they used to sell had ethanol in it anyway. It also seems to have to do with how the refiners are blending these two different kinds of gas. I don't care to get into the bullshit politics of this. However, since my Sportster and my Civic must have 89 or greater (verified by trying lower) and the Buell is supposed to have 91 or greater (although it seemed to do ok on the 89 around here) I'm going to need to have some sort of octane booster to bring along if I want to ride or drive on any roads in my state beside the Interstate more than a tank at a time. It definitely needs to be Oxygen sensor safe for the Civic and the Buell. Any recommendations? | ||
| Whisperstealth |
Buy some gas cans, at least 2 or 3 five gallon jugs. Fill with 91 whenever you get the chance. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Don't forget to tell the gas stations that are no longer carrying the 89 that you'll be going elsewhere in future & why. We had a similar issue here & the owners of one of the main stations changed their policy when it became evident that it was costing them customers. They've even installed more pumps now since it became known locally that you could get good fuel at a good price. Market forces at work. | ||
| Littlebuggles |
Picked up some Lucas Products octane booster at my local HD shop, it was on clearance, guess they are changing out product lines or something. Get a bottle of it for when you must fuel up on the road, otherwise I agree with others here. I made sure to thank the one gas station in Salt Lake (only a couple in the entire state) that still sells ethanol free fuel too, and buy there when I can. | ||
| Rocket_in_uk |
Eurocrats at it again! Britain has signed up to an EU directive which means that suppliers must dilute petrol with environmentally-friendly alternatives. The oil companies have chosen ethanol, made from corn, which will make up 10 per cent of a new petrol called E10. Due to be launched later this year it will be available at the pump alongside standard petrol and other green fuels However, a study today warns it will add around £80 a year extra to the average family’s fuel bill as it gives less miles to the gallon. The high ethanol content could also ruin the engines of some older cars and motorbikes as it could melt some components,The Daily Mail reported. The Department for Transport estimate that up to 8.6million vehicles may not be compatible with the new fuel, which is being introduced to cut the use of fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gases. Drivers may be confused by its arrival on forecourts unless pumps are clearly labelled and they know whether it is safe for their car. The study by the respected think-tank warns: "The increased use of ethanol in petrol to meet EU sustainability targets is resulting in drivers paying extra at the pump." Under the EU's Renewable Fuel Transport Obligation five per cent of fuel used in member states must be renewable by 2014, due to increase to 10 percent by 2020. Oil companies have chosen ethanol, which mainly comes from the US, as this renewable source. But using ethanol generally cuts a vehicle's fuel efficiency. If the 2020 target of 10 per cent of transport energy coming from renewable sources had been applied in the UK last year it would have cost motorists £1.5billion. Author of the study Rob Bailey, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, warned E10 petrol is not compatible with millions of older vehicles and could cause corrosion and drivability problems for vehicles of ten years or older. The green petrol was introduced in Germany two years ago and many drivers decided not to use it in case it damages their engines and because they are uncertain about the wider “environmental and social impacts of ethanol,” said Mr Bailey. The Government has asked suppliers to delay introducing of E10 to allow time so that drivers can be fully informed and a list of incompatible vehicles can be compiled. Mr Bailey added that taking farmland out of food production to grow fuel crops also threatens to put up food prices. The study was funded by Olleco, a business which collects and refines waste cooking oil to be used as biodiesel in vehicles, which Mr Bailey found was a better option to be mixed with fuel than ethanol. Worrying for Buells with plastic tanks no doubt. Rocket in England | ||
| Jaimec |
Study after study has shown that producing ethanol from corn gains NOTHING. The energy required to produce ethanol from corn is the same as the energy you get from the ethanol produced. There are far better sources of ethanol than corn. The ONLY people helped by this idiotic policy are corn farmers. And, as previously pointed out, you are taking away FOOD production for people in order to feed CARS. WTF?? | ||
| Just_ziptab |
My 91 octane source is ONE station in a 75 mile circle. Just filled a can a couple days ago for . . . $4.02 A GALLON!! . . . .when their super unleaded(89 octane)is $3.25 a gallon.A 77 cent spread.Greed/gouge because they can as they are the only game around. The little Honda seems fine with 89 octane,even tho it is supposed to use 91 octane. My Buells run like crap on 89 octane....Kinda sucks when you are trapped! | ||
| Bads1 |
My Honda runs fine on 87 its all it calls for and its a liter bike as well as my 600. | ||
| No_rice |
my local town station that had 87, 89, 93, went and redid their pumps and now its 87, 89, e85, e15, e10... WTF?! we got gas there atleast every other day and sometimes more then that. havent been back since they did that a few weeks ago. and i know alot of people that havent either, but im sure they are getting a great kick back from the government... also, i took the 1125r to one of my daughters volleyball games 80 or so miles away not long ago, and wanted to get fuel on the way back. a couple different towns, and 5 different gas stations and not a single one had anything but 87 regular or ethanol. (actually it was just a little north of you Kyle) now spring, fall, cooler weather, i run 89 in all my stuff. heck even in the 70's- 80's still usually depending on my ride plans, but 90's-100+ i try to get higher octane for obvious reasons. its starting to be an annoyance thats for sure. | ||
| Argentcorvid |
the local 89 worked good even though it usually had ethanol in it. I even used it often in the Uly (although i prefer 91), since the two-pump stations (usually Casey's) were all that were available in most of the local small towns. The Sportster seems to do ok on 87, but when I've tried to run it it will diesel on shut off, even when it's cool out. I just double checked the owner's manual for my Civic on Honda's website, and it seems I was mistaken that it requires 89. I guess I was just taking advantage of the subsidies that I'm paying for with my taxes anyway? (This actually has me a little less steamed, because now I can actually drive my car) I did write an email to the Casey's corporate office this morning, but ran out of time to copy/paste one to the other major chains in the area. If I didn't have to worry about oxygen sensors I'd just buy some VP110 to mix in from some guys I work with that race. although by my calculations I'd have to run 20% 110 to get to 91 or 10% to get to 89. | ||
| Pkforbes87 |
At least you're not in Missouri, specifically Audrain County - "Biofuel Capital of Missouri". "Missouri state fuel laws for ethanol renewable fuels are among the strictest and least consumer-friendly. In 2008 Missouri passed new laws to increase the distribution of ethanol (E10)." http://www.fuel-testers.com/missouri_ethanol_news_ e10.html "On January 1, 2008, the Missouri Renewable Fuel Standard becomes effective. Under this standard, all gasoline offered for sale in Missouri must contain 10% ethanol." http://mda.mo.gov/weights/fuel/renewablefuelstanda rd.php A few stations utilize the exception to this state-wide law and sell 91+ octane without ethanol, but most offer every octane rating with 10% ethanol added. I can count on one hand the number of times I've filled any of my vehicles at an ethanol only station since this law went into effect. Being somewhat of a fuel economy nerd, I've calculated the value in 87 octane E10 vs. 91 octane E0 - even in my Saturn SL1 which doesn't really need the extra octane rating, I save fractions of a cent every mile by spending more money at the pump on the non-ethanol fuel. | ||
| Argentcorvid |
Oh, Iowa is just as bad. they are blaming this 87/87-E10 thing on the Renewable Fuel Standard, and it's undoubtedly a step on the way to 100% E10. Personally I don't care about putting Ethanol in the gas tank, and I'd rather not even discuss it in this thread since there are plenty of other ones specifically for it. I just want to know what I can put in my Ulysses when I'm away from home and 87 is the only "choice" available. Lucas was mentioned up-thread. anyone else have experience with others? | ||
| Just_ziptab |
89 octane will soon be GONE EVERYWHERE! Both offerings today at the local station are 87 octane clear(no ethanol) and 87 octane ethanol.The 89 octane pump label is gone. Why? The pipeline is only shipping 84 octane clear base stock and 91 octane clear premium. Premium is blended at the terminal with 84 octane to yield 87 octane clear(no ethanol). 84 octane clear is blended with ethanol to yield 87 octane ethanol. Premium will be available at select sites that have the tanks and pumps and it will cost 65 cents more a gallon than 87 octane! 87 octane clear may jump as much as 30 cent a gallon more than E87! Premium is becoming poor quality fuel because it sits so long in the underground tanks.Modern gasoline has been subject to formulation restrictions that now make it able to sit only 4 to 6 weeks after manufacture before its usefulness as a fuel is compromised due to reduced combustibility. Underground tanks can hold more than 4,000 gallons..........with bikes being the primary users at 3-4 gallons a fill up..the stuff sits a long time and as the level goes down,more air is in the tank...and that degrades the fuel faster. We're screwed! Google "84 octane gasoline" get an eye full and then puke.....  | ||
| Froggy |
I don't know what the situation is like where you are, but at my fathers station, the 5000 gallon 87 tank gets filled every 4 or so days, while the 3000 gallon 93 tank is roughly every other time the tanker visits. The fuel is never anywhere near a month old. | ||
| Sagehawk |
I believe fuel recipes are even more different for those of of us that live in 8 county attainment area. I know not to fuel up in harris county as I lose 2 , 3 mpg on buell or mazda. Equipment just doesn't perform as well. Flat eats up mower and weedeater fuel lines and trashes the other elastomers involved. I run startron in stuff and it seems to help. The lucas product, fuel conditioner, seems to help. Heck, that's still with 91 octane fuel. I haven't tried any octane boosters as of yet. | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Froggy... in the rural areas around here, premium sells so slow that all the tanks were switched over to diesel fuel offerings in the last five years... instead of putting in new diesel tanks.In the 90's neart every station had a premium tank..now they all(but one) have diesel instead. Back in the day when I worked at a full service Phillips 66 station a 1,000 gallon day(total sales) was a big big deal and it only happened twice a year......the day before memorial day and labor day. | ||
| Argentcorvid |
Here's the response from Casey's
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