Octane

I have a 2007 RSTD that I use regular gas say 87 octane. If I use 92-93 octane would it help with cleaning of the gas system? Just curious. I do use seafoam with every tank regardless.

Octane isn't a cleaning agent. It is an additive to retard the ignition of the fuel based on the compression of the engine.

If I remember correctly, 87 octane is what the manual calls for.

Sea Foam is a great product for keeping the bikes fuel system clean.

Dave

Dave is correct - the octane rating measures resistance to pre-ignition (detonation, knock). It's got nothing to do with cleaning the fuel system. Using a higher octane than the engine requires simply wastes money.

I consistently use the mid grade gasoline in everything which is 89 octane. Typically around here the price difference is about 10 cents per gallon and all four vehicles gain an extra two to three mpg offsetting the cost. My 99 Durango w/360 V8 yields more favorable delivered mpg related to cost than the additional cost per gallon making it less expensive to run the higher octane fuel. The same holds true with my 96 Dodge 3500 pickup w/488, (V-10) engine.

Living in the farm community we have a couple stations near us that have non-ethanol gas and it is 90 octane. you only get it in 90 octane. It is a little more expensive but my bike runs better, gets better gas and if it sits for a few days I do not have to worry about it gumming up like ethanol gas will.

They make a gas additive for small engines running on ethanol gas. My motorcycle mechanic says seafoam is great but it eventually eats your seals and stuff. So he recommends this additive, it keeps the ethanol gas from jelling and he says it helps clean out the carbs.

Back when I was spinning wrenches for a living I had a customer complain about low plug life on his MK2 Venture.. I popped out one of his plugs and right away noticed a "sheen" on the plugs ceramic below the electrode.. Having seen this malady before, I asked if he was regularly running an additive - sure enough - Seafoam.. Up for a science experiment, he agreed to drop the Seafoam - run a couple tanks of fuel and have me swap in a new set of NGK's.. Last I knew he had gone from 5k on a set of plugs to over 15k and may have gone far beyond that..

Back when I was spinning wrenches for a living I had a customer complain about low plug life on his MK2 Venture.. I popped out one of his plugs and right away noticed a "sheen" on the plugs ceramic below the electrode.. Having seen this malady before, I asked if he was regularly running an additive - sure enough - Seafoam.. Up for a science experiment, he agreed to drop the Seafoam - run a couple tanks of fuel and have me swap in a new set of NGK's.. Last I knew he had gone from 5k on a set of plugs to over 15k and may have gone far beyond that..

I think for an engine sitting for a while, gas on the bad side and clogging one or two cans are ok, but probably a better additive for daily use. I do not use an additive, my goal is to burn a lot of gas through it

Thank you all for the replies. By chance is Star Tron better?

I run 91 in my bike, it runs better than it does at 87.

Seafoam every month or so....marvel mystery oil every other fI'll up

Some brands of gas are "Top Tier" 87 and 91 or 93 octane which means it meets certain standards and has a cleaner in it.

Here is a link that shows what brands are "Top Tier".

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers/

Living in a coastal city, I'm lucky that alcohol free gasoline is available and that is what I use in the bikes and yard tools. I know from experience it makes a huge difference in the yard tools when they are not used for a long time.

Don't know about all the science but I know that e85 I get 12 miles in Tahoe when I run 87 octane 15% ethanol I get 15 maybe 16 and in the bike I get 25 miles with 87 octane and 30 with the 91 octane with no ethanol

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E 85 and 15% Alcohol is same gas. E is "ethanol" and the 85 stands for how much "real gas" is in there. You would think higher octane would be more power and better milage. But what I have read and found out lately is higher octane burn slower, just the opposite of what we think.

E 85 and 15% Alcohol is same gas. E is "ethanol" and the 85 stands for how much "real gas" is in there. You would think higher octane would be more power and better mileage. But what I have read and found out lately is higher octane burn slower, just the opposite of what we think.

NOoooooo..........

E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

15% fuel is 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline.

Neither of these fuels should ever be run thru a carburetor that is not specifically designed for it. Both of these fuels require a richer jet size. Not re-jetting can cause a lean condition that can damage the engine. EVERY engine manufacturer says to never run more than 10% ethanol (many say to not even run the 10%) unless the engine was designed for the higher ethanol levels.

But you are correct that higher octane burns slower.

Thank you all for the replies. By chance is Star Tron better?

Amazing Stuff!

Star Tron is for preventing ethanol problems.

We use it when an engine won't be run very often for a lengthy period. Our Vstar 650 didn't get rode much for over a year before we sold it. We added Star Tron to a full tank and it started with no hesitation EVERY time during that period.

Amazing stuff.

We get the marine formula that treats 96 gallons. That means it is quite a small amount when you're talking about a 4 gallon fillup so we mix it with a quart of mineral spirits and then use about a half an ounce per gallon. There is a lot of information about using mineral spirits as a fuel additive/cleaner.

The marine formula is found in Walley's in Sporting Goods by the other boat stuff. It's about $9.00

NOoooooo..........

E85 is 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

15% fuel is 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline.

Neither of these fuels should ever be run thru a carburetor that is not specifically designed for it. Both of these fuels require a richer jet size. Not re-jetting can cause a lean condition that can damage the engine. EVERY engine manufacturer says to never run more than 10% ethanol (many say to not even run the 10%) unless the engine was designed for the higher ethanol levels.

 

But you are correct that higher octane burns slower.

I stand corrected. I had to go look up the Sunoco E85 stuff we ran for race fuel.

See my Tahoe under the hood states I can run ethanol but in the long run I'm better off with actual gas because my tank is never completely empty I keep a quarter tank or better at all times and the e85 added I average about 12 miles to the gallon

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