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High octane fuel/octane boosters

18K views 50 replies 25 participants last post by  CBR250R 
#1 ·
Hey guys...
we've talked the butt-cheeks off an elephant about how to make it go faster,increase total bhp ,make it jump through fire-hoops in 6th gear etc

what we havent talked about (i think...correct me if am wrong) is the moto-booze we let it drink....FUEL.

i came across this "octane enhancer" somewhere on the world wide web
they said:-

"for normal use: fill up your tank.open can.Dunk it into the tank.

for racing: fill up your tank. open can. dunk three cans into the tank."

its called "OWS Germany Octane Boosters"

i know the fuel gets jacked up to crytsal meth levels..
mu question is....wait for it.....

WHAT DOES IT DO TO THE BIKE IN THE LONG RUN???

GOOD? BAD? UGLY? NICHOLAS CAGE?

WHAT?

Biking Gurus,
thanks for bearing with this darn post...but plz answer the question.

Cheers! Happy riding.

Dr.Ankur.
 
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#3 ·
BBR is correct. Using a fuel with a higher octane rating than necessary to just barely hold off detonation will cost you power.

I'm pretty sure it may also cost you MPGs, but I'm not positive of that.

Use the recommended octane fuel and you are fine - you will not gain anything from more octane unless you are detonating.

The only good reason to go up to a higher grade than recommended (if you are not detonating) is to get away from Ethanol. You will get slightly better power and mileage by using a higher octane fuel only if the fuel with the recommended rating has Ethanol.


Jay
 
#5 ·
I have tried "Lucas Upper Cylinder Treatment" , and it made a world of difference. My buddy and I run CBR125r's and we went on a day ride last year and as the day went on , my bike ran poorer and poorer. Was doing highway riding and just had no umppph !! So stopped in the next town by Canadian Tire and bought some "Lucas" ,put a splash of it in the tank and back on the road again. Within a few miles had lots of power and bike sounded better too. My buddy noticed the difference too as he had a hard time keeping up now. Its not some thing you should run ever tank but proabbly ever 3 or 4th tank should work.
We also tried different grades of octanes on our trip last year. Even tried super-high octane gas (94) and accually got worst mileage and same power. Mid-grade or high grade fuel is usually fine as it has smaller amounts of ethanol in it. Just try and use ethanol-free gas when possable.
Just my 2 cents !!
 
#7 ·
I run 98 RON in all my toys, never had an issue with power loss and my MPG is hardly an issue.. As for "octane booster", they either do absolutely nothing or reduce the power output,
watch this:
 
#8 ·
I run 98 RON in all my toys, never had an issue with power loss and my MPG is hardly an issue.. As for "octane booster", they either do absolutely nothing or reduce the power output,
watch this: 5th Gear - Myth about fuel additives - YouTube
Agreed (results at 2:30), but high octane fuel is doing essentially the same thing that the additives are doing- costing you power if it's not needed to control detonation.

Unless you carefully test the recommended fuel against high octane fuel you aren't going to notice a difference.

Bottom line is still the same - higher octane than required costs you power.


Jay
 
#9 ·
Whether "Lucas" just cleaned up some bad fuel or cleaned up a bad injector.... I don't know. BUT my bike definately ran better and had more top speed. (You will notice this on a 125cc) . I use "Lucas" every 3rd tank or so, just to keep things cleaned up !!
 
#11 ·
Please note that there are different methods of calculating octane.

The US uses "Anti Knock Index", Most of the rest of the world uses "Research Octane Number".

Rough chart which may be inaccurate:
AKI RON
85 90
87 91
89 93
91 95
94 98


If you are using the RON I am surprised that 95 is the lowest available, this makes me think your country is using a different method making it harder to compare.
 
#14 ·
Hey guys, I'm no expert by any means. But I'll offer my noob opinion.

I ran 87 octane on the first tank when i bought my bike, as it came fully fueled from the dealership. Then I ran 94 octane, and I haven't used any less ever since. There's definitely a big increase in power in my opinion. So I don't know why anyone said that higher octane will result in power loss. 94 Gives me noticeably more power every time.

Perhaps it was the quality of the fuel, or the place you're from. I got the 94 octane from Petro Canada (some petro's have the special 94).
 
#15 ·
Hey guys, I'm no expert by any means. But I'll offer my noob opinion.

I ran 87 octane on the first tank when i bought my bike, as it came fully fueled from the dealership. Then I ran 94 octane, and I haven't used any less ever since. There's definitely a big increase in power in my opinion. So I don't know why anyone said that higher octane will result in power loss. 94 Gives me noticeably more power every time.

Perhaps it was the quality of the fuel, or the place you're from. I got the 94 octane from Petro Canada (some petro's have the special 94).
It sounds like that is based on the 'seat of the pants' dynamometer... it would be interesting to see if a high-end, state of the art eddy current dynamometer would corroborate that claim.
 
#16 ·
lots of info here on fuel and octane - search box..

this engine and its combustion process is designed
for the recommended 91RON = approx 87PON petrol..

petol burns or combusts in the combustion chamber..
there is a flame produced on spark before piston reaches
TDC which has a certain shape and spread, according to
number of valves and other design factors..

this burning creates heat which causes pressure
which drives the piston.. if the fuel/air mix explodes
instead of burning at he desired rate, its called 'knock'
which will damage [or destroy] the engine if not
corrected..
with normal conditions incl absence of carbon deposits etc
our engine combustion and flame spread should proceed
along with our timing to produce good flame spread
and combustion thus power potential..
if, there is explosion of the fuel/air mix or 'knock'
one way of responding to that would be to up
petrol octane rating..

the question is on increasing power thru fuel octane..
all basic petrol has the same calorific value..
thus as members have noted, increasing octane
in our engine in normal tune and condition
will not increase power potential..

link explains what 'octane' means;
Fact or Fiction?: Premium Gasoline Delivers Premium Benefits to Your Car - Scientific American
 
#19 · (Edited)
I've read a lot of articles and lower octane provides more volatility and access to energy and works best in low compression engines.
Hi compression engines require higher octane in order to reduce the knock from volatile fuels. Thus if your engine doesn't knock from it, you don't need any higher octane.
it is the only reason for anti knock sensors, modern high compression vehicles can't run on low octane fuels without adjusting ignition timing on the fly.
In order to bring back high performance engines in full force we should lift the ban on leaded gas. Then we could see some very very hi compression (jet) engines on the road
 
#20 ·
The engine is made to run 91RON. Anything higher and you're wasting your money. It is a placebo.

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#23 · (Edited)
91RON = 82MON = 86.5PON
95RON = 85MON = 90PON
98RON = 88MON = 93PON

Calculation is RON + MON / 2 = PON

In my owners manual, my bike says 91RON. Even my Holden V8 recommends 91RON. The compression ratio on my car is 10.1:1. These ceebees are 10.7:1.

Having a read through this document from BP Fuel, it states:

91RON = 8.5-9:1 compression*
95RON = 9-9.5:1 compression*
98RON = 9.5-10:1 compression*
*Approximate compression ratios only - depends on engine design and application.


So according to that document, for our engines, even running 98RON isn't enough due to being 10.7:1.

From this site: The Fuel Truth

If your motorcycle has a high compression ratio, as most bikes do these days, you may be interested to know that the higher the octane the fuel, the better your engine will perform. The highest compression ratio the fuels now available (excluding Racing 100) can handle is 10.5:1.

Interestingly, though, the fact that bikes run at high RPM and have small cylinders with short flame paths, reduces the octane requirement. This said, BP’s Dale Brown-Kenyon supplied information showing that premium unleaded fuels have a lower corresponding air/fuel ratio. This means you can put more fuel in for the same engine capacity, giving a cooler running engine and producing more power. Sounds good to me!

So use premium fuels (except maybe Shell V-Power). Not only do they emit a cleaner exhaust but are much better for your engine because they have special cleaning detergents. As you know, a cleaner fuel system results in better performance and better fuel consumption.


Interesting.
 
#24 ·
Cleaners and detergents are at the same level, whether you buy 87, 91, or 93 octane. The only difference is tendency for predetonation. These bikes were tuned for 87 and run fine on 87. The only way they would run better on higher octane is with a special tune to advance the ignition timing to take advantage of an advanced curve with the slower burning gas.
 
#25 ·
The big gasoline/oil companies would absolutely love it if everyone used the higher octane "premium" fuels in their vehicles, regardless of whether the engine actually required the higher octane or not... it would mean that extra $0.10 or $0.15 of profit per gallon, which would translate to tens of millions of dollars in additional yearly profits. Big oil (like British Petroleum) doesn't give a rat's ass how your bike or car runs on a particular fuel's octane... they only want as much of your money as they can get their greasy hands on.
 
#26 ·
I'm going to test 98RON in my bike for a few tanks. Being a high rpm engine, it does make sense that it is less susceptible to pre-detonation. I don't know if it will improve mileage or not.

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#27 ·
'premium' aside from financial etc meanings
and in context here means an extra amount
added to price of something, or for products etc
it is used to denote superior quality of the product..

advertisers/marketers/those seeking to influence your
mind and attitudes to their product hope you will
understand 'premium' as being 'better' to buy,
being superior.. superiority can be argued based on
additives etc, which does not relate to octane..

what 'premium' means in context and as to octane
for those who think 'higher is better' as a principle
is the extra price you pay for it..

if you know what additives etc are added to your
'premium' petrol and are willing to pay extra for
them, then fill your boots, but otherwise
'premium' is a marketing term meaningless
in the sense of higher octane being better
on the basis of 'octane', which is a measurement,
of burning rate, compared to burning rate of 'octane'..

most consumers have no interest in how or what
chemical substances are or work, using instead
colloquial shorthand-speak for convenience etc..
use of 'octane' as if something in terms of petrol
is a convenience for consumers and no doubt
very convenient for petrol brand marketing
and the profits generated therefrom..
link for basics of 'octane';
Octane ratings explained
 
#31 ·
Total waste of money using premium gas in an engine designed for regular.
Won't make your engine run any better and it may even make it run worse.

The Federal Trade Commission, in a consumer notice, emphasizes: "(I)n most cases, using a higher-octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your engine perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner."

I'm curious about the ethanol treatments I've been seeing advertised from companies like Sta-Bil though. Those look like they might actually do your engine some good with the way that gasoline is formulated these days.
 
#32 ·
ethanol is damaging and corrosive, including of rubber
plastic and metals used in motorcycle engines..
ethanol is hydrophylic or 'water loving' which means
it will 'absorb' water from the environment into
your petrol, which aside from certain storage
situations where that might be handy, is not
beneficial for your engine in normal use..

govts mandating use of corn based ethanol
are driven by political corruption and influence
groups powerful enough to create/change laws
including to mandate ethanol use and to prevent
investigations into ethanol effects..

ducati riders report their plastic tanks being
deformed and inflated due to ethanol thus
needing [multiple] replacements..

our cbr250r is not, approved for ethanol..

for me [nsw aust] its no contest..
black beauty only gets petrol.. no ethanol..
why would i pay for something in my petrol
that isnt approved for my motorcycle and
basic research shows to be hydrophylic
and corrosive of various engine parts [?!]

or for that matter do that then pay for
more additives to counter the other
unapproved damaging additive...

for sydneysiders bondi junction shell
has 95 and 98ron no ethanol, and maroubra
caltex has 91ron no ethanol - my station..
response from the bloke running the caltex'
"no way mate, we dont put any 5hit in OUR petrol!"

he was insulted by the mere suggestion..
"5hit" in aust use aside from the obvious
is also used as "that 5hit" or "any of that 5hit"
for emphasis, to indicate the range of 'bull5hit'
[lies or other unrealities disguised as real ideas
and is something that some may talk, as in;
'dont talk 5hit to me'.. humans speak while
parrots talk.. idea of mindlessly repeating
something heard which is noise only]

incidentally, from the enviromental point of view
while alternate energy is self-evidently the future,
ethanol is not that future, using/wasting valuable
food resources or even animal feed to burn in
engines when the planets 7billion and growing
population approaches unprecedented food
shortages with the chaos that will bring..

there are other alternatives, real alternatives..
honda and others who function on long term
rational management structures have not,
taken the ethanol maze in designing and
creating alternative fuel vehicles
incl motorcycles..

using the 5hit is like feeding the wolves
gathering around your homestead..
 
#35 · (Edited)
Thanks for the link.

I've been running 85 (PON I guess). I live in a high altitude area, ranging from 5000 to 8500 ft. ASL, and most of our gas stations offer 85, 87, and 91, lower ratings than most of the U.S. Unfortunately, all stations in my town only have 10% ethanol fuels.

I put 91 in when I stored for the winter, as I read somewhere its better for storage. I thought I detected slightly less power with 91.

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#39 ·
It's funny... My sister in laws boyfriend makes her pay for 93 premium for her stock base model 1992 Toyota corolla. He absolutely swears he's getting more power from it compared to stock. And won't allow her to get anything lower or else he won't fix her car if something breaks on it... Priceless
 
#40 ·
manual does not state ethanol is 'fine' for this motorcycle..

some societies have mandated ethanol in petrol..
honda is responding with advice to owners
on the basis of this reality, not telling owners
that 'ethanol is fine'..

australia is a small player here, usa corn
is the or a driving force creating this reality..

fcai comprehensive list of vehicles suitable for ethanol
is based on manufacturer and importer advice..
scroll thru ethanol info etc and list of cars
to 'motorcycles'..

Can my vehicle operate on Ethanol blend petrol? : FCAI
 
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