I just moved to central MO and was pleased to find 93 octane available at many different stations. I thought GREAT I can save by mixing only 25% instead of 50% race 110 to get it over the minimum 95 octane for my 09 WR250... Then the catch , Missouri, according to locals, had just passed a statewide mandatory 10% alcohol in all road fuel. So now it's 100% 110 race fuel unless I happen to be traveling through a nearby state with a gas can and they have 91 or 93 no alcohol. At least in Oklahoma the station selling the fuel got to choose wether or not to sell alcohol mixed fuel.
I Oklahoma, which is where I just moved from there were a few stations with no ethanol added fuel. It was sold in the same various octane ratings 87, 89, and 91. It was usually a dime higher per gallon than alcohol added fuel but got better mileage and didn't come with the problems caused by corrosive moisture contaminated alcohol.
If your WR is stock pump premium should be fine. The specs are for Europe where they measures octane differently.
I agree that 93 would probably be ok but I'm not thrilled with the ethanol mix, especially with the humid climate. Any alcohol absorbs water like a sponge and once wet it becomes very corrosive. A guy would probably have no problems if you burned all your fuel the day you bought it but when it sits it's bad hoodoo.
Moon Shine, legal if you are a large corporation, increasing profit, creating jobs fixing engines sooner and raising the price of food. Plus taking tax money to subsidize what most believe is a really stupid idea.
There is a catch like NWRider states you have to figure out which rating technique is in the spec in the manual. The number on the pump is both techniques added together and divided by two. You probably are aware of this as it is plainly printed in race fuel brochures. I find it puzzling why some pumps say 10% ethanol and some say up to 10% ethanol.
Some pumps say up to 10 percent as they are not contracted on getting there fuel from the same source each time. At least that is the way it is here. There are tank farms and it used to mean something to get a good named brand fuel. When people started following price, the no name stations would be selling a mix of the leftover fuel Exxon, Texaco, Shell would have. Bottom of the barrel stuff, the oil companies were shocked to lose market share to these no name C-stores. In the end they did not care as they still sold there fuel. Like people have said, it is best to try use your fuel up each weekend.
The are scads of additives out there that claim to remedy the woes of ethanol. I saw a small bottle sold and marketed by Yamaha at a local dealer that's sole intent was to treat 5 gal of fuel thus preventing problems from alcohol. I know that premix oil alone helps quite a bit to prevent corrosion when the fuel is sitting but I would really like to hear the facts about additives from a fuel chemist who knows rather than a toothless guy named Billy Bob who claims it worked fine in his sisters mother in laws 3 wheeler. I've used Stabil and have considered using Enzyme or Seafoam in lawnmower and automotive fuel but until I know the facts about using these in a 2t it's VP110 or Sunoco110 for me.
I use Star Tron in all of my bikes and it seems to keep everything working. http://mystarbrite.com/startron/
ive been thinking about trying a low-percentage mix of Sunoco 110 + 87 pump due to the 10% ethanol everywhere around here. just dont want to mess up my jetting work on the 144 because i'm very close to perfect. been using StarTron for now but always wonder if a little leaded race fuel would give me a little crisper throttle response. local shop stocks the 110 and 112. (usually 112 i guess)
I never noticed anything mentioned in my manual about recommended octane ratings for a TE630. So far I've been running 87 without any problems but will I see any improvement or is it better to run a higher octane?
Is that your state motto? Or is this a personal observation? .. Would the jolly Green Giant be your neighbor? Once you get proper detonation of the fuel at what ever octane rating ... That's about it all you can ask for... Speeding or slowing down the fuel burning any more may not have much effect on your engine ... octane apparently does lower the energy of gasoline also ... This might suggest the lower the octane rating, the more power the gas might have per volume ... Octane rating does not relate to the energy content of the fuel. It is only a measure of the fuel's tendency to burn in a controlled manner, rather than exploding in an uncontrolled manner. Where the octane number is raised by blending in ethanol, energy content per volume is reduced.
This statement should be tempered with the thermodynamic reality that the higher the compression ratio the higher the efficiency. At least for this type of piston engine which I think is a carnot cycle in thermodynamics. I don't know if it is true or not isn't gasoline and diesel pretty close in btu per gallon?
Not sure what this adds up to, but gas is rated over kerosene (jet fuel) ... Higher (HHV) and Lower (LHV) Heating values of some common fuels Fuel HHV MJ/kg HHV BTU/lb HHV kJ/mol LHV MJ/kg Hydrogen 141.80 61,000 286 121.00 Methane 55.50 23,900 889 50.00 Ethane 51.90 22,400 1,560 47.80 Propane 50.35 21,700 2,220 46.35 Butane 49.50 20,900 2,877 45.75 Pentane 45.35 Gasoline 47.30 20,400 44.40 Paraffin 46.00 19,900 41.50 Kerosene 46.20 19,862 43.00 Diesel 44.80 19,300 Coal (Anthracite) 27.00 14,000 Coal (Lignite) 15.00 8,000 Wood 15.00 6,500 Peat (damp) 6.00 2,500 Peat (dry) 15.00 6,500
