Hey guys, I posted this in the Supermoto forum and decided to post here to hopefully get more traction since the bike is a 2011 SMS 630. I have a JD Jetting module installed. Factory calls for 98 octane fuel but the best i have local is 91. I live in New Mexico with elevation around 5k/ft above sea level. Without trying to dig up a necrothread dated 1863, can anyone tell me your experience with octane boosters/accelerators, some ratio of racing fuel, or just using a similar jetter to get the best fuel/octane performance? I have been doing allot of reading on octane boosters, accelerators and chemicals such as xylene and toluene. The easiest thing for myself is buy a bottle of octane booster or something like TORCO accelerator and premix the tank, but there is some data supporting these don't even work. I don't really want to get into mixing toluene or xylene. Both chemicals are not something i want sitting in my garage in 5 gallon buckets or 1 gallon containers that if mixed wrong could have an adverse effect on my fuel delivery system. Racing fuel is another option, but man is it expensive and I use this bike as a daily driver. Aircraft fuel may be an option, but some feedback suggests the lead content might not be good over time. Any experience/feedback would be helpful.
VP110 is the best and cheapest option I have found. AV gas in 100 octane is a good choice if you live near a small airport that will sell you fuel in 5 gallon containers (most will). Octane boosters are a poor choice and expensive if you are trying to make a big leap in octane. If you are at 91 and want to go to 93 it might work out but if you research how much it takes per gallon to raise it a point you will soon figure out that it's very expensive. I've recently bought VP110 for $7.25-$8.50 depending on the location. If you really want to save money you could try mixing VP110 50% with your best no ethanol pump gas. I don't mix mine with pump gas simply because pump gas has a short shelf (approx 90 days) life and when I decide to ride I don't want to spend any time cleaning out varnished up rotten fuel. VP110 has a shelf life of about 3 years with no additives. There are other race fuel options even a 100+ octane fuel with a 10 year shelf life for classic cars and museum engines also oxygen enriched fuels that give big boosts in power but they are considerably more expensive. Read your fuel recommendation of 98 carefully, if it's the Euro rating it's probably closer to 95 in the USA rating.
Thanks for the reply. VP110 local is $75is for 5 gallons. Way more than i want to spend for a bike i fill up 1-2 times a week. I do have the airport option though. I called them and they will allow me to pump into a 5gal container (thanks for the heads up on that). I thought that aviation fuel had a high lead content. If this is true, won't it be bad for the engine over time?
The 98 is most certainly research octane number, used in much of the world other than Canada and the U.S. Canada and the U.S. numbers posted on the pump is [Ron + Mon]/2. Where mon is the Motor octane number, obtained in a similar way to the Ron but using slightly different test parameters. The Mon is generally 8 to 12 points lower than Ron, according to Wikipedia. This equates to you needing somewhere between 92 and 94 octane fuel according to our can/us rateing system. Also at play is your elevation. At 5000', an engine that would require 93 octane at sea level can run on a lower octane number at elevation. I run 91 here in Calgary. There is 94 available from Petrocanada, but they achieve the higher rating by blending ethanol with normally ethanol free 91 octane premium. No thanks.
Oh. Still running the stock exhaust with cats? If so, would be a good idea to avoid the leaded fuel. Or, ditch the cats.
Lead is good for your engine but will coat over the catalyst and block the chemical reaction not only in your catalytic converter but also on exhaust oxygen sensors if you have any. AV gas has a low lead content compared to VP110. If you leave leaded fuel in the sun the lead will separate out of the fuel so it needs to be stored in a dark container or kept out of the sun. Mixing AV gas with your 91 pump gas will probably get you where you need to be (94 ish octane).
The bike is sold in the USA to be used with normal premium fuel. Just make sure you're got the fueling adjusted correctly. Leaded fuel wont hurt anything unless you still have the stock exhaust. If so, forget av-gas. .
Stock exhaust is gone and so is the o2 sensor. My main concern is leaving available power on the table especially on a single cylinder bike. I ride as a commuter mostly, but I still like to Rap-it-Out when I can on my trip to or from my destinations. Ever since I've seen the recommended octane of 98 RON in my manual, I have been obsessing about octane ratings lately. I've tried TORCO accelerator and several Bottles of NOS and Lucas boosters. Boosters seem to be a farce and most data I have found backs that statement up. I guess what I really want is something that will assure me that I'm getting the octane that is called for but won't compromise the engine and at a cheap price. Impossible?
What about E-85? Anyone ever use it in their moto? Will it eat the fuel lines and other Buna material parts if your fuel system is not rated for it?
98 Ron. 91 r+m/2. Pretty much the same thing. You don't have a knock sensor, so it'll make more power on the lower octane fuel anyway as long as it's not pinging.
