HELP! Fuel octane question - Page 2

gville george that says 91 RON which is in europe and for us thats 87. 

yes iroc DD=daily driver... I live on long island where the traffic volume is insane, so unless its 70+ degrees out and the sun is shining I dont ride, too many other road hazards, i need hot tires and no sand to ride well enough not to die around here.

I live in South Florida so I didn't see too much of this problem, but we did have a car come in every once in a while for this complaint. If the problem is big enough for Ford to issue a TSB (technical service bulletin) than it had to have been happening all over. Keep in mind that Ford did not have this problem with any other engine's so it was specific to the 4.6L engine.
 
And for CBRjockey, to retard your ignition means to turn the timing back, to advance your ignition, you are increasing the timing. Most engines have a base timing somewhere around 10 degrees BTDC (before top dead center). In other words th spark plug sparks when the crankshaft is 10 degrees before piston #1 get to the top. This gives the "flame front" time to travel down the combustion chamber in precisely enough time to push the piston down at the perfect time. If spark happens too early, the flame front hits the piston on the way up (detonation or pinging), this will destroy your engine. If plugs spark after TDC, then power is wasted because the piston is already heading down when the flame front reaches it.

you also have to remember that the valves stay open for a realitivly long time on performance motors and some of the pressure is pushed out the exhaust. this helps with exhaust scavenging. if honda set the timing for 87 then thats fine to run.

From the 2008 Owners Manual:
 
Premium unleaded - 91 octane or higher (we have 91 out here in CA)
 
"We recommend you use premium unleaded fuel because it produces fewer engine deposits and extends the life of exhaust system components....Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause persistent 'pinging' or 'spark knock' which, if severe, can lead to engine damage...." (pg 91)
 
EASY, the bike runs better on premium, PERIOD! Don't be cheap and save less than a buck when you get gas. Jeez, to me it's STUPID to put anything less than the best and recommended fuel in these high performance motorcycles.

in michigan we dont have 91. we have 87, 89 or 93, my car also has 91 written on the tank cap. I use 93 for the car, and my 600rr. 

Where I live in Canada, We have 87, 89 ans 91. I've ran premium unleaded (91) in my 02 f4i, 03 civic and my 06 Ski-doo 800 ever since I bought them new. So far, All I've had to do for maintenance is oil changes (except for the ski-doo(2 stroke))..What's this about higher octane having a harder time starting in colder weather? We get temperatures ranging from -20oF to -60oF and my car has always started... As for better fuel economy with lower fuel grade, I think that's a load of bull. Higher grade burns hotter and cleaner, both which contribute to better feul milage. Just my opinion....

Cars that dont require super have a harder time starting in cold weather with super because the engine is not "tuned" for super

quote:

ORIGINAL: F4Boy

From the 2008 Owners Manual:

Premium unleaded - 91 octane or higher (we have 91 out here in CA)

"We recommend you use premium unleaded fuel because it produces fewer engine deposits and extends the life of exhaust system components....Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause persistent 'pinging' or 'spark knock' which, if severe, can lead to engine damage...." (pg 91)

EASY, the bike runs better on premium, PERIOD! Don't be cheap and save less than a buck when you get gas. Jeez, to me it's STUPID to put anything less than the best and recommended fuel in these high performance motorcycles.

 
i just love to beat a dead horse so heres a lil scripture reading out of my 05 manual:
 
fuel/capacity...unleaded gasoline,pump octane number 86 or higher    4.76 us gal ....
 
so i guess the 05's arent high performance motorcycles like the 08's....

my 07 says to run super .. thats what i run . my 2001 eclipse .. says to run super .. thast what i run . i use to work at automax ford here in killeen i did alot of UCI's (used car inspections) and i had another eclipse run through .. boy was it running some kind of rough ... it was almost empty so i went and got a gas ticket .. put super in it .. drove it around for about 10 miles .. boy did it clear that right up .. they put that stuff on there for a reason . i will do what they ask . if it means i have to pay a little more for my gas, for my toy to run longer/better then i will . 

quote:

ORIGINAL: iroc

quote:

ORIGINAL: F4Boy

From the 2008 Owners Manual:

Premium unleaded - 91 octane or higher (we have 91 out here in CA)

"We recommend you use premium unleaded fuel because it produces fewer engine deposits and extends the life of exhaust system components....Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause persistent 'pinging' or 'spark knock' which, if severe, can lead to engine damage...." (pg 91)

EASY, the bike runs better on premium, PERIOD! Don't be cheap and save less than a buck when you get gas. Jeez, to me it's STUPID to put anything less than the best and recommended fuel in these high performance motorcycles.

i just love to beat a dead horse so heres a lil scripture reading out of my 05 manual:

fuel/capacity...unleaded gasoline,pump octane number 86 or higher    4.76 us gal ....

so i guess the 05's arent high performance motorcycles like the 08's....

 
Iroc, you could beat your dead horse all you want, but you are being quite stubborn and, for lack of a better word, stupid. Of course an '05 is high performance, look what I said, referencing all these bikes as high performance. My '98 VFR gets premium as did my '00 F4, regardless of the recommendation. You're missing the big point here. If Honda recommended lower octane in '05 (and earlier) and now recommends premium (91 or higher), why would you think they would do that? Well, as a company, Honda sees more engines come through their facilities and shops than anyone else. Their racing program is top notch. They have the largest research budget of any motorcycle manufacturer. Who would know the best about motorcycles and the engines that they build??????? You or Honda? If Honda now recommends 91 or higher, they KNOW it's better for their engines. (and exhausts) Whether you have an '08 or '05 doesn't matter, Honda has seen evidence that higher octane makes their motorcycles run better and cleaner, and now they recommend it. (To me this is common sense) Maybe you should listen TO HONDA. Forget what I say. As far as you're concerned, you could keep running lower octane and save $0.80 per fill up (4 gals x .20/gal diff) or have your  bike perform at it's best, with the best, cleanest fuel running through it. C'mon, don't be such a cheap bastard!

I once saw a dude driving a Cadillac Escalade put $5 dollars worth of gas into his tank.
He actually had to dig thru his ash tray for some change since he went over $5 dollars at the pump.
I made a comment to him that if you could only put $5 bucks of gas into a vehicle worth 50 grand
maybe he needed to invest into something cheaper.

If you can't avoid 93 octane for your bike, maybe you need to start on a scooter or moped.

quote:

ORIGINAL: F4Boy

quote:

ORIGINAL: iroc

quote:

ORIGINAL: F4Boy

From the 2008 Owners Manual:

Premium unleaded - 91 octane or higher (we have 91 out here in CA)

"We recommend you use premium unleaded fuel because it produces fewer engine deposits and extends the life of exhaust system components....Use of a lower octane gasoline can cause persistent 'pinging' or 'spark knock' which, if severe, can lead to engine damage...." (pg 91)

EASY, the bike runs better on premium, PERIOD! Don't be cheap and save less than a buck when you get gas. Jeez, to me it's STUPID to put anything less than the best and recommended fuel in these high performance motorcycles.

i just love to beat a dead horse so heres a lil scripture reading out of my 05 manual:

fuel/capacity...unleaded gasoline,pump octane number 86 or higher    4.76 us gal ....

so i guess the 05's arent high performance motorcycles like the 08's....

Iroc, you could beat your dead horse all you want, but you are being quite stubborn and, for lack of a better word, stupid. Of course an '05 is high performance, look what I said, referencing all these bikes as high performance. My '98 VFR gets premium as did my '00 F4, regardless of the recommendation. You're missing the big point here. If Honda recommended lower octane in '05 (and earlier) and now recommends premium (91 or higher), why would you think they would do that? Well, as a company, Honda sees more engines come through their facilities and shops than anyone else. Their racing program is top notch. They have the largest research budget of any motorcycle manufacturer. Who would know the best about motorcycles and the engines that they build??????? You or Honda? If Honda now recommends 91 or higher, they KNOW it's better for their engines. (and exhausts) Whether you have an '08 or '05 doesn't matter, Honda has seen evidence that higher octane makes their motorcycles run better and cleaner, and now they recommend it. (To me this is common sense) Maybe you should listen TO HONDA. Forget what I say. As far as you're concerned, you could keep running lower octane and save $0.80 per fill up (4 gals x .20/gal diff) or have your  bike perform at it's best, with the best, cleanest fuel running through it. C'mon, don't be such a cheap bastard!

 
well as far as i knew until now i wasnt being a cheap bastard ...i was following my manual...the bike runs very well...its way more than i can handle..but after all this talk i have had an itchin to try a tank of prem(93) since we dont have 91, just to see if i really notice any difference...atm w/ 87... lowest we have here in getting 35 mpg so will see if the 93 helps that any also...i do use the bike as a DD i love to ride it even in the 2 degree weather we have been havin as of lately...on a side note i really need to look into heated gloves ...wooo d@mn it gets cold :)

Hey Iroc, didn't mean to slam ya...but you'll be better off with 93, especially over the LONG RUN cause it is a cleaner fuel and your engine will be happier!!  You may even feel a slight power increase. I used 103 or 104 (I forget exactly) at a track day once when racing fuel was available and you can't imagine the immediate difference you feel.
 
Good luck!
 
 

I run 92 octane in my 03 RR notwithstanding the fact that the manual says 87 is fine.  I tried the 94 from Sunoco and the bike hesitates.  I assume this is a result of the 94 being a minimum of 10% ethanol.  My bike has 50,000 miles on it and still purrs.... but I guess octane is like oil options ... to each his/her own
 
For arguements sake I also have a 99 R6 which is done up for the track - ported, polished, factory kit cams, factory kit CDI, full race exhaust, modified ram air system etc.  We experimented with it at the track with unlimited dyno time.  It made it's best HP at 94 octane (106 HP).  At 102 and 106 octane it lost HP (103 and 102 HP respectively).

hey bear everything has ethanol in it now its federal law since like 06

I'm in Canada and I was under the impression that only Sunoco has the minimum 10% ethanol but I could be wrong.  Maybe their the only ones that has it posted on their pumps:)