what fuel should you use in your GS 500... Normal unleaded or premium 95 or 98 octane?
It was designed for normal unleaded.
The other fuels won't hurt however.
First up welcome.
Second: please use the search function on this topic and you will find a plethora of threads.
Thirdly: in short it doesn't matter use what makes you happy long as its unleaded its good for the GS.
OK.. Thanks for that, was thinking the better fuel would make it run smoother , help engine last longer plus better fuel economy.
Like I said use the search function and you will see all you'll ever need to know about what you just asked. Fuel and oil threads are a bit of a social no no cause these subjects have been debated and flogged like a dead horse
Sweet!
I use 93 because I keep extra cans full of fuel and my truck is custom tuned for 93. I rarely go to a fuel station but if I do, then I will add 89. I never put 87 in anything.
Thanks weedahoe!
I'm cheap but not to cheap, i always hit the middle one :icon_lol:
There's a sticker under my seat, on top of the rear tire well, that recommends I use 91 octane
Fair enough!
Quote from: weedahoe on March 08, 2013, 06:55:42 PM
I use 93 because I keep extra cans full of fuel and my truck is custom tuned for 93. I rarely go to a fuel station but if I do, then I will add 89. I never put 87 in anything.
Took this off web
Octane is the level of energy the fuel contains it is an additive put in gas at the refinery.
this is going to sound weird but it is true here we go.
87 octane regular gas explodes easier than 91 octane.
However 91 octane contains more energy once it has been exploded, this is why if you have a pinging vehicle when you hit the gas or go up hills they say use 91 octane. The Gas is harder to make ignite in the cylinder than the 87 therefor eliminating the ping or pre ignition.
Any vehicle can run on the higher octane fuel with no problems at all, however if the vehicle was meant to run on 87 octane you are more or less wasting money putting in the higher octane gas. That said if you are having pre ignition issues with the engine or pinging going up hills pulling etc... you may need higher octane gas to eliminate this but only for that reason.
The simple answer look in the owners manual of the vehicle and it will tell you what octane level of gas your car needs.
I just looked in the Owners Manual for my 2013 WR250R....Yamaha sez Premium? I guess it's pumped up enough to need it?
Hummm...runs pretty good on Regular :dunno_black:
From 89-00 Shop Manual. 87 pump octane=91 research octane
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/GS_Gas_Oil_zps0a4b3a4c.jpg)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v443/jcp8832/CountryorAreaSymbols.jpg
Quote from: rharding91 on March 08, 2013, 09:33:42 PM
Quote from: weedahoe on March 08, 2013, 06:55:42 PM
I use 93 because I keep extra cans full of fuel and my truck is custom tuned for 93. I rarely go to a fuel station but if I do, then I will add 89. I never put 87 in anything.
Took this off web
Octane is the level of energy the fuel contains it is an additive put in gas at the refinery.
this is going to sound weird but it is true here we go.
87 octane regular gas explodes easier than 91 octane.
However 91 octane contains more energy once it has been exploded, this is why if you have a pinging vehicle when you hit the gas or go up hills they say use 91 octane. The Gas is harder to make ignite in the cylinder than the 87 therefor eliminating the ping or pre ignition.
Any vehicle can run on the higher octane fuel with no problems at all, however if the vehicle was meant to run on 87 octane you are more or less wasting money putting in the higher octane gas. That said if you are having pre ignition issues with the engine or pinging going up hills pulling etc... you may need higher octane gas to eliminate this but only for that reason.
The simple answer look in the owners manual of the vehicle and it will tell you what octane level of gas your car needs.
Thats very true but again, my truck is custom tuned by DiabloSports because I have the engine/transmission modifications that need this custom tuning. I have a custom cam, my heads are shaved, ported and polished, my intake is matched to the heads, true custom cold air intake, my Intake Air Sensor is tricked, my throttle body is ported and polished, my clutch fan was replaced with an electric fan, I have a different oil pump to keep pressure at higher RPMs, my entire ignition setup is different. My transmission has had a lot of upgrades as well as my rear end with gears and LSD. I took out the brake booster and exchanged with with a hydro boost off a diesel to keep brakes due to the low vacuum my cam provides. I can go on and on.
Like I said, I only put 93 in my bike because I have spare cans of fuel in the shop. Its easier for me to top off my tank here at home than to pull in a gas station.
I have said before out engines are very simple and do not require higher fuels. I mean hell, we still have carbs!
2 words..ethanol free. If you can use ethanol free gas. Google it.
My tale of octanes, gas knocks, and oil grades.
I had four 400-750cc Hondas I used 10W-40 oil winters and 20W-50 summers after they had some milage on them for the 230k miles I put on them. When I got the 97 GS new I ran 15W-50 Mobil I full synthetic for about 50k miles after break-in. After all 5 (4 Hondas and 97 GS) got 10-20k miles or so on them getting carboned up they developed gas knock in hot weather under load so I used mid range gas in them summers to eliminate the knock. When oil consumption increased I replaced the more expensive Mobil I with the 15W-40 heavy duty aka diesel oil and then one hot summer day I inadvertantly filled it with regular 87 octane gas and it never knocked. And it never knocked again for the next 30k miles I put on it with the 15W-40 oil. My 02 GS has gone all of it's 90k+ miles on 15W-40 oil and regular 87 octane gas without a single knock.
Conclusion: A 89-02 GS500 runs cooler on 10/15W-40 oil than on 15/20W-50 oil, no doubt in my mind. Never had a 04 or later model with an oil cooler so I can't vouch for them but I would run the same in them myself.
Quote from: peterscotts on March 08, 2013, 06:36:52 PM
Sweet!
then you get jumped on by the search button nazis lol. higher octane fuels. do one thing. ( and its not make more power. the higher octane rating is its resistance to detonation. lower compression engines have no need for it. but as others have said, if you wish to use it, have at it my friend :).
What fuel? Is this the new "What oil"? thread?
Quote from: Twisted on March 09, 2013, 04:30:11 AM
What fuel? Is this the new "What oil"? thread?
yep :cookoo:
Fuel that burns.
Here we go :technical:
Just get regular
Use regular 87 octane gas and Rotella T 15W-40 oil, the winning GS500 combo. :thumb: :woohoo:
This is a very legitimate question that everyone has asked. Its a good thing to wonder and question stuff that other people consider common knowledge i.e. the earth being square. I asked this same question and decided for myself that the cheapest is good for me but i only fill up at shell. Just personal preference. I was under the impression that ethanol was fine for to use as fuel even better in the newer vehicles.
Quote from: gsJack on March 09, 2013, 10:44:25 AM
Regular 87 octane gas with Rotella T 15W-40 oil, the winning GS500 combo. :thumb: :woohoo:
You got a two stroke GS?
Quote from: Twisted on March 09, 2013, 03:04:39 PM
Quote from: gsJack on March 09, 2013, 10:44:25 AM
Regular 87 octane gas with Rotella T 15W-40 oil, the winning GS500 combo. :thumb: :woohoo:
You got a two stroke GS?
Not sure, it originally was a 4 stroke but at 97k miles it's acting more like a 2 stroke in consumption. ;)
Shell V Power 98 gives my bike that little extra. Better throttle response over 92 or 95.
Run higher octane fuel if you can get it from a pump that uses a separate hose for each rating. If you're using a shared pump (three grades through one hose) you're getting up to a 1/2 gallon of whatever last ran through it. Not a big deal with the GS (87 is okay and it has a decent sized tank) but it counts with bikes that like the good stuff and have a small tank. Some (high compression engine) scooter owners are hyper aware of this.
Aussie Fuel Octane rating
Regular unleaded petrol (ULP) 91
Premium unleaded petrol (PULP) 95
High-performance premium unleaded petrol
(Optimax, Synergy 8000, Ultimate, Vortex 98) 98
These are the Australian standards and requirements
Thanks rharding91 thought the same... camsGS500E we are on the the same page, thought as much.. Thanks all for the feedback!
Quote from: rharding91 on March 08, 2013, 09:33:42 PM
Quote from: weedahoe on March 08, 2013, 06:55:42 PM
I use 93 because I keep extra cans full of fuel and my truck is custom tuned for 93. I rarely go to a fuel station but if I do, then I will add 89. I never put 87 in anything.
Took this off web
Octane is the level of energy the fuel contains it is an additive put in gas at the refinery.
this is going to sound weird but it is true here we go.
87 octane regular gas explodes easier than 91 octane.
However 91 octane contains more energy once it has been exploded, this is why if you have a pinging vehicle when you hit the gas or go up hills they say use 91 octane. The Gas is harder to make ignite in the cylinder than the 87 therefor eliminating the ping or pre ignition.
Any vehicle can run on the higher octane fuel with no problems at all, however if the vehicle was meant to run on 87 octane you are more or less wasting money putting in the higher octane gas. That said if you are having pre ignition issues with the engine or pinging going up hills pulling etc... you may need higher octane gas to eliminate this but only for that reason.
The simple answer look in the owners manual of the vehicle and it will tell you what octane level of gas your car needs.
this is incorrect. there is no more energy in 91, 93, or 103. the higher octane is to prevent detonation, and killing engines, in higher compressions. since the gs is not an ultra high compression engine, it doesn't need it. there is no more power.
I find I get much better fuel economy on all my bikes with the higher octane fuel
Really? What kind of bikes??
An engine designed to run on "regular" cannot and will not get better mileage on high octane...
But, an engine designed to run on high octane, will get worse mileage on too low octane....
Some cars are designed to run on either regular or higher octane...but the computer senses and adjusts...and you will get very slightly more mileage on high octane (if all other factors remain unchanged) .....because the computer "tunes" the engine......and an engine "tuned" for high octane is slightly more efficient. (compression ratio and timing, etc)
As for the GS 500...the only gas I would see improving mileage would be ethanol free gas. (since it takes roughly 2 times the amount of ethanol to produce the same power as gasoline.......so 10% ethanol in gas should reduce fuel economy by about 5 %......
There are so many factors which can change gas mileage significantly that without controlled experiments, it is impossible to determine if small factors have any effect. (example...I sometimes drive a company car...I get 32 to 34 MPG consistently.........when the other guys drive the same car, I see the mileage is at 25 to 27 MPG........simply driving style! ... that's like 25% variation!!)
If you are really interested...you can search the GS 500 on fuelly.com.........and you will see wide swings in mileage among different riders and even with the same rider under differing conditions......
But if you "think" high test gives you better mileage..have at it....the oil companies love you!
Cookie
Quote from: codajastal on March 10, 2013, 06:16:33 AM
I find I get much better fuel economy on all my bikes with the higher octane fuel
Quote from: twocool on March 10, 2013, 06:32:24 PM
Really? What kind of bikes??
An engine designed to run on "regular" cannot and will not get better mileage on high octane...
But, an engine designed to run on high octane, will get worse mileage on too low octane....
Some cars are designed to run on either regular or higher octane...but the computer senses and adjusts...and you will get very slightly more mileage on high octane (if all other factors remain unchanged) .....because the computer "tunes" the engine......and an engine "tuned" for high octane is slightly more efficient. (compression ratio and timing, etc)
As for the GS 500...the only gas I would see improving mileage would be ethanol free gas. (since it takes roughly 2 times the amount of ethanol to produce the same power as gasoline.......so 10% ethanol in gas should reduce fuel economy by about 5 %......
There are so many factors which can change gas mileage significantly that without controlled experiments, it is impossible to determine if small factors have any effect. (example...I sometimes drive a company car...I get 32 to 34 MPG consistently.........when the other guys drive the same car, I see the mileage is at 25 to 27 MPG........simply driving style! ... that's like 25% variation!!)
If you are really interested...you can search the GS 500 on fuelly.com.........and you will see wide swings in mileage among different riders and even with the same rider under differing conditions......
But if you "think" high test gives you better mileage..have at it....the oil companies love you!
Cookie
Well as a matter of FACT our lower octane fuel HAS ethanol in it so you have just proved that I am correct in assuming I get better milage!!
Thanks for proving me right. :thumb:
Oh and FYI, I do the exact same amount of kms for work every day and when I use the lower octane fuel I get 2 days use
BUT when I use the higher octane fuel I get 2 1/2 days. EVERYTIME.
Went into the dealer today.. I pick up my new bike tomorrow :D Asked him what fuel should I put in it (GS 500)... He said premium 95 or 98 octane.. Why i asked, he said the bike will run better and get better fuel economy .. Which all along I have thought this as any car I have owned has always run better and received better fuel economy by using premium (higher octane) fuel.. Same with the boats I've owned over the years.
Quote from: peterscotts on March 10, 2013, 11:57:09 PM
Went into the dealer today.. I pick up my new bike tomorrow :D Asked him what fuel should I put in it (GS 500)... He said premium 95 or 98 octane.. Why i asked, he said the bike will run better and get better fuel economy .. Which all along I have thought this as any car I have owned has always run better and received better fuel economy by using premium (higher octane) fuel.. Same with the boats I've owned over the years.
EXACTLY :bowdown: :bowdown: :bowdown:
My mechanic told me the same thing.
Maybe it just an Aussie thing?
Must be codajastal .... The thing is, it does make a diference, well it has on any motor I've put in in! :cheers:
Quote from: peterscotts on March 11, 2013, 12:38:52 AM
Must be codajastal .... The thing is, it does make a diference, well it has on any motor I've put in in! :cheers:
Yep same here!
Maybe our fuel is different to US fuel??
I have no idea.
Read his custom title it says it all. I've put the same octane rating in all the time so yeah I do however notice differences between fuel brands
Quote from: slipperymongoose on March 11, 2013, 01:00:22 AM
Read his custom title it says it all. I've put the same octane rating in all the time so yeah I do however notice differences between fuel brands
:icon_question:
Sounds like our fuel is codajastal with what i have read... There talkin 80 odd octane... WTF.. You heard of that :icon_question:
Quote from: peterscotts on March 11, 2013, 01:18:33 AM
Sounds like our fuel is codajastal with what i have read... There talkin 80 odd octane... WTF.. You heard of that :icon_question:
I think we have E85 which is in that area of octane but I have yet to see it locally?
Found this
http://www.powerchipgroup.com/articles/octane/page_one.html
Fuel Octane Ratings for Recreational Engines
How important is it to pick the right one?
When you drive into your local petrol station, something most of us do on about a weekly basis, you have a choice of 2, 3, or even 4 different grades of petrol (gasoline) to choose from. But it's rarely a difficult choice.
When it comes to road vehicles, most of us are driving a locally made vehicle, or an imported vehicle made specifically for Australian and New Zealand conditions. Therefore the owner's manual, and labels on the vehicle, will be written so the specifications match local terminology. Fuel requirements will be something "like use ULP or unleaded petrol". Here's an example:
(Holden Commodore VX Series) -
FUEL Supercharged engines Premium (95 octane) UNLEADED petrol
Non-Supercharged engines Regular UNLEADED petrol of 91 octane or higher
Petrol station fuel pumps are marked with similar words, that's why it's not such a difficult choice, but what if you are using imported equipment that may not match the local terms? Can you easily get into trouble by picking the wrong fuel? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.
You'll notice the word Octane is used a lot when describing fuels. Of course, that refers to a rating given to the fuel for its resistance to detonation. Higher octane ratings mean greater resistance, which is what higher output, more highly stressed engines usually need. The name comes from one of the laboratory fuels used when measuring octane ratings, isooctance (see the following article on octane rating history).
Ever since the octane ratings were first established back in the 1930's, that word has been used around the world, but (and here's where we can get into trouble) there is more than one type of octane rating method and not all countries advertise the same one.
There are two basic octane measuring methods, the Research and Motor methods, plus some derived versions like AKI (Anti Knock Index) or Pump Posted octane numbers (also in the following article on where these names came from).
http://www.environment.gov.au/atmosphere/fuelquality/standards/index.html
Australia's fuel quality standards are designed to make the nation's transport fuels among the cleanest in the world. The standards regulate the quality of the fuel supplied to consumers and reduce toxic vehicle emissions. Fuel quality standards are an increasingly important issue not only to protect the environment, but to safeguard the consumer as well. Modern vehicles require fuels that meet high quality standards and can be damaged by inferior products. The cleaner air will be good for our health, for local and global environments, and for reducing the economic and social costs of illnesses linked to vehicle pollution.
Well there ya go.. "There is more than one type of octane rating method and not all countries advertise the same one." Oz & the U.S are obviously different. :thumb:
I actually learned something. Damn now I have lost some more brain cells to accomodate that information :icon_rolleyes:
:bs: NA COULDN'T BE, YOU GOT PLENTY MORE CODS
How we 'base' our octane rating differs from Yankee land. Our regular 91 unleaded, is what the seppos call 87. The RON you see after the octane number is called 'research octane number' yanks use a different rating system but basically is the same stuff. E85 fuel is a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% regular unleaded. It's around 110 - 115 octane I think.