should I be running 93 octane gas in my 2005 gs500f or just regular gas?

regular

Quote from: tom500f on May 29, 2013, 01:17:25 PM
should I be running 93 octane gas in my 2005 gs500f or just regular gas?

I was told by adidasguy and i quote. me "Do you recommend 91 octane fuel?" Adidasguy says , "no, the engines on the gs500 is low compression. We dont need such high octane fuel. Stick with regular 89"

The shop manuals and owner's manual also states regular 89 or 87, depending on what is available. 87 is just fine.

All of the 50,000 miles on my '99 GS500E have been ridden with "Regular" Unleaded.  Most of those miles have been in Utah, where "Regular" means 85 octane.  I only use 87+ when I'm on long trips and can't find anything lower.   

I run 95 octane in Australia, but our octane values are different to yours. Problem is that "normal" octane is about 91 for Aus, and the only fuel I can find here with that octane is that 10% Ethanol shaZam!.

I put 91 in my car once (Too see what the fuel consumption was like, turned out to be 15.6L/100KMs /18.6MPG), and it was pinging like a madman after a quick jolt up the mountains. Threw some proper fuel into it, 95 Octane stuff, and got 8.6L/100KMs, or 32.8MPG. All highway driving, 110KPH, maybe a little more than that, or alot more than that in some places. It was surprising to see the difference and whats worse is my manufacturer recommends the 91 Octane E10 fuel for my car, says it should be absolutely fine.

despite much potential controversy and future hassle...

about the start of this year i deliberately started using e10 from a local servo .. they also list it as 94 octane instead of the usual 91 ..

zero problems thus far, ive let the bike sit with half a tank for 3 or 4 weeks too... still no hassles... last time it was near empty i got my superbright LED torch and shone it around inside the tank neck while i peered as best i can into the guts of tank... no issues or crud buildup seen ..

the servo does have replaceable filters on all its pumps .. but also does a massive turnover in fuel each week... so i see it as there is always fresh agitated fuel flowing through the filters on the pump...

yet as i said i have let the bike sit for semi extended periods with no 'evils befalling me' ... 

maybe its still too soon.... maybe next year or the year after .. suddenly my bike will fall completely to pieces and vanish in a puff of smoke because the e10 'causes water problems' ...

who knows.... but for now its working great ... and i suspect it will do for quite some time... 

Bout time we had another fuel thread. Now to answer, any unleaded fuel you put in is fine as long as its not ethanol.

Quote from: slipperymongoose on May 29, 2013, 06:12:52 PM
Bout time we had another fuel thread. Now to answer, any unleaded fuel you put in is fine as long as its not ethanol.

... lol ... slips you bastard!!  ... but i sense another sub reason... you mean .. because ethanol should be reserved for Rum, Bourbon, Whiskey, Tequila .. and such things?!?!

Here in western NY, the "screw me state", I'm only allowed to get that lovely ethanol infused crap...even at higher octane. I have reserved a special place in the depths of hell for these people, and a small portion of my yearly cleaning to the carb sludge.

Quote from: Soloratov on May 29, 2013, 07:01:59 PM
Here in western NY, the "screw me state", I'm only allowed to get that lovely ethanol infused crap...even at higher octane. I have reserved a special place in the depths of hell for these people, and a small portion of my yearly cleaning to the carb sludge.

that's why we also have to spend money on fuel additives and SeaFoam - to get that crap out.

More gasoline is used to make ethanol than the amount of ethanol you get. It is a loosing proposition. If people complain about importing oil, why do we export oil?

You ask a very good question sir. 

What is your prefered additive, and do you run it all the time like we do in our old car, or just every once in a while to clean it?

Quote from: adidasguy on May 29, 2013, 07:04:43 PM

Quote from: Soloratov on May 29, 2013, 07:01:59 PM
Here in western NY, the "screw me state", I'm only allowed to get that lovely ethanol infused crap...even at higher octane. I have reserved a special place in the depths of hell for these people, and a small portion of my yearly cleaning to the carb sludge.

that's why we also have to spend money on fuel additives and SeaFoam - to get that crap out.

More gasoline is used to make ethanol than the amount of ethanol you get. It is a loosing proposition. If people complain about importing oil, why do we export oil?

im not buying it for the 'hug the planet' idea... its 4c per litre cheaper!! .. not a huge difference in cost i guess... but i can still see zero crap in the tank... maybe i have just been lucky thus far?

still gonna use it for the experimental value... if it clugs up.. i'll clean it out and do it again... to compare timeline...

i think more of a problem is switching between ethanol free and ethanol fuel ... when you dump ethanol free on top of the fuel containing ethanol or vice versa ... thats when you get more water separation and gunge .. sticking to one or other ... is less problematic .. far as i can determine .. i asked a independant fuel company testing guy

Quote from: Soloratov on May 29, 2013, 07:09:02 PM
You ask a very good question sir. 

What is your prefered additive, and do you run it all the time like we do in our old car, or just every once in a while to clean it?

There are a number of additives to deal with the ethanol. I use Eastwood fuel additive. about every 3 months I put in some SeaFoam.
if you run your bikes a lot it is less of a problem. After 6 weeks or so the  ethanol starts breaking down and gas goes bad. I don't go through a tank in every bike every month so it is important to have it in there.
You need it if storing your bike for a long time (like winter).

Ok. Then I am not too concerned. I ride quite a bit, average at least 1-2 tanks a week during the season. Winter storage, at least the last 2 seasons, the bike has been drained of gas. I will probably continue the yearly carb drain and clean/inspection...usually fill & Sta-bil the tank after the old girl gets put in the basement.

Guess I'll stick to the mid-grade 89 since she runs well on it.

Yes it ethanol should be reserved to race cars and liquor. And saabs, and konneisig.

no slips.... thats not right.... i watched Jeremy spell it.... its Koeniseggeggeggegggeegeeggeeggeegg!

Yeah that and I think there was an Abba in there too

Top Gear (not the silly US version), is one of the greatest shows ever. They need more episodes!

They need more episodes in a series.