Topic: Do you have a preference on which fuel you use in your bikes and autos?

[sparty]

Guys,

Just curious, but do you have a preference on which fuel you use in your bike and autos?

With high gas prices, some people look to save and use the fuel that is most affordable. 

I can tell the difference in how my bikes and autos perform depending on the brand and octane of fuel that I use.  I was wondering if others have the same experience.

Be sure to list the octane level you prefer.

Sparty

[ProTeal55]

I usually go with BP, as there is a station at the end of my block.
The F-150 runs the same on 87 then it does on 93, so 87 it gets..
I found the same to be true on the CB750, so it gets 87 as well.
The 55 is a low compression motor (at the momment) so I can get away with running
87, but I do "splurge" for 93 once in a while..

[medic09]

I usually use Phillips 66/Conoco.  Low octane for the car, high for the bikes.  Reason is simple.  In gov't published data a few years ago, they were one of the companies that bought no oil from Arab countries (who, in my opinion, are trying to hold the rest of the world hostage in more ways than one).  Sorry for the political insert...

[ofreen]

I don't really have a brand preference, just go where ever the price is best.  I try to stay away from gas with a high alcohol content.  I use regular in the 750.

[nickjtc]

'Other' = Petro Canada up here.  Esso and Shell occasionally. Just because of the points and the convenience. We put regular in the car and I put regular in Sophie and premium in the Mistress.

[Soos]

I try to stick with Exxon mobil...
my car gets 85octane, but i baby my bike with 91 as long as price is under 3.25/gal

l8r

[clarkjh]

I voted other.  Irvine Oil, doesn't matter who's pumps because it's one of only two refineries in the Maritimes.

James

[boatsdickson]

Dont know of the brand, but Ill put 3 gallons of highest octane the gas station has on the way out of town, and 1 gallon of TrakTek 119 octane that I keep in the garage....

[Stevien1]

Mobil, BP, and Sunoco- in that order if I have a choice.  I'll walk before ever buying gas at a Citgo station.........

[mrbreeze]

I think most people shy away from a certain station they may have had a problem at (like water in the gas etc.). These bikes run fine on unleaded regular but if you have high compression setup,you should run premium (higher octane). I usually buy my gas at the cheaper outlets like Arco or USA but if I found one that had excessive water that affected performance,I would go elsewhere. I have found bad gas at better stations....Chevron,Union 76, etc.

[eldar]

Well gas is a weird topic.  With out bikes, regular is all you need. If you are running stock, you are only fooling yourself if you think premium is better. Now if you have done engine mods, then a higher octane can be beneficial. I use conoco and bp usually some times petro. The main thing to do is stay away from stations that dont move much gas. You have a higher chance of getting crap fuel.

[heffay]

we have a place called "u pump it" w/in a couple blocks
i buy premium for all the bikes and the piece of sh!t cars get regular.
i don't care whether my bikes are hi comp or not... they get spoiled.

i accidentally put premium in my hemi work truck once... cost over 100 dollars!  and lasted about as long as it took to pump it in!

[Gordon]

Dont know of the brand, but Ill put 3 gallons of highest octane the gas station has on the way out of town, and 1 gallon of TrakTek 119 octane that I keep in the garage....

Why?  If you haven't modified your engine for high compression, you're wasting your money.  High octane will not make a stock engine perform better.

[boatsdickson]

True.... If it were stock, I'd only run 91-92oct, but when we big bored and upgraded everything else a while back, I believe the higher octane makes the difference. Besides, smelling that exhaust as you throw on the leathers is the finest legal smell I've encountered.

[ieism]

Well I ride a stock 550f, and my bike is faster with premium fuel. Must be something wrong with my bike then.  I tested this on the Autobahn in Germany, and it's topspeed is almost 10KM higher with premium. I almost never put Premium in though, cause I can never drive that fast in my own country anyway.

[kghost]

Avgas 100 Low lead is mighty handy.

No seafoam, stabil, etc needed 

[Gordon]

Well I ride a stock 550f, and my bike is faster with premium fuel. Must be something wrong with my bike then.

Yes, there probably is.  Could be excessive carbon build-up in the combustion chambers.  Clean them out and your bike will run better on regualr than it does now on premium.  It's a widespread urban myth that higher octane fuel will make an engine run better/ faster/ stronger/ cleaner, than regular fuel.  High octane fuel is only intended for engines that run high compression, and the only difference is that it resists self-igniting under that compression better than low octane fuel.  It does not contain more energy. 

If an engine that is not made to run at high compression benefits from high octane fuel, then it isn't running as well as it can.