Grouch Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I have run my bike on Shell V-Power since getting it. I know people will say that it makes no difference, but it does, and the extra 8 pence more it costs than regular fuel is nothing, especially as it only costs £13 odd to fill her up. Anyway the other day I got caught out and had to use a Jet garage. Jet don't even have a quality equivalent to V-Power so I had to put their regular unleaded in. I noticed how different my bike was, it was sluggish and slower and the engine rattled like fuck. It wasn't good at all. I then put some Shell in it and it was okay after a while. It definitely makes a difference buying super unleaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noise Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Yer i always put super unleaded in the XVS, because i have short ram filters and straight through pipes with bigger main jets she runs like poo on standard unleaded, I have heard that Tesco's super unleaded is some thing like 99RON but ive not tried that yet. What RON in the V-power stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 I've never bothered, but a mate swears by Tesco Momentum, super unleaded. and uses nothing else in his bikes and van Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Sorry, it makes no difference. The octane rating of petrol tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When petrol ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine. Knocking can damage an engine, so it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane petrol (like "regular" 87-octane) can handle the least amount of compression before igniting. The compression ratio of your engine determines the octane rating of the petrol you must use in the bike or car. One way to increase the horsepower of an engine of a given displacement is to increase its compression ratio. So a "high-performance engine" has a higher compression ratio and requires higher-octane fuel. The use of a higher octane fuel than required, is a twofold mistake. You are wasting money and can possibly do damage to the engine. Using a higher than require octane rated fuel will not increase performance, clean the engine, or offer any benefits whatsoever. If your engine was designed for 95 octane, then use only 95 octane. The engineers who designed the engine know full well what octane fuel it needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarke Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 +1 to Campaman (this could turn into another oil thread...) I only ever use standard unleaded in my bikes - that's what the manufacturers recommend. I'm sure if you got better performance or it was better for the engine the manufacturers would say only use super unleaded or even a combination of both, but they don't. My dealership mechanic once said to use superunleaded on every 4th fill to help clean out the engine. I used it once but according to the bike's computer my mpgs went down so haven't bothered since. Some people claim you can tell the difference between branded/unbranded petrol but to be honest I never really notice any difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 the octane rating isnt the only difference between super-unleaded and regular, theres other additives (or removed impurities) as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted November 22, 2012 Moderator Share Posted November 22, 2012 Fuel is fuel. Grouch may have a little extra go because the brain will tweak the ig to suit the fuel. The fi ( if is is fi) 'ooh a palendrome!' may adjust too. My dt on the carb and ig are pretty solid. To swap to super i would have to re set the timing and that would be a pain in the arse all ways round. Its bad enough with the weather all arsed up messing with the fueling. I will go with "if it aint broke" and stay with the std stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Given the choice, I only ever buy Shell or BP standard 95. Tescos, Morrisons and Texaco fuels run absolute fucking shite in both bikes and the Mrs's car - Rumour (from a friend actually in Trading Standards) has it they did/do often water their fuel down, which I could very well believe given how awful the performance has been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noise Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Tescos, Morrisons and Texaco fuels run absolute fucking shite in both bikes and the Mrs's car - Rumour (from a friend actually in Trading Standards) has it they did/do often water their fuel down, which I could very well believe given how awful the performance has been. I have to agree with The big super markets watering down their fuel, i fill up at my local Texaco garage with about £20-£30 in the car and that will get me about 150-170 miles driving with out my lead boots, but if i will up with the same amount at ASDA or the like (giving that its cheaper and thus you get a bit more liter to the pound) and i will only get 120 miles if that driving the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grouch Posted November 22, 2012 Author Share Posted November 22, 2012 Yer i always put super unleaded in the XVS, because i have short ram filters and straight through pipes with bigger main jets she runs like poo on standard unleaded, I have heard that Tesco's super unleaded is some thing like 99RON but ive not tried that yet. What RON in the V-power stuff? I'm not sure of all the technical stats Sorry, it makes no difference. The octane rating of petrol tells you how much the fuel can be compressed before it spontaneously ignites. When petrol ignites by compression rather than because of the spark from the spark plug, it causes knocking in the engine. Knocking can damage an engine, so it is not something you want to have happening. Lower-octane petrol (like "regular" 87-octane) can handle the least amount of compression before igniting. The compression ratio of your engine determines the octane rating of the petrol you must use in the bike or car. One way to increase the horsepower of an engine of a given displacement is to increase its compression ratio. So a "high-performance engine" has a higher compression ratio and requires higher-octane fuel. The use of a higher octane fuel than required, is a twofold mistake. You are wasting money and can possibly do damage to the engine. Using a higher than require octane rated fuel will not increase performance, clean the engine, or offer any benefits whatsoever. If your engine was designed for 95 octane, then use only 95 octane. The engineers who designed the engine know full well what octane fuel it needs. Yes it does make a difference. I noticed more or less straight away that my bike became sluggish and the engine even sounded like I was revving the arse of it. Fuel is fuel. Grouch may have a little extra go because the brain will tweak the ig to suit the fuel. The fi ( if is is fi) 'ooh a palendrome!' may adjust too. My dt on the carb and ig are pretty solid. To swap to super i would have to re set the timing and that would be a pain in the arse all ways round. Its bad enough with the weather all arsed up messing with the fueling. I will go with "if it aint broke" and stay with the std stuff I know for a fact it made a big difference when I switched to Jet standard. I'm not deluded and I am never using regular unleaded again. It costs about an extra 8p a litre so it means nothing when you have a 10 litre capacity tank. My engine has been fine using it since March. Have you ever tried it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Cynic Posted November 22, 2012 Moderator Share Posted November 22, 2012 I used to run my suzuki on it. No choice as the engine was tuned to it. The ron number gives the volativity of the fuel an the energy in it. Lpg is something like 104. The trouble is to get the benefit the ig has to be set for it. As i have already said your bike is new enough to adapt automatically to it and will give a tiny bit more power and run a little smoother. The important bit is the adaptive part. Changing from one to the other requires roughly 4 degrees of ig. My dt is over 30years old. The only way the ig set point will change is if i strip the motor down to do it. Not a simple job also it is one of the few things DT's are sensitive to. Get it out and the piston melts. So i will stick with the std stuff. Its still far juicier than the washing up liquid across the pond. Some of that stuff is in the ron80's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted November 22, 2012 Share Posted November 22, 2012 Using the fancy, expensive stuff drops my performance and my MPG notably! Standard, regular, normal petrol gives me an easy 175 mile range on 16 litres and riding my usual aggressive way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Preload Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 If your motor has a denotation sensor like some BMW's you can use 98 or 95 as the ignition will alter to suit, but if your motor is in standard trim without a denotation sensor it shouldn't make any difference however the engine will run fine. I do use super in the RD though as it hasn't any ethanol in it at present and alter the advance slightly to compensate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campaman Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 As others have also said, you should use what the manufacturer recommends, unless your bike has been specifically designed and has the capability to adjust to the different octane fuels there is nothing to gain, but also remember the fuel companies advertise that you get a load of advantages to using the Super Unleaded, wonder why that is ? ££££££..... I have to use the Super in my car being a Twin Turbu Subaru Legacy, if I put the lower octane in I get knocking when the second turbo kicks in. As to supermarket fuels being different, as I work in an industry where we have to comply to British and other standards as the fuel industry does I very much doubt they are different, the only thing that I will agree on is that the anti freeze additives added to diesel may well be less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhat250 Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 extra go because the brain will tweak the ig to suit the fuel. Plasebo effect" , i wouldn"t believe a word oil company"s say, they only understand Profit ,,, Everone posts have facts in them , Detonation[ knocking] all true, They say 2 strokes run cooler on high octane, - When we were at Spa " this year , some members were filling with Avgas" that super super high octane, Well i never got passed by them, untill my brakes were shot,[ fade-warped] .. plasebo i think,,, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy1 Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I never buy supermarket fuel " now " fuel pump went on my saab at 3 years old and was told that it was with buying cheap supermarket diesel, there is something in it that rots the rubber seals. I also used to run a 1989 toyota mr2 which would run on normal unleaded but was like a pun of mince, when I filled up with super unleaded it was like night and day between the two fuels. with my own car now ( ford puma ) and the wifes ( bmw mini ) I alternate between super unleaded and normal with each fill. I have read lots of articles that say that it should not make any difference in " normal " cars but I have also met many people who swear by super unleaded in cars,bikes. Also agree with the loss of mpg when buying lower class brands of fuel like asda, thames, q8, british fuels, jet , texaco and so on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarke Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I can only talk about my 12 plate Suzuki V Strom - it doesn't seem to mind whether I put ASDA regular or Shell regular in it, I get the same mileage regardless. The only drop in mileage I noticed was when I used Shell V-Power, lost about 50 miles on the range of the tank and never noticed any performance improvements. The missus' diesel car did run better (ie more mpgs) on Shell diesel than ASDA though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wild foamy Posted November 23, 2012 Share Posted November 23, 2012 I run LPG in the car 69.9p a liter over at Benson... haven't bought petrol for about 3 months, i havent ridden the bike(s) since the summer and i run pretty much whatever i can get hold of in the generator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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