prowler1
Junior Member
Either grade works great, prefer premium to regular myself.
Fuel Grade (regular, mid-range or premium)
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mrphotoman
Massive Member
Lol just a fyi, ethanol causes a drop in mpg. look it up.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ethanol.shtml
imma mythbuster mom!
Hmmm. . . : lots of talk about compression being a big factor in detonation. Everyone skipped the part about ignition timing, valve timing/cam timing, hot spots in the combustion chamber, aluminum dissipating heat well, combustion chamber design, exhaust header design (like length and back pressure) etc. . . to name a few.
Added factors; load, gearing, air temperature, tire diameter, rate of throttle opening, carbon build up in the combustion chamber, altitude. . . blah blah blah. . .
Those things all play a roll in what an engine will accept octane wise.
If you don't know what pinging or detonation sounds like, get it hot like 210F and take off in 2nd gear without slipping the clutch or raising the RPM above 1400. It'll likely ping!
That's the sound that gives you a hint its time to upgrade fuel. At 12,000 RPM there is so much noise going on you'll likely never hear it detonate. But if you suspect it suffers from detonation, Pull the spark plugs and LOOK at them very closely!!! Peppered spots and aluminum transfer will show up on the plugs. And it may be only ONE plug detonating, so check them all. One faulty injector with a bad pattern can make one cylinder detonate. . . I'm just sayin . . .
Added factors; load, gearing, air temperature, tire diameter, rate of throttle opening, carbon build up in the combustion chamber, altitude. . . blah blah blah. . .
Those things all play a roll in what an engine will accept octane wise.
- If it pings, detonates, rattles, suffers from pre-ignition, or transfers aluminum from the piston top the spark plug (does anyone look for balls on the plugs?), you need to run higher octane fuel. This applies more so in higher temps at lower altitudes (sea level etc.).
If you don't know what pinging or detonation sounds like, get it hot like 210F and take off in 2nd gear without slipping the clutch or raising the RPM above 1400. It'll likely ping!
That's the sound that gives you a hint its time to upgrade fuel. At 12,000 RPM there is so much noise going on you'll likely never hear it detonate. But if you suspect it suffers from detonation, Pull the spark plugs and LOOK at them very closely!!! Peppered spots and aluminum transfer will show up on the plugs. And it may be only ONE plug detonating, so check them all. One faulty injector with a bad pattern can make one cylinder detonate. . . I'm just sayin . . .
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Also: Modern engines adjust timing to meet the octane requirement. So if the motor detects predet it retards timing. So what happens to gas mileage and performance when we retard timing? There is a lot to this science! 
Dave in Houston
Junior Member
Also: Modern engines adjust timing to meet the octane requirement. So if the motor detects predet it retards timing. So what happens to gas mileage and performance when we retard timing? There is a lot to this science!
I don't know about the FZ6, but my Saab, when it detects detonation, not only pulls timing, it also adds fuel.
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That's true about predet on a lot of cars but I have no idea as to how the FZ6 would detect knock unless it was seeing an anomaly that occurs in the O2 and that would mean the pre 07s wouldn't have an O2 sensor.
Dunno!
ebk02
Junior Member
Most of today's modern engines are designed to run on regular (87) gas - period.
I have managed to get detonation only a couple of times with rpm's too low, and that was my fault for not having downshifted on time.
Save your money for wax, oil changes or whatever....
I have managed to get detonation only a couple of times with rpm's too low, and that was my fault for not having downshifted on time.
Save your money for wax, oil changes or whatever....
Also: Modern engines adjust timing to meet the octane requirement. So if the motor detects predet it retards timing. So what happens to gas mileage and performance when we retard timing? There is a lot to this science!
That's true about predet on a lot of cars but I have no idea as to how the FZ6 would detect knock unless it was seeing an anomaly that occurs in the O2 and that would mean the pre 07s wouldn't have an O2 sensor.
Dunno!
The FZ doesn't have a knock sensor thus the ignition advance map is very conservative at low RPMs to prevent detonation. Also its very likely the ECM ignores O2 data from 5/8 throttle to WOT. {This speculation on my part}. If anyone has some maps for AFR and ignition advance to share that would be great.
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ohgood
Junior Member
why force the bike into a bad situation ? just run it within reason and enjoy 100,000 miles or so of fun ?
i'd guess the fz gets maintenance along the same regularity as other bikes priced similarly, and there are very few problems reported here. we could test the oil every 400 miles, put wide-band O2 sensors everywhere, and verify (hey, NO ONE HERE VERIFIES OCTANE IN A LAB) octane till the cows come home, but it's more fun to ride.
98 RON for me - in everything (cars, bikes, lawn-mower, outboard, whipper-snipper etc), and NO ethanol, ever, at all....
dxh24
Ambitious But Rubbish
Wheres the AvGas selection? lol doubt modern bike engines would last very long but In say a 69' Charger, yes please :thumbup:
Downs
Touring Jarhead
I'd imagine that the lead content of AVGAS would clog up a Catalytic converter in short order.
ChevyFazer
Redneck MacGyver
Ahh who needs a cat anyways....
SweaterDude
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usually put in the 93octane but every once in a while i ride to the next couple towns over to the TurboBlue station and put some 102 in it:sinister:
We could be so lucky in Oz to have 102....
I just use a injector cleaner/octane booster every few tanks, just to keep 'er clean.
The octane booster I use says it raises the RON by 7 points - so from 98 Premium to 105!
WOOT WOOT! LOL!
Cheers,
Rick
HappyHighwayman
Junior Member
In no way will 102 improve performance on the FZ6 so why is he lucky? Octane <> performance or fuel quality as been mentioned about 1000 times.
Dave in Houston
Junior Member
I've been involved in computer control of gasoline blending systems, and I can promise you that there is no octane booster that will raise your octane by 7 points. Unless it is 100% pure tetraethyl lead. And I'm pretty sure it isn't.
Read the bottle and tell us what the active ingredient is, and we may be able to tell you how much of an octane boost you'll really get. (It might be 7/10 of a point, if it's a pint bottle.)
red_rock_beetle
Junior Member
you could run 100% Toluene, it has an octane of 114 iirc
I very much doubted it too, thus the 'LOL' behind the claim!
It's some American stuff in a sealed can, like a soda can - I can't remember what it's called. (used it last time)
Normally I just use 'Spitfire Injector Cleaner'.
(there was also this Molybdenum fuel treatment I tried once - seemed to make no difference!)
Cheers,
Rick
yamihoe
Professional test dummy
the "octane booster" doesnt actually increase octane, it just slows the burn down to make it seem like octane is being added, and tricks the computer into advancing the ignition spark timing as if premium fuel was being run.
i hate octane boosters, they are a placebo to real gas :rockon:
i hate octane boosters, they are a placebo to real gas :rockon:
