OK, now explain this to me???

W

Waters88

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OK, OK, I dont want to get into the fight about what gas to use, but as most guys on here say, use only Premium fuel in Vipers.... my question is why?

What would be the reason for this??? Why not retard the timing to make up for detination problems??? Is this done anyway???

I was just talking about it to my dad the other night, who has been working on sleds, dirt bikes, motorcycles and small engines since he was 13. He has his small engine mechanic lisence, and has also been a full time auto mechanic for the last 27 years.

He was asking me why they dont retard the timing to make up for it..... any ideas??
 
I think vipers were made to run on regular octane, not supreme. The srx was premium fuel only! I could be wrong on this but I ran 87 octane in my viper for 30000km and I never blew it up!
 
I'm in Michigan and ethanol has been around for many years, manufacturers of engines are well aware of it and tune engines to run it. Running higher octane then what is recommended on a stock engine will even hinder performance... I'm gonna quit now.... but ill have fun reading.............
 
I thought all grades had ethanol? Also, my understanding was that the octane in ethanol gas diminishes with age, which means Premium fuel would hold octane numbers better with age.
 
should be OK if no ethanol is in the mix. Unless you have done some engine mods that has raised the compression on the sled if so you would want to use the higher grade fuel.
 
Why?? to protect against detonation,,it's not required for vipers, only need 88 OR higher octane but it's good to use a slightly higher oct to give that cushion of protection because gas of today is crap you never know what your getting.
 
Also when the pump you're using only has one hose for all three grades of gas, think about the couple gallons of 87 you're getting beford the premium gets there, & the next guy gets your couple gallons of premium that you paid for still in the pump & hose.
 
ottawaair said:
Also when the pump you're using only has one hose for all three grades of gas, think about the couple gallons of 87 you're getting beford the premium gets there, & the next guy gets your couple gallons of premium that you paid for still in the pump & hose.
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Right,,thats why when we run into a station like that i always say to my buds "go ahead I'll wait till your done!" hehehe...
 
ottawaair said:
Also when the pump you're using only has one hose for all three grades of gas, think about the couple gallons of 87 you're getting beford the premium gets there, & the next guy gets your couple gallons of premium that you paid for still in the pump & hose.
Click to expand...


That has always bugged me!!

In my area the Shell stations have a seperate pump + hose for their premium 91 octane V Power fuel.

V Power also says NO ETHONAL right on the pump, but it is the only premium I know of that is "E" Free.
 
I take a small 2 gallon container along with me when I go pu gas in the larger containers.I run almost 2 gallons from the hose first from the premium,then continue to fill up the rest without a shot of regular in the line.Then I use the gas in the 2 gallon jug for the snowblower or my truck.No biggie.But when you ride with sled up to a station,you have no choice but to get some of the regular gas prior to the premium coming out..but have never had issues with gas here,it is good. ;)!
 
Looks like i said what everyone was thinking, I usually fill the wifes sled first, or swipe my card & hand off the hose to whoever is next to me. Of course don't tell them the reason they get to fill up first. The thing that sucks is like my Vmax streetbike- damn thing only takes 3.5 gallons to fill, so the next guy is getting all the premium i just paid for. I do prefer the pumps with seperate hoses, but not many like that around here.
 
Waters88 said:
OK, OK, I dont want to get into the fight about what gas to use, but as most guys on here say, use only Premium fuel in Vipers.... my question is why?

What would be the reason for this??? Why not retard the timing to make up for detination problems??? Is this done anyway???

I was just talking about it to my dad the other night, who has been working on sleds, dirt bikes, motorcycles and small engines since he was 13. He has his small engine mechanic lisence, and has also been a full time auto mechanic for the last 27 years.

He was asking me why they dont retard the timing to make up for it..... any ideas??
Click to expand...


It's my understanding that Vipers require 88 octane not 91 like an SRX. But to answer your question, yes backing off on timing would help to keep detonation at bay, but who wants to detune thier sled? To be honest, I've yet to pull the flywheel off my '01 so I'm not sure how adjustable the timing is.

When I run into unknown fuel quality (which is nearly always when trail riding), I avoid long pulls across the lake and don't run ragged edge jetting.

When out on the lake drag racing, I bring along 93 or 94 octane fuel from a high volume store. Even then it's a crap shoot but not nearly as risky as buying fuel from backwood mom and pop shops on the trail.
 
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