Best gas to run?

i dont already know the answer, and i read more on this website and many others than i will ever admit to my boss. i just have never seen where i guy has had the choice between 87 non-ethanol and 93 with ethanol.

honestly i was planning on running 87 in both sleds since thats what the 540 likes but after this discussion i think ill stop at 2 different gas stations and get 2 different gases. one that sells only non ethanol 87 and one that is a high volume station, that hopefully has good gas in its tanks. just wish the srx had egt's like the 540. like i said before the 540 runs like garbage on 93
 

If you search posts I have ben in I posted similar question last year. The local BP has ethanol free 89 thats the same price per gallon or real close as 93 with ethanol. My issue was the pump with e-free 89 is off to the side and NEVER see any signs of people using it= stale. I had mixed answers, some said they would be driving to mancelona with cans to get e free 89 and others said they would avoid it. I run 93 with ethanol, keep in mind I am feeding 3 sleds (girlfreind and her kid) and the few bucks to run cheaper fuel wasnt worth the risk of repairs.
 
Ethanol certainly presents a number of issues to snowmobilers. But octane rating in NOT one of them. Alcohol has a higher octane rating than many grades of racing gas. Fortunately here in Ohio, 93 premium is still readily available. Whenever I go to an area where I suspect that gasoline quality may be lower, I try to take as much local gas with me as I can carry. From a high volume station where the gas is gonna be nice and fresh.

The thought of running anything but the best gas in a high performance sled shouldn't even be a consideration. Best (freshest), highest octane, from a major high volume station. And certainly some quality octane booster for good measure.
 
Depending on where you buy gas and/or do your riding, the gas "quality" may actually be much better than you would get from the same gas stations in the summer. My son and I do all of our sledding in a small town in northern NH. I spoke to the owners of two gas stations, they both told me their gas sales volumes go up by 5 to 8X during the sledding months (when there is snow) so the gas has a much shorter time being stored in the underground tanks. For sure the relative humidity in the air is much lower in the cold winter months so there is less humidity available to contaminate the stored gas.
 
Sunoco run the 91, its powersports friendly. Do not run the Sunoco Ultra 94, it has high alcohol content. I personally run the Shell V-power with some star-tron for piece of mind. Its also good to pour your gas into a glass jar and check for water and yellowish gas before adding to your tank. Fresh gas is more clear and older fuel turns yellow/orange tint.
 
Hey Tyler, I'm a fule hauler and can chime in on the freshness of the fuel at the pump

Unless you're way out in the middle of know where, that fuel hasn't been sitting in the tanks for more then a few days, and most likely not more than two days.

Using the theory of gas at a station being old isn't going to work....

Maybe there's some ethanol free gas near you

http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=PA
 
ok since everyone seems to want to fight (even tho i clearly stated my decision to run 93 in 1 sled and 87 in the other) can someone explain to me what octane booster does and why its good to put it in a 2 stroke engine

milo- i currently have a friend that works at the busiest gas station (out of like 4 in town) checking to see how many gallons of each grade they get a week...

as far as that pure-gas.org site goes, i have know about that for years. and yes the second one on the list is the place where i can get pure 87 but no other grades

motorhead- seems to be picking up what im putting down, by saying that he, in fact, DOESN'T run the highest grade he can because the highest grade has a ton of alcohol. im not sure if i agree about the old gas has a darker tint thing (i think new gas can also be DYED darker depending on refinery) but hey everyone has their opinion

jim- i mainly ride around home from field to field, no winter maintenance road to pipeline... the area is not know for a million snowmobiles so i doubt snowmobiles actually have a noticeable impact on the amount of gas the stations sell... n no sometimes we trailer 30mins north. there is i gas station near that trailhead that i can see where your scenario would definitely be true...

tony- you are probably right... i see a bunch of people that blow stuff up from clogged jets too tho.... whats a 2 mile lake? we have one here that i can throw a baseball across, you think that would be big enough to blow my sled up on? (those were rhetorical questions since you said you were done posting on this)

macheater- i agree with what your saying but this doesnt make alot of sense to me "Ethanol certainly presents a number of issues to snowmobilers. But octane rating in NOT one of them. Alcohol has a higher octane rating than many grades of racing gas." or maybe i am just dumb and didnt realize there were race gases with such low octane

devilinabluedress- i have search for that thread but i cant find it...help! :) i would really like to read it also
 
i made no mention of a pilot jet... i wonder what a plugged POWER jet would do tho? and before you say it, i realize 01 srx carbs dont have power jets... jeeze i just wanted to start a DISCUSSION on the topic of fuel because i was slightly bored yesterday and the idea popped into my head... you apparently were REALLY bored because you just jumped in right away and started to fight... god forbid anyone challenge "the norm" i would hate to see if someone came in here and said that maybe your vmax4 clutch setup could be beat
 
let's squash this please guys. no need to escalate it any further. tyler there are certain subjects that will almost always end this way; ethanol, octane boosters, and oil are just 3 of these.
 
tyler440 said:
i made no mention of a pilot jet... i wonder what a plugged POWER jet would do tho? and before you say it, i realize 01 srx carbs dont have power jets... jeeze i just wanted to start a DISCUSSION on the topic of fuel because i was slightly bored yesterday and the idea popped into my head... you apparently were REALLY bored because you just jumped in right away and started to fight... god forbid anyone challenge "the norm" i would hate to see if someone came in here and said that maybe your vmax4 clutch setup could be beat
Click to expand...
TYLER, NOBODY LOOKED TO START A FIGHT WITH ANYBODY. I TOLD YOU IN MY FIRST POST, YOU CONSIDER RUNNING 87 OCTANE IN A 01 SRX IS PLAIN CRAZY. 3:16 (yammie tony)
 
there were more between #30 and #31, like 2 or something... and 1 between #28 and #29

im just stating my opinions, people can prove me wrong if they like... i really dont mind... hell if you can make me change my mind you must be doing pretty good and i respect that...

EDIT: for the record i deleted a post that was counter productive to the thread, and probably would have been deleted by an admin anyways... tho it was a very valid point also
 
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just for your record tyler i run 87 when i am going to be on trails all day but top up with 91 when i am headed for the lake or the track were i will be cranking on it.But it is a 98 that is not as tight as a 2001 speck wise.


.
 
For the record, I was not trying to fight with anyone....

I offered the ethanol free site and explained that unless you're in the middle of know where, the fuel doesn't sit long.... So to think the fuel gets nasty in the ground is false.

Even our slow stores in the middle of the mountains get a load a day or every other day.

Sorry if I came off as fighting, but I was offering help on the subject to eliminate a possibility.
 
I'm not tryin to be a smartass but why would you ask a question and than argue about the answers ya get? dont make no sense?? If ya wanna 87 than run 87! but when your sled blows up ya gonna ask someone who owns a arctic cat how to fix it? just sayin..Its a free country bud! do what ya want!
 
HDYAMAHA84 said:
I'm not tryin to be a smartass but why would you ask a question and than argue about the answers ya get? dont make no sense?? If ya wanna 87 than run 87! but when your sled blows up ya gonna ask someone who owns a arctic cat how to fix it? just sayin..Its a free country bud! do what ya want!
Click to expand...
;)! 3:16 (YAMMIE TONY)
 
Tyler440, as has already been stated, u are certainly free to run whatever u choose. Its ur machines ur money. I stand by my response as well. By now, the effects of ethanol in gas should be well known and understood. I'm not going to list those all here as there is plenty of other/better sources for that info. That is why I say it presents problems that, are manageable if the right precautions are taken. As far as my statement about ethanol and octane rating, I do NOT know what the octane rating is off the top of my head. If memory serves its upwards of 105 octane. And if you do not believe me about the different octane ratings of race gas, I invite you to check out VP's website. On it you will see that they offer several different octane ratings for there race gas. Some leaded, some unleaded, most (but not all) WITH ethanol. I happen to have 10 gallons of c10 in my garage right now. It is rated at 100 octane R+M/2 and is totally ethanol free which is why I bought that particular blend to mix with pump gas INSTEAD OF octane booster. Take whatever info you will from this post.
 
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