Fuel

I was reading the manual(2007) and the bike call for regular fuel,86 or higher.
What kind of fuel do you all recommend/use? On my sport bikes I have always used super because of the higher compression ,but with the VFR I'm not sure.

Thanks

Ken

 

6th gen here too, I use the highest grade available, +1 for high compression, need high octane. I run Shell 93 in my VFR and my cage,which is supercharged, works great. I'm kinda screwed, can't use cheap fuel in anything I own!!

 

If I got out to ride hard I will run super.. but for just riding to work or long trips I just run the 86 and never had a problem

 

You supercharged the VFR?????????
How;d that go? How much HP and toruqe are making ? Did you lower the compression to make it run right?Lots of questions It's very interesting that you would would do that to a Sport?tourer

 

In the research that I've done, the conventional wisdom from those that are the engineering types and mechanics say that unless your owners manual specifies high octane or you are having premature detonation problems (ping, knock) you are wasting your money on high octane fuel.

High Octane does not equal more power.

 

+1! Higher octane only means a higher price if you don't need it. There's no performance advantage. I know several people who throw away money like this in their bikes and their cages.

 

Sorry, guess I didn't specify very well, my cage (car, 4 wheel vehicle) is supercharged and specifically calls for high octane fuel to reduce chances of knocking therby increasing performance POTENTIAL. +1 2thdr and Knife, high octane DOES NOT = high performance. But even my 84 Nighthawk knocked in warm weather unless I ran high octane. I'm just not risking runnin' cheap stuff in my VFR, worth it to me to run the high grade and not have to worry about knocking, or wether or not I'll notice knocking before major damage is done. No to say that others are wrong for running what the book calls for, I just like the extra insurance of all the power with none of the knocking.

That being said, if I could find a supercharger for the VFR and I could afford to do it up right, hell yeah that would be SWEET!!!!:thumbsup:

 

I HAVE to run 89 octane or higher in my car or else it begins to knock and the check engine light comes on. In the bike I do the same partially out of habit and partially just because I can. Because the car guzzles gas I just use 89. For the bike I use the premium which is usually 92 or 93 around here. I save at LEAST $1200/yr in gas on the bike... whats a few extra cents a tank?


NYR1... re-read what Pony said. His car is supercharged, not the VFR.

 

Unless your engine is knocking there is no benefit to using a higher octane fuel. I was told specifically by Charlotte Honda, DO NOT RUN HIGH OCTANE GAS in a VFR. He said you can run 89 or regular 87, which is the lowest in NC. He said something about messing up the valves or pistons or some junk like that in you run 93. You see how mechanical I am , LOL

 

I run 87 as specified in the owners manual. No problems.

Flash

 

Can you have him explain how running 91 -93 octane can damage the valves or pistons???????????????
higher octane is used to stop detonation ( I run it in my bike when real hot out and when hammering on it only) therefore making the fuel harder to ignite.
this will in no way damage your engine.

opcorn:

 

Dude I run 87 in the viffer you're just wasting money buy running the higher octane. However I only run premium in my RC51 because that's what it calls for. Just an interesting side note my old nissan pickup says I can run 85 octane but I've never been able to find any (I guess they sell it in higher elevation areas). I think I could fill that truck up with koolaid and it would continue to run. And here is your supper charged VFR enjoy!:cheersaf:

YouTube - Supercharged VFR Test-run

 

From my understanding Higher octane fuel will not ignite under compression only as easily as lower octane fuel.Therefore using 92 (higher octane) in a engine that calls for 87(lower octane) is wasteful .You get no added power just a slower burn. There may be a benifit in the 92 if it contains some fuel additive detergent of sorts ,but other than that nothing.
I had a very high compression R1 that could only use race fuel 103 I believe the comp. ratio was 14.5:1 If I used 92 it would knock which is preignition .And it is a ugly sound.

I just wanted to know what you guys were using and why .If there was any pinging or knocking
Thanks
KV

 

You may very well be right. When he told me that I was not knowledgable enough about such things to question him I was just relaying what was told to me

 

Uber, you are probably right. I was not knowledgable enough about such things to question him I was just relaying what I was told. I did not even ask the question. This is information he spewed out with me during my walk around

 

You know I have tried running regular gas and the middle grade in my 04 but it just does not run as well on these as it does on premium. I have tried it a couple of times and each time I get hesitation and slight learching and for the difference in price and all the more the tank holds I am sticking with premium. wilburj

 

we have three grades up her, regular, preimium, and you cant aford to buy it!.

regular is about 87octane
preimium is 92 or 94 (depends on the gas station esso is 94, shell is 92)
and our top teir fuel is 98 octane (used by small airplanes, can only be bought by flight club members)

I run a "blend" of regular and preimium, usualy 2 or three tanks of regular to a tank of preimium. I do this because we tend to get fuel that has sat in storage tanks too long. in my cage, cheapest i can get but it loves mohawk ethnol blend, the vfr hates anything with ethnol

 

87

remember always fill your tank up slowly

 

what ever/where ever its the cheapest course at the beginning of the month I use the high grade gas option just to make her a little happy...

 

As a mechaic for a living, here is my $0.02. I run 89 or 92 more than that is wastefull. If your bike or car is pinging (regardless if you can hear it), running better gas will result in more power or more correctly a prevention of lost power. Ping = misfire = power loss. Where the challenge lies with the average person is that most cannot identify a knock or ping or in some cases you can't hear it over the road noise / I-pod. As a precaution one should run a bit better gas. If your bike is modified then you need to run your gas up in Octane accordingly. Bottom line is that for the amout of fuel you burn in a year the up-charge for 89 or 92 is minimal in relation to what engines cost, and in the seat of your pants you might actually feel a small difference. The other problem is that when fueling up with a common hose is that you pay the higher price for the low grade fuel that is in the hose, diluting your load. Keep an eye out for a pump that someone might have used high octane before you. Bikes don't hold that much fuel so the amount in the hose is allot. If you run say 94 on it's own hose like Chevron does, you don't know how long that fuel has been in the hose not to mention the underground tank, so the net result might be a negative. If you heed nothing else I've said heed this: If your fuel is going to sit inthe tank for more than two weeks to a month, add fuel stabilizer and run the bike so the stabilized fuel makes it to the injectors. When they removed the the lead from the fuel in the 80's it now goes bad faster, use stablizer so it doesn't gum up the injectors. The tank full tank empty debate can rage on elsewhere, but I say tank full, Then when you're ready pump it off into the car and replace with fresh gas (winter storage; just thought I'd mention it before someone comments on it)