Normal unleaded or premium unleaded

[R6owdlad]

Just wondering what the concensus of opinion was....
Is it beneficial to use premium unleaded and pay the extra or do you not think there is any difference? I tend to put premium in but have used the normal stuff and can't say that I noticed any difference between the two.
Cheers
Tony

 

[Triple Trouble]

Hi Tony. I have found that there's no difference in performance or mpg when using either 95 or 98 RON...

 

[fizzy]

Hi Tony. I have found that there's no difference in performance or mpg when using either 95 or 98 RON...

Yes I agree mate , but DC thinks his dose more mpg on full fat, ,,mine seems to do less on it on a when we are riding together, ,probably because I am ringing it's neck to keep up with him, ,don't tell him that Rich his feckin ego dosnt need a boost

 

[Triple Trouble]

Hahha I won't say a word. U must try harder lol [emoji15]

 

[Fulfilled-09]

I use 98 or 99 as I like to think it makes a difference. I use 98/99 in turbo'd cars I've owned as the higher octane is needed so the full doesn't combust to early, but on the bike it's not needed. Personally, I still like to use it though as it's habitual and I like to think it's better for the engine.

 

[Stripy]

Waste of money.

 

[Fulfilled-09]

What's the monetary value difference between premium and standard fuel on a full tank. £2? Each to their own.

 

[Kinjane]

Sainburys Premium Unleaded when last independently tested had less than 1% Ethanol - which makes it ideal IMHO for putting in the fuel tank for winter storage or low usage over the winter months.

 

[Patrick]

You guys have 95 reg and 99 premium? Our premium is 92. So ya anything beyond that is a waste of money.

 

[motorcycleboy]

You guys have 95 reg and 99 premium? Our premium is 92. So ya anything beyond that is a waste of money.

I think that in US the metric system is different.. your premium 92 could be rated 102 RON in EU..

 

[SteveV]

I was always lead to believe that there was a benefit to higher octane fuel so long as the bike could adjust itself to take it into account. I would have thought that most new bikes could adjust as they all now have Lambda sensors for that purpose.
My BMW GS1200 definatly runs better and gives better MPG. Not too worried about the mpg but the extra 10- 20 mile range has helped out whilst touring in Europe.

I'll try a similar experiment with my Tracer when it arrives in March.
Looking forward to it with a bit of excitement.

Steve

 

[motorcycleboy]

I always put regular 95 octane gas, when i tried premium 100 octane the bike felt a bit more agressive but the milleage seemed shorter.
Allthough the 09's triple is a high combustion engine that allows the higher-octane fuel use..
For me it's not worth the extra cost and from my Subaru's experience (which is sensitive at different fuels) the best is to find a good quality and quantity fuel/petrol station and let the engine to get used with only one type of fuel.
The engine can "feel" the difference but need some liters of the different fuel type before to accept it and get re-advanced...
Manual suggests higher than 92, so the manyfacturer has given lots of options.

 

[Fulfilled-09]

The BP garage just south of The Forth Bridge in Edinburgh, used to sell 106 RON fuel. Probably because Knockhill Race Circuit was a few miles north over the bridge. I used to drive from the City centre just to fill up on the rich nectar.

 

[MTrider]

I was always lead to believe that there was a benefit to higher octane fuel so long as the bike could adjust itself to take it into account. I would have thought that most new bikes could adjust as they all now have Lambda sensors for that purpose.
My BMW GS1200 definatly runs better and gives better MPG. Not too worried about the mpg but the extra 10- 20 mile range has helped out whilst touring in Europe.

I'll try a similar experiment with my Tracer when it arrives in March.
Looking forward to it with a bit of excitement.

Steve

The lambda sensor can only messure the AFR (by messuring how much O2 left in the exhaust). There is absolutely no advantage in higher octane than what the engine is designed for. The octane defines the fuels ability not to detonate. The higher the octane, the lesser risk for Detonating. Self detonation can occure as a result of eg high compression, high temperature, to high (early) ignition and more. Detonation oftn occurs when air/fuel mix ignites itselfes and not by spark.
Therefor only engines with sensor(s) for knocking (detonation) can have a theoretical advantage in higher octane, or if for instans turbo-boost have been raised, compression-ratio altered or other tuning. Our bikes don,t have these sensors.
Whether different additives can have an affect, I can't comment on.

I feed my bike with 95 octane, and it still have more power than I can handle.... :-D

 

[motorcycleboy]

The lambda sensor can only messure the AFR (by messuring how much O2 left in the exhaust). There is absolutely no advantage in higher octane than what the engine is designed for. The octane defines the fuels ability not to detonate. The higher the octane, the lesser risk for Detonating. Self detonation can occure as a result of eg high compression, high temperature, to high (early) ignition and more. Detonation oftn occurs when air/fuel mix ignites itselfes and not by spark.
Therefor only engines with sensor(s) for knocking (detonation) can have a theoretical advantage in higher octane, or if for instans turbo-boost have been raised, compression-ratio altered or other tuning. Our bikes don,t have these sensors.
Whether different additives can have an affect, I can't comment on.

I feed my bike with 95 octane, and it still have more power than I can handle.... :-D

I totally agree..!

 

[stevecbr]

Just to add to this thread, I have now had my MT09 just over 3 years, and have recorded 144 fill ups with the fuelly app on my smartphone.
Apart from being more expensive, I have also got less mpg with the higher rated octane.
Using super unleaded I have never once got over 45mpg. On average I usually get 50mpg, and once or twice hit 60mpg. Worst was 39mpg and that was on a trackday.
From my experience super unleaded returns 10% less fuel economy, and I have never noticed any difference in power

 

[LewFZ1]

I use a 50%/50% 95 & diesel, but must admit runs like a tractor no matter if it is in A mode or B mode

 

[EeeTea]

From my understanding its not just increased performance which is only really the case if your engine can use that.

The premium fuels will have less ethanol. In the UK E5 is as high as it goes but in Europe they are using E10..but this is clearly marked so can be avoided.

Ethanol will destroy seals and some plastics that fuel tanks were made of. This is only an issue on older vehicles, as there has been a government requirement that cars can handle up to E10. So this is not an issue on the tracer.

Ethanol has lower calorific value, so there will be less performance, but this is only evident when you ride to the limits of the engine and even then unless you're on a track its unlikely that most people will see a difference as modern engines self tune to compensate.

Also the higher compression ratio engines will see the most marked difference. My Mazda (petrol) has a very high compression ratio of 14:1, mine has also been tweeked at BBR and that does benefit from high octane fuel.

Also these fuels have detergents in them absent from standard fuels. The engine should stay cleaner over along period and not get coked up, especially if you do shorter runs frequently - so there is an advantage their albeit not noticeable in day to day use.

I use premium fuel in an old car because of the seals issue. I use it in my Mazda because of performance.

And I use it in the Tracer for the cleaning effect rather than anything else.

But it is true, that mostly you won't really notice any great difference in performance on a day to day basis unless you drive to the red line all the time, and I think that is over hyped marketing. Mostly placebo.

 

[the cueball]

I use super in all my stuff, even the lanwmower! lol

Some because they have been remapped, some because I feel they run better on it, and the rest because a) I'm used to reaching for the pump and b) I think they have better cleaners in them, which can (should?) only be a good thing.

I've also found Tesco and Shell give a better MPG increase than say BP or Sainsburys...

 

[LewFZ1]

Yamaha Europe say E10 fuel is perfectly okay to use in the MT09 as did Kawasaki when I asked if it was okay for my Z1000SX as did Honda when asked about it for my CBF1000,