Re: does higher octane gas help?
302W,<br /><br />There was a HUGE discussion on this very topic about 9 months ago, give or take. Use the search tool and search on "Octane".<br /><br /> Basically, in summation, you only need to use higher octane in your engine, if the mfgr requires it. Higher octane fuel is not "Better" than lower octane fuel, It's simply a different mixture. 93 octane has a higher flash point than 87. It primarily was designed for high RPM, High compression engines who needed a higher flash point than 87 gave. Running 87 in an engine designed for 93 would ignite prematurely due to its lower flash point. In cars, this is called "Engine Knock". 2 Strokes dont use valves so this isn't an issue. There is a possibility that an older engine may experience preignition in which case boosting the octane up will help that scenerio. (I too had an old Force which I had to run 89 in to get it to work right) But this is only a remedy to cure a specific problem. <br /><br />You are not boosting your performance of your engine by running 89 or 93 if your engine is designed to run on 87. You are simply paying more, thats all. (its not hurting anything either) If your engine was designed to run with 87 octane, then the best thing you could do is give it FRESH 87 octane fuel with a good quality oil. (Save the few pennies and use it to take the wife out to eat
) <br /><br />Ans stay away from the methanol type fuel mixtures. They'll harm the engine.<br /><br />If you want to know the specifics, search for the old thread. It got into chemical compositions and combustion principles along with the US oil industry and everything in between.<br /><br />Hope this helps,<br />Nav