Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

is it worth running premium in a 87 elite se50 or will it not really help anything?

general consnesus says that its not going to make any difference at all. but if you still want to try go buy a bottle of octane booster and add a little to your tank it would be cheaper.

With a less than 8 to 1 compression ratio all that premium fuel will do, at best is cost you more money. It can in some case cause you plug fouling problem. OH and it is a total myth that just putting premium in the tank will improve performance.

Bear45-70 wrote:With a less than 8 to 1 compression ratio all that premium fuel will do, at best is cost you more money. It can in some case cause you plug fouling problem. OH and it is a total myth that just putting premium in the tank will improve performance.

This.

cool sounds like its not worth it thats what i needed to know. thanks

well in japan where are scooters are from, they were made to run on 95 Octane. Also how much more is premium in the states at the most? 10 cents more....

dem0nk1d wrote:well in japan where are scooters are from, they were made to run on 95 Octane. Also how much more is premium in the states at the most? 10 cents more....

I don't know about The Peoples Republic of Kalifornia but up here in the PNW Premium is at least $0.20 a gallon more than regular and more than that at other times. But if all it does is nothing as a power enhancer and is a possible hazard to your engine, why on earth would anyone bother. Oh and I know for a fact that standard regular gas is good to at least 9 to 1 compression and since these scooter are all between 7 to 1 and 8 to 1, what's the point?

i was talking to the guys from vtcycles and they said always run the good s***. as in japan the scooters were designed to run on 95. But hey what do i know. Just relaying the info from out bratas in Hawaii

dem0nk1d wrote:i was talking to the guys from vtcycles and they said always run the good s***. as in japan the scooters were designed to run on 95. But hey what do i know. Just relaying the info from out bratas in Hawaii

That's just plain . On top of that these scooter are designed and built for the USA not Japan. Oh and there is no need for 95 anything with an engine with a 7.2 to 1 compression ratio. Sounds like salesmen doing what salesmen regularly do, Lie! You need to read up on engine basics.

dem0nk1d wrote:i was talking to the guys from vtcycles and they said always run the good s***. as in japan the scooters were designed to run on 95. But hey what do i know. Just relaying the info from out bratas in Hawaii

Talk is cheap. Show me a justifiable reason, not vtcycles opinion or the bros in Hawaii. Considering Bear is right on the compression ratio and the octane requirements, that sounds better than "i was talking to the guys from vtcycles and they said always run the good s***."

Some of us can remember the muscle cares of the 60's and compression ratios that exceeded 10 to 1. Yes, they required higher octane, and when government took the lead out of regular, it made sense to run premium. Otherwise you got a lot of pinging and dieseling. But when a scooter which has compression ratio that will run on 87, it just doesn't make sense to run premium, especially since it's not that much more. Technology has not been able to equal the leaded premium of the 60's.

So now, which is the best brand: Shell? BP? Texaco? Arco? Considering most stations draw from the same refinery or port, prove that one is better than the other. Major thing to watch is not brand, but which station takes better care of their tanks. Do they keep the BS and water pulled off the storage tanks? Or do they pump it into your vehicle?

As far as max power goes, higher octane is just there to stop detonation. Any extra RON/MON metered out will just slow you down.

As far as what gas to put in, that's up to you. Maybe the extra octane is a waste of $0.20, but for those of us that live in a hot climate (Hawaii) having a bit of extra protection gives peace of mind. I've tried convincing my friends not to put in 91 octane, but people do what they want. Personally I run 89 octane, because that is the only gas around here that is 0% ethanol.
I've run 91 octane in my BMW for 6 years. Yes it has a stock timing map and only 8.8:1 c/r, but the mere thought of 1 ping coming from my motor is well worth the few extra bucks.

What about the fuel burning hotter or cooler based on octane ? Anybody have an opinion ?

Shelton wrote:What about the fuel burning hotter or cooler based on octane ? Anybody have an opinion ?

It is BS. Higher octane raises the detonation pressure point of the fuel. But if lit off by the spark plug, it is just not gonna make a difference. Unless you have enough compression to require the extra octane, it is a waste of money.

Shelton wrote:What about the fuel burning hotter or cooler based on octane ? Anybody have an opinion ?

Actually, regular will run hotter. It burns much faster. The higher octane burns slower, more evenly and cooler, reducing predetonation (or ping).

As far as ethanol, we don't have much choice mainland. It's all got ethanol and will increase in time.

Bear45-70 wrote:With a less than 8 to 1 compression ratio all that premium fuel will do, at best is cost you more money. It can in some case cause you plug fouling problem. OH and it is a total myth that just putting premium in the tank will improve performance.

whats the math to figure out the compression ratio??

nevermind...a quick google search provided me w/ this link
http://www.csgnetwork.com/compcalc.html