The Fule Experiment

[ScooterCam]

This is more of a question for discussion as opposed to and argument for either one.

Scenario: I ran out of gas on my way to the gas station a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, I was only about 20 yards from the station. Anyway, I was talking with and older man with an F-150 on the other side of the pump (about the scoot of course) and without thinking I pushed the button for regular unleaded and the usual premium. So, now I'm running an experiment to see if the change in fuel quality will affect the mileage per tank.
This is based on MY scoot. The last tank (the one before the regular) was Shell V-Power and my rough calculation was ~120 on a 1.37 tank. Now I'm more attentively calculating the mileage for this tank (Mobil Regular unleaded). As long as it is not raining, I'm riding.

My assumption is that my engine will actually get better gas mileage on the Shell.

Also, I seem to loose a little bit of power since the last fill up. I had managed to hit 55 on a moderate slope at full throttle before this last fill up. Today, I had a hard time getting to 50 on the same road in mostly the same conditions. Would the fuel have that much of an effect?

[nissanman]

You only need high octane fuel in a high compression engine. Most scooters do NOT have high compression ratios. There is no more "power" in high octane fuel itself, it's the higher compression engine not the gas that's making the extra power. I was wondering when the octane debate would surface here at EPSP

[ScooterCam]

well, it's not really a debate as much as trying to figure out the quirks of my own scooter. As a new scooterist, I'm interested in finding what effect it has had on other people's scoots.

[ChristyW]

i've used different grades of gasoline before randomly here and there but I've never noticed any better performance or better mileage from it.

therefore, i use regular, regularly.

[heavyvino]

The higher octane may actually cause you to lose mileage and power.
What you might want to try is different brands of fuel instead of grades.
I found some gives me better milage than other brands. I use 87 octane, from Costco {bulk sales, good qualty}, and Shell, or sometimes Safeway because it is close to home. No problems with any of them. It did not like Exxon, and I dont like BP or Arco so no fuel from them.

And track for more than one tank full.

[gabe502000]

I've for nearly two years now, been keeping a record of the fuel economy,and performance, of my '07 Yamaha C3 Scooter, using all of the available local brands and grades of gasoline.I bought it new in may of '08, and at 5200 miles continue the test. I found that up until 2000 miles (when rings, bearings, etc got "seated") Texaco 93 oct Premium gave the best power, smoothness, and economy.) I've tried many different variator/weight combinations/ taller rear tires, etc. The best setup was a Dr.Pulley variator with 4gr sliders, a 130/90-10 rear tire, and, a jiangwayne Yammy C3 exhaust system, which produced 44mph, 117mpg,and climbed hills on regular gasoline.(this was after engine breakin, and then 87 oct gas got the best performance.) I've since sold the exhaust, gone down to 3.5gr sliders,modded the airbox and filter, and reinstalled the OEM exhaust. and she still runs 43.8mph and gets 107mpg. But, sounds like a Blender! Gabe