Gas?

[mb1134]

No i do not have any

But seriously, what grade gas does everyone run in their buggy? Just unleaded 87? Would 89 or 93 hurt it?

[rebellinredneck]

I use 93 octane. Whatever you use just make sure its pure gas, not that crap with ethanol in it.

[mb1134]

Originally Posted by rebellinredneck

I use 93 octane. Whatever you use just make sure its pure gas, not that crap with ethanol in it.

Its kind of hard to find anything ithout ethanol around these parts. But i guess 93 with ethanol would be better than 87 with ethanol. 93 wont burn up the piston at all?

[rebellinredneck]

That's all I've ever ran in mine. But if you can find non ethanol anywhere nearby its worth the drive. Go to puregas.org and search your zip code bet there's some closer than you may think. Find the data plate on your buggy it probably recommends @ least 93.

[xlint89]

If you have hi compression or more "timing advance" you'll need higher octane fuel.

Reason being, you're creating more heat, and need the fuel to actually burn SLOWER, or else you can get preignition/detonation (air/fuel starts to burn before the spark occurs) which leads to engine failure.

High performance engines create higher HP from using higher compression. The more you compress stuff, the more heat it creates. This is how a diesel engine is able to ignite the air/fuel without even using spark plugs. (strictly by compressing the air/fuel so much, it explodes)

Also as engine timing (spark) is advanced, it generates more heat.

LOW octane fuel is more explosive, and is why it will ignite before the spark occurs causing "preignition"

Higher octane fuel is slower to burn, therefor it shouldn't ignite until the spark occurs. (obviously this is a general statement) In extreme cases, even high octane pump gas can be made to preiginite. Hence the reason for 100 + octane fuels. (Most of us aren't using engines built for that in a buggy)

So, to answer your Q, you should run just enough octane to ward off preiginition in your engine.


Hope this helps.

[MASTERBATES]

i run 87 octane/ethenol with a shot of PC1 octane boost. u should find it at any bike shop, if u choose to go that route

[mb1134]

I found a sation that sells 93 non ethanol, but the price is ridiculous and its on a crappy side of town. I bought 5 gallons and will see how much better it runs. Cant say i feel like running over there to get 5 gallons here and there.

[SLESTAK75]

Xlint had it just right. If your engine runs on 87 octane without valve chatter then putting 93 octane in is NOT going to make it run better. It will run just the same and you will pay more for gas. If you are hearing valves knocking when accelerating then higher octane gas would stop that and "in that situation" you would see an improvement in performance because your fuel would no longer be ignighting too early.

[trailrider198686]

stabil sells an ethanol treatment you can add to your gas. Ive seen it at the local auto parts stores and some gas stations.

[bear]

I've got a station just down the road from me that sales pure 104, how would that work?

[zman007007]

I bought a bottle of the stabil ethanol treatment but I havent tried it yet. I will on my next gas purchase for all my equipment. I plan on running it in lawnmowers ,weed eaters, and my buggy too. I have never has so much engine trouble with water in gas since they came out with this dang ethanol. zman

[Miamieddie]

My manual says not to use anything les then 91 octane so i use super unleaded.. useing good gas wont hurt useing cheep gas may... Eddie.

[Masteryota]

Originally Posted by bear

I've got a station just down the road from me that sales pure 104, how would that work?

In this case, more is not better. You will pay through the nose for race fuel these days, and it will do nothing unless you are running some crazy custom ground cam that requires alot of ignition advance, or running over 12:1 compression. It would just be a waste of money to run it.

Xlint said it best, high octane=slower burn. Race fuel through a normal engine will not be able to burn that fuel completely.

As far as ethanol is concerned, its bad, all bad. It rots away gaskets, o-rings, and seals. The worst part of ethanol, is that it hygroscopic, meaning it will attract all moisture to itself, and we all know what happens when water mixes with gas. There are alternatives, one, as trailrider mentioned, is additives, like stabil, or startron, both are available at small engine shops and auto parts stores.

I have had issues with my outboard and running ethanol blended fuel, but that is an older 2 stroke, and its a touchy biatch all in its own. In the south, most Gate gas stations are carrying 89 octane ethanol free for the boating crowd and landscapers alike, and that's all I run in my small engines, but yes, it is a bit more expensive.

[bear]

Thanks for the reply Masterman, no need paying for 104 if it's not going to be advatageous!

[SYCARMS]

Google pure-gas.org, scroll to bottom of page, click on your 2 letter state abv. and all stations that handle pure gas will be shown. This is a voluntary where people report the stations with pure gas. Most will include the phone # so call first. 93 octane is best since todays method used to rate gas is RM2. 93 RM2 octain will actually be somewhere around 89 motor octain.