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What Grade Gas is Everyone Using?

2K views 32 replies 19 participants last post by  ZX6R_rider 
#1 ·
I'm just curious, what is everyone putting on their rides in terms of grade of fuel? Regular? Premium? or Supreme? And what is your logic behind using the grade you're using?

Given that gas is going nuts in terms of price right now, wonder if supreme really makes a difference to regular.

Cheers!
 
#3 ·
Originally posted by MANGOSTENE
I'm just curious, what is everyone putting on their rides in terms of grade of fuel? Regular? Premium? or Supreme? And what is your logic behind using the grade you're using?

Given that gas is going nuts in terms of price right now, wonder if supreme really makes a difference to regular.

Cheers!
The engines are high compression and the manufacture recommends at least 91 ocatane at the pump. If you use lower octane gas you could experience detonation/pinging referred to by some as engine knocking. In theory, you could damage your engine. So for the few cents more that it costs to fill up a 4.8 gallon tank, I just don't take that chance. Myt 2 cents
 
#7 ·
Do a search for "octane", there have been dozens of threads on this.

I reccomend running what your bike calls for, for 6R's, it's 90/91. Running less can cause damage, running more reduces power.

And remember when reading, outside north america they use a different rating system, so their octane numbers are higher then ours (I think 95 is their regular)
 
#8 ·
I run premium, and I agree with 02ZX6R, does it really matter much spending the extra buck or so? I mean if you are that strapped for cash, why buy a bike?

Also, The high compression engine should use higher octane. Maybe you can get by without premium, who knows, but after spending a good chunk of change on a nice bike, why chance ruining the engine?

My car says to use regular, and i put supreme in it for years, and now... the damn thing sounds like a deisel engine... could be due to gas, or not.. i dunno. So I assume the reverse could happen too... why not go by what the manufacturer says. Its better to be safe than sorry... (lame)
 
#9 ·
Originally posted by lowthrizzle
I've got 40k on the cheap shit.. why pay more than necessary? if you're not pinging/detonating, then what's the point? peace of mind? shit, i got peace of wallet! :D

<- broke college student.
what good is peace of wallet saving a buck a tank full when your emptying your wallet to get your engine repaired or replaced.
 
#10 ·
Originally posted by 02ZX6R
....And what you save a whole $1 if you put 4 gallons of regular in? lets get real.
Didn't I say that already:D

Why chance screwing up your egnine or messing up your valves. So on average premium fuel is $0.20 more than regular unleaded. So if your tank was bone dry, you'd spend a whole $0.96 more to fill your tank with premium vs. regular unleaded.

lowthrizzle - Damn man, I understand being broke and trying to put yourself through college but come on, if you blow your engine over trying to save a few pennies at every fill up...not odds I'd be willing to take.
 
#13 ·
Yeah if you're not pinging then it's fine. You're not likely to ping anyways. The high compression is not a huge deal for regular or midgrade because the pistons and cylidners on a 600 are so small relative to, say, an LS6 corvette. The flame front doesnt have far to travel.
 
#15 ·
Originally posted by zixx6R
Yeah if you're not pinging then it's fine. You're not likely to ping anyways. The high compression is not a huge deal for regular or midgrade because the pistons and cylidners on a 600 are so small relative to, say, an LS6 corvette. The flame front doesnt have far to travel.
Thank you! I've had my fair share of cars, and i know how to treat my vehicles. My 302 for instance has just over 10.5:1 compression, and i wont run anything less than premium.. but then again i run a realtively large shot of n2o as well. The distance from the top of the piston @ fire is a lot greater on the car than the I4 on my bike.

As LONG as i'm not detonating, i make more power, cheaper, than you guys filling up on the 3.30 a gallon shit.
 
#16 ·
The problem with your theory is that you won't ALWAYS be able to hear detonation. Just because you don't hear it (are you serious? at WOT in 3rd gear you think you'd be able to hear a small pinging?) doesn't mean it isn't happening. I come from the turbo car world where detonation is a very real beast that must be tamed if you'd like to keep your pistons in 1 piece.

But as the saying goes, to each his own. I agree with the masses that in the long run you'll probably waste more money on popcorn at the movies this year than you would difference in fuel prices between 86 and 93 octanes.
 
#17 ·
I'll have to jump on the premium bandwagon here. I've always had the mindset that a higher octane is going to burn cleaner and essentially prolong the life of your engine. Does that mean lower grade fuel is bad? I doubt it. But I've definitely noticed the difference myself. Even with my car I put premium in it. Sure, it costs and extra $8 but like Markw said, most people will spend that much in 1 day at Starbucks.

Plus, it says right on my gas tank to use 91 octane fuel and nothing less. I have no reason to doubt Kawasaki, afterall, I ride their motorcycles. :)
 
#20 ·
Here's the deal, in theory lower octane "technically" makes more power due to the fact that it is easier to ignite. But, put one of our bikes on a dyno and see if it shows. Most likely the answer is no. Now on to detonation and compression. These bikes were designed to be run on 90+ octane unlike most 4 wheeled vehicles which are suitable for regular. The reason for the higher octane requirement is obviously because of the high compression ratio. The fact is that most of the time, especially in a small engine, detonation is not audible so who really knows if your bike is really detonating or not. A largely unknown fact is that higher octane fuel is a higher grade as well and is cleaner. I was a cadillac technician for several years and since the advent of the northstar engine they have always recommended 93 octane fuel only. The majority of cadillac owners abide by this rule and dont experience many problems. The people who dont consistently use premium always come in with driveability issues and also complain of oil consumption. The fact is that lower grade fuels not only detonate easier, which in a fuel injected car will directly affect power output because the computer will retard the timing to compensate, but also the fuels burn more dirty and will contribute to carbon buildup and can cause the rings to stick and various other issues such as in the northstar engine and other engines intended to use premium fuel only. In our tanks the difference between premuim and regular is minute and anyone who has an ignition advancer is even more vulnerable to engine damage from low grade fuel. So the question is why chance it just to save a few cents ? I run premium in everything I own regardless of fuel recommendation and I always will.
 
#22 ·
87 may be the rule for 99 but let us remember 2000 and onward here was the changes requiring more octane

The ZX-6R's 599cc four-cylinder mill was never a slouch horsepower-wise-consistently ranking at or near the top of the class. Kawasaki engineers weren't satisfied, however, and redesigned numerous engine parts with an evolutionary-rather than revolutionary-eye toward increased power and less weight. The powerplant's basic configuration and construction remains the same, but many key components received a thorough re-examination in pursuit of those goals.



Key changes center around the cylinder head and top-end. Capping the list is a new semi-hemispherical combustion chamber (based on Kawasaki's WSB racebike...from 1996!) that boosts the compression ratio to a stratospheric 12.8:1, requiring at least 90 octane pump fuel for proper combustion. In the interests of increased top-end power, the carburetor manifolds were shortened 7mm, reducing overall port length; while the ram-air ducts were reshaped to increase airbox pressure at higher speeds by a claimed 12.0 percent.
 
#26 ·
I was a GM technician for 6 years and was a with independents for 4 years previous to that. I got offered a in restaraunt management and left the industry last october. As far as bikes go I just piddle with my own but I try to stay well informed on whatever it s I own at the moment............
 
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