Super unleaded for better MPG and power??

[LA_NC700X]

I recently ran into another Nc700X rider and he said to use super unleaded to get better MPG and power. I always put what is require by the engine, which is regular unleaded for NC700x.

Any truth to this? has anyone actually tried this?

 

[670cc]

Oh, please, not again . . .

 

[LA_NC700X]

Oh, please, not again . . .

View attachment 23470

Sorry... Some one ask before?

 

[670cc]

Yes indeed. The forum has existed for over three years. Search on "premium", "octane", or similar terms. Then read about it all day.

 

[itlives]

Key word...again.

 

[Grey1one]

Many years ago I tried using super in the bike I had then, with a 920cc engine, no more power and lower mileage.
I'm thrifty/cheap by nature, so back to the regular ever since.

 

[Gigs]

I've even noticed ethanol e10, makes no difference. Just don't let it sit over winter.


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[CB4ME]

Try mixing some 110 octave aviation gas with regular gasoline. You'll notice a difference. But do it one time only and hope you don't burn a cylinder.

 

[Bug Dr.]

It depends on what type of oil and tires you use...........speaking of those two things.............what type of oil and tires do you use?
Mike

 

[showkey]

I've even noticed ethanol e10, makes no difference. Just don't let it sit over winter.


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Disagree.........Prem fuel in my market is ethanol free.......My NC gets a measured 5-7% MPG better and my truck gets a solid 10% better MPG on ethanol free gas.

 

[Gigs]

Disagree.........Prem fuel in my market is ethanol free.......My NC gets a measured 5-7% MPG better and my truck gets a solid 10% better MPG on ethanol free gas.

That works out to be 2-5mpg better on the NC for a dollar more a gallon. That's steep especially averaging around 70mpg. That seems like a very small difference. Or 15 miles extra per tank. To each his own but for me not enough difference and I ride year round about 12-13k miles a year.


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[showkey]

That works out to be 2-5mpg better on the NC for a dollar more a gallon. That's steep especially averaging around 70mpg. That seems like a very small difference. Or 15 miles extra per tank. To each his own but for me not enough difference and I ride year round about 12-13k miles a year.


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This is almost as much fun as oil.....

Did not say it made economic sense
BUT ethanol free is about .40-.50 more expensive in this market. Turns out to be almost a wash in the pickup truck.
It is slam dunk for small engines like mowers, chainsaws, generator,s, ATV, outboard motors on the storage merits.

And for an added $1.00 or $ 1.50 tank full on the NC it is also a no brainer just because.

Plus the placebo effect of prem fuel just feels sooooooo good.

 

[Grey1one]

That's most likely due to the lack of ethanol, not the octane, in fact regular without the ethanol would probably yield slightly better results as these are low compression engines.

 

[pismocycleguy]

That's most likely due to the lack of ethanol, not the octane, in fact regular without the ethanol would probably yield slightly better results as these are low compression engines.

Ethanol, alcohol, has less energy per unit of volume than gasoline that is ethanol free. Simple chemistry. It's not rocket science.

 

[showkey]

That's most likely due to the lack of ethanol, not the octane, in fact regular without the ethanol would probably yield slightly better results as these are low compression engines.

Ethanol, alcohol, has less energy per unit of volume than gasoline that is ethanol free. Simple chemistry. It's not rocket science.

True and true............and in the case of the modern car/truck.......it ( may) have a knock sensor and the ECU can adjust the timing to match the fuel for max benefit. The auto can make more power with prem fuel. Of course the NC does NOT have this technology.

 

[Old Can Ride]

I am cheap, so I will never have to worry about paying a higher price for gas!

 

[davidc83]

Oh God, not again. So many people slept thru 4th grade science class (or they don't teach science anymore). Octane has nothing to do with power, period. Octane is a spark (power) inhibitor. Its only existence is to decrease knocking in engines. Knocking is either pre-mature or post firing of gas in engines due to the compression; the higher the compression (as in high performance engines) require higher octane required to reduce the knocking. Alcohol in gasoline reduces the MPG due to alcohol has lesser BTU than gasoline, thus less energy, thus less engine output, thus more fuel needed to go same distance as non-gasohol. If higher octane gas is non-alcohol, it will get a little more increased mpg than lower octane gasohol, not because of the higher octane but because of the non-alcohol.

 

[Craig92DA9]

Nothing hurt my gas mileage more than my all new suspension, its just too much fun to twist that throttle!

 

[Goose]

What you are saying is all true but you're missing an important point. In the old days ignition timing was a fixed range based on RPM and maybe intake vacuum. Higher octane fuel than the engine was set-up for made no difference. These days most modern engines (and even Harleys!) set the spark timing by what is optimum for the engine and fuel thousands of times a minute. At steady cruise higher octane fuel gives better milage because it tolerates more advance. Similar things happen when the throttle is WFO, the ECU can squeeze out a little more power with higher octane fuel. It has nothing to do with there being more power in the higher octane fuel, just the engine's ECU is now "smart" enough to extract the best from the fuel. I can't speak with with certainty about the NC but my big Harley gets slightly, like 1 -2 MPG, better milage with 90 octane fuel Vs. "regular". There are cars with power rating related to the octane of the fuel used. Again, it isn't that there is more power in the higher octane fuel it is just how the fuel is being used in the engine.

I'm spending more time with electric power these days but I love IC engines just because of this kind of stuff. Amazing machines with millions of man-hours of development over the last century has resulted in machines my great-grandfather, who rode around WWI, wouldn't even recognize.

Oh God, not again. So many people slept thru 4th grade science class (or they don't teach science anymore). Octane has nothing to do with power, period. Octane is a spark (power) inhibitor. Its only existence is to decrease knocking in engines. Knocking is either pre-mature or post firing of gas in engines due to the compression; the higher the compression (as in high performance engines) require higher octane required to reduce the knocking. Alcohol in gasoline reduces the MPG due to alcohol has lesser BTU than gasoline, thus less energy, thus less engine output, thus more fuel needed to go same distance as non-gasohol. If higher octane gas is non-alcohol, it will get a little more increased mpg than lower octane gasohol, not because of the higher octane but because of the non-alcohol.

 

[670cc]

What you are saying is all true but you're missing an important point. In the old days ignition timing was a fixed range based on RPM and maybe intake vacuum. Higher octane fuel than the engine was set-up for made no difference. These days most modern engines (and even Harleys!) set the spark timing by what is optimum for the engine and fuel thousands of times a minute. At steady cruise higher octane fuel gives better milage because it tolerates more advance. Similar things happen when the throttle is WFO, the ECU can squeeze out a little more power with higher octane fuel. It has nothing to do with there being more power in the higher octane fuel, just the engine's ECU is now "smart" enough to extract the best from the fuel. I can't speak with with certainty about the NC but my big Harley gets slightly, like 1 -2 MPG, better milage with 90 octane fuel Vs. "regular". There are cars with power rating related to the octane of the fuel used. Again, it isn't that there is more power in the higher octane fuel it is just how the fuel is being used in the engine.

I'm spending more time with electric power these days but I love IC engines just because of this kind of stuff. Amazing machines with millions of man-hours of development over the last century has resulted in machines my great-grandfather, who rode around WWI, wouldn't even recognize.

You are generalizing about other vehicles (your Harley, and "there are cars") with different engine types and controls. We are talking here about the NC700. No documentation on the NC has yet suggested the features you mentioned. The NC has a fairly low compression engine. The NC700 manual calls for minimum 86 octane (R+M)/2, so I doubt Honda intended to take advantage of higher octane fuel by way of timing advance.

I run the lowest octane I can buy. My best NC700 gas mileage was 94.5 MPG over a nearly 300 mile tank of gas. I think it safe to say the low octane didn't give me poor mileage, and I doubt higher octane could have improved it in any way.