what brand of gas is better

[McLovin]

I am getting my new boat next week and was woundering if any perticular brand of gas is better than another. I always used 76 gas in my bikes with good results. I have heard different stories, but was woundering if any one had any actual facts.

[TritonBrent]

Sweeeeet! What day you going up Jesse ?

[Skeeterman]

I would stay with 76 or Chevron, When you pickup your boat they should tell what to run on your motor.

[jimmy87]

fuel that has additives is not good in my opionin.
I understand that many additives are not conbustable such as techron and MTBE. The additives are just liking adding water depending on what it is.
I think all of the engines made today are desinged to run on 87 octane. The octane ratings we can purchase are just going down all the time.
If you are really concernd I would talk to several different mechanics that work on your engine and see what they say.
of course the dealer will tell you to run the most expensive fuel.

If you check with the manufacture I think you may find that 87 ocatne will be fine.

seafoam is an excellent addive to run in you tank to eliminate condesation and help clean the injectors. I use seafoam few times a year.

My truck dose not like chevron. I use to think chevron had premium fuel. My tuck use to diesel with chevron. so I tried a cheaper fuel just for the hell of it. dieseling went away. To proove it I went back and filled up with chevron. sure enough truck dieseled again.
just my 2 cents

With all this junk considered I run the cheapest crap I can find.
I add my own additive (seafoam) once in a while just so I feel better.
one last note, I have been told that fuel at the marina is made for boats and that is what we "SHOULD" be running. Due to the cost of that crap I have never once filled my tank with it. Nor do I know anyone who buys it.

[McLovin]

Sweeeeet! What day you going up Jesse ?

As soon as he calls and says its ready. we are waiting on the seats I ordered.

[TritonBrent]

Sweeeeet! What day you going up Jesse ?

As soon as he calls and says its ready. we are waiting on the seats I ordered.

Just hit the quote button



Cool, did you talk to the guy thats going to do the fiberglass work inside. You have that chair lift figured out?

[Jeff C.]

Hmm, I've always heard that Chevron is best, because of the added Techron. My mechanic said to use midgrade unleaded (89 octane). That way it can lose a bit of octane and still meet the 87 octane requirement.

I think the most important issue is to avoid old gas and gas that might have water in it. I've always figured a brand name station like Chevron or Shell would be the safest. I always add Stabil and Ringfree to the gas that goes into my outboard. Now that Stabil has a new formulation that's supposed to be better for gas with ethanol in it, I'm going to start using that.

I've always heard that marina gas is the absolute worst, because it can be old and because of the potential for it to have water in it.

[TritonBrent]

I've always ran Arco and Chevron and have not had any engine issues.

[Joe Bruce]

what ever gas is the cheepest. these motors are so detuned compaired to our old mx bikes.

a 2.5 ltr v6 two stroke built like a kx 250 motor would make over a thousand horse power.

just let it warm up every time and keep an eye on temp, water psi and oil.

[McLovin]

I just keep hearing about so many motors blowing up. Last month i fished a pva tournament in georga and three motors blew up in two days. I just think its the gas.

[Greg_Cornish]

I just keep hearing about so many motors blowing up. Last month i fished a pva tournament in Georgia and three motors blew up in two days. I just think its the gas.

Older motors aren't blowing up. and GA has a different gas formula than California I think. I'm sure they don't require the oxygenates there like in CA

[jimmy87]

I do not think the gas would cause an engine to blow up. Alot of them blew up out here in the winter as well.

Like Joe said. warm the engine and do not hammer the throttle down right out of the hole.

[Guy Kelley]

I run a Merc 200, hp, efi , yr 1994.

Sense day bought it has had nothing but mid grade chevron to sip on, period.

Spring and fall goes in dose of sea mist, to clear out her throat & jets.

Stabil in the tank that are topped off for winter. fuel filters annually, and plugs too. 100 hr service when needed.

I warm her up good before blast off and keep her rpm's low for the first 30 min or so.

I treat her real good and talk to her a lot and in return she always purrrs back.

She is getting a little older so i don't run her hard and only run at 3/4 throttle.

If you want em to last, treat them better than your girlfriend or wife and they will, if ya don't, run at wot, a lot and you will get a quickie divorce. IMHO.

[Smile_n_Jax]

I don't think the brand of gas matters much any more. They all mix ethanol to comply with CA regulations. If you're running a 2 stroke motor get some of that Sta-Bil Ethanol additive. It works just like the original Sta-Bil plus it counteracts the effects of ethanol.

[ash]

I dont know about engine preferances but my auto mechanic for my wife's honda and my Chevy both have recommended adding Techron or filling up with Chevron.

I personally use 76 as it is local and the prices are (within or below the average in my area) BP (arco) is typically cheaper but I get a ping in my truck. I fill up the boat with 76 or Chevron.

[drew]

Most gasoline comes from the same pipe. The gas at the Circle K is the same as the gas across the street at Chevron or 76. They claim to add additives, but all the years that I worked for Chevron I never saw anyone add anything. Chevron does own some independent pipe lines and if logistically it is feasible then some areas might get Chevron refined fuel at Chevron stations. If not they share lines and its all the same.

[Tobe]

A couple of years ago, I built a custom home for a chemical engineer that does work for oil the refineries.

I asked this very question to him, he told me that all gas was refined to the same EPA standards but some of the larger oil company’s use trademark additives that he felt did not improve mileage or engine life.
He said buying gas was like buying milk, since gas does not have a pull date it is important to find a station that sold large quantities of gas to make sure the fuel you put in your tank is newly refined.
He also mentioned that stations with old leaky holding tanks have water in their fuels and to avoid these gas stations.

[fishfarm]

My understanding is Techron is not an additive to increase mileage, it is a detergent to reduce carbon build up on rings, which is a major contributor to blowing up outboards. Has anyone heard the same?

[B Becker]

All major gas stations have their own additives, and yes, they are detergents and not really additives. Yamaha recomends to use their additive: "ring-free" to every, or every-other tank....can get expensive. Techron is by far the better of the detergents on the market, and is similiar to Ring-Free. I worked in a gas station as a kid (Exxon) and yes they put additives in the tanks....some may, and some may not, but they are supposed to. I would say 99% of the gas comes from the same pipe, but there maybe exceptions. All I was ever told was to use the same gas over and over, do not mix brands, the different detergents can cause reactions. Thats why some places advertise; "give it a try, use 5 tank fulls of gas and see if you don't notice a difference" I think that was Texaco.....I prefer Chevron, but it is hard to find a Chevron station with diesel too.....so I end up filling up with 76 most of the time and using the Ring Free.....

[DeltaDan]

Gas is Gas and there are very little differences between them all that a Knat could not fart from the spec's that must meet CARB spec's/requirements and get away with it as every blend is sampled, printed out components and final lab spec resulted and sent into the State before it is allowed to go on the market.


Where I work we have the same Brand name fuel going out on the no-name trucks to Arco, 7-11, Quick Stop ect... The only difference for the Brand Stations is that they add their own Detergent into the parent pumps that is mixed as well as the Ethanol at the Racks when loading.

FYI -- Where I work they no more blend Mid-Grade to a seperate tank..... What they are doing now is putting a 50/50 mix of CARB PUL and CARB RUL at the rack and calling it 89 octane Mid Grade at the pump.

[Tin Can]

a 2.5 ltr v6 two stroke built like a kx 250 motor would make over a thousand horse power.

Not quite but it would make a lot more than an average outboard. Your KX would have to be making 100hp and it does not. It's closer to 50.

[Joe Bruce]

stewarts last kx 250 made over 70. a stock tz 250 makes 92.
a factory yzr 250 makes around 160. a factory yzr 500 v4 pushes 400.

the cc and multi cylinder curve isn't linear

[Ken C.]

I am getting my new boat next week and was woundering if any perticular brand of gas is better than another. I always used 76 gas in my bikes with good results. I have heard different stories, but was woundering if any one had any actual facts.

Brand new motor??? If so, follow the mfr's recommendation to the "Tee". That way if something does go wrong they won't be able to say "it was the gas you used". I would highly recommend a fuel/water separator filter external to the motor itself - new motors have internal bowls, but an external will serve you better. Since ethanol belnded fuels adsorb water, you will want a separator! A stabilizer such as Sta-Bil can help as well.

As both Mike and Dan indicated, most fuel comes outta the same pipe, so best thing is to use what the manufacturer recommends. I have a "Hammer", but have been using the Mercury additive lately, but it is pretty much the same as the Yamaha additive and both are reportedly the same as Techron... You'd be hard pressed to get concrete data confirming or disputing that claim. Bottom line is that the stuff works to keep carbon build-up from forming which can lead to seized piston rings.

If the motor you are buying is not brand new, then my recommendation would be to find out what the current owner has been running and follow that path - with the exception of the additives. If he hasn't been using any then I would recommend you start. If he has been using something I would continue on with that.

Finally if it is a new motor make certain you follow the break-in to the letter. If it is a used motor, try to keep it below 4500 on the tach and it will not only get better mileage, it will last a lot longer!

[drew]

I have built many two cycle engines for road racing. All of the hot TZ 250's from model d on come from the factory with about 90hp at the crank and modified produce about 105. The factory team TZ's/YZR's make slightly more maybe 108. The pre big bang 500's were producing about 190 hp and the later big bang engines were in the 180hp range. The very latest 500's were up to 205hp +-5 before they became extinct. If two cycles engines were still being developed for racing they might be approaching 460hp/liter.

stewarts last kx 250 made over 70. a stock tz 250 makes 92.
a factory yzr 250 makes around 160. a factory yzr 500 v4 pushes 400.

the cc and multi cylinder curve isn't linear

[Joe Bruce]

not according to Bud Asklin factory tuner who I talked to at length. ever wonder why guys like oliver and sorenson were so fast.

[BIG DADDY BLUE RANGER]

I've always been told Chevron and 76 were typically the best brands but I tend to buy whatever is most convienient at the time.., like others said, fresh gas is probably the most important factor....

But here' the million $ question..... why can't these new DFI outboards simply be made to perform reliably w todays gas..... sure, sure we've all heard how the new gas is not as good for engines as it used to be... but how come it's mostly just the new DFI 2-stroke outboards blowing up at an unheard of rate????? cars, trucks, motorcycles, lawnmovers, weed wackers, jet ski's, older 2 stroke outboards, 2 stroke and 4 stroke alike, you name it, yeah the new crappy gas causes a loss in performance and may contribute to a shorter oversall lifespan,, but old or new they don't blow up at the rate the new 2-stroke DFI's do....... Hmmmmmmmm,,,,, sure makes one wonder about this DFI technology.....

Of course I know all high performance motors can and will fail at a higher rate than non high performance motors,,, but no motors of any other application seem to be having the same issues as our outboards....

and everytime someone badmouths team Black, someone always counters w some nonsense about how we here of Opti's blowing up more because they have the largest % of the market.... ummmm OK,,, then by that misguided logic how come we don't hear about Toyota trucks and Honda cars breaking down constantly ????? that old Opti excuse doesn't hold water when you look at it that way does it...... and yeah I know other brands blow-up from time to time too..........

Four stroke's have taken over MX almost to the point of 2 stroke extinction...... I for one can't wait till 4-stroke outboards are advanced enough to completely replace these damn DFI's altogether........ maybe then when can spend more time fishing and less time with our rigs in the shop draining our pocket books...... Till then,,, just get the biggest most comprehensive warranty you can.... yer gonna need it...

[DeltaDan]

Jimmerz -- The answer is simple ..... These outboards were built to run on GAS !

..Not MTBE where it ate through the fuel tanks and supply lines clogging up the carb jets and fuel injectors. Same with Ethanol where it evaporates much faster when in a warm storage condition leaving only the heavy ends of the distalate "recipe" that makes up a correct blend in the tank and thus burning hotter. ~~ and when it is cold/humid the condensation will adhere to the molecular structure of the Ethanol untill it seperates later and leaving water in the bottom of the tanks to form corrosives that will be eventually passed through your motors fuel system into the combustion chamber and exaust.


Ford, Honda, Jeep, Dodge ...... no matter -- They get run most constantly with new fuel to dillute any corrosion that woud/is currently taking place inside the tank all the way through the exaust.


"The answer to the solution is through dillution" ~~ and aftermarket addatives like Stabil and Sea-Foam.

[Riverdawg]

CHEVRON,.... HOWEVER

ANY COMPANY THAT HAS NOT BOASTED RECORD SALES IN THE BILLIONS, IS WHAT IM LOOKING FOR!

AT 4 + A GALLON IM READY TO SUPPORT DRILLING IN OUR OWN COUNTRY!!!!

~Riverdawg

[Mr Gambler]

Fresh gas is good, but according to Bass & walleye boats magazine the most important thing is the oil After break in period, go to 100% synthetic oil Mike Matthews U.S.N. 63-67