I have a Banshee & my son has a Blaster. Neither of them require fuel with an octane rating of 91 (pump gas). Are there any downsides to running high octane (100+) ethanol-free unleaded in a motor that doesn't require it? The cost is obvious, I'm referring to performance or reliability. Honestly, I'd happily pay a few extra bucks just for the smell of Klotz. Haha! Let me know what you think. Thanks.
High octane fuel. Any downsides
- Thread starter MrBank
- Start date
In my area, 90-91 ethanol free is available at almost any gas station. I run that in everything I own from chainsaws, to boats, to wheelers, everything. Only exception is my wife's 2018 truck. I would run that if it's readily available in your area.
As far as running 100+ octane in an engine that can safely run 87, you will actually lose a little bit of performance running race fuel. High octane race fuels are meant to run in high compression engines without detonation. It wont hurt your engine at all to run higher octane than is necessary, you'll just lose a little bit of power, might not even be that noticeable in the seat of the pants. If those types of fuels are all that's readily available to you for ethanol free, I would run it just to avoid the headaches of ethanol, especially in premix running two-strokes.
As far as running 100+ octane in an engine that can safely run 87, you will actually lose a little bit of performance running race fuel. High octane race fuels are meant to run in high compression engines without detonation. It wont hurt your engine at all to run higher octane than is necessary, you'll just lose a little bit of power, might not even be that noticeable in the seat of the pants. If those types of fuels are all that's readily available to you for ethanol free, I would run it just to avoid the headaches of ethanol, especially in premix running two-strokes.
Thanks for the info. I knew that there likely wouldn't be any benefit, but I never knew that it would actually cause a loss of power. In my area, ethanol-free pump gas is typically 88-91. I run the 91 & add Klotz octane booster @ 4oz per gallon & Klotz Nitro @ 2oz per gallon. It will be easy enough to skip the Klotz for his Blaster. My exhaust will just smell better than his
. I have been considering buying the high-compression head from Ken O'Connor Racing for the Blaster. Seems like a pretty cost effective way to get some power on a Blaster motor. If I decide to do that, we can run the same fuel in everything. Thanks again for responding.
