Fuel Gauge Off?

I run Premium in my girl. I'm a solid believer in running what an engine is tuned for. As for ethanol, I'm going to start using Startron Ethanol Treatment again. It's one of the few treatments that doesn't contain ethanol itself or some form of it. As for octane, putting premium in a car that is made to run low grade, is a waste of money. Rolling the dice the other way around is not a wise choice.

I wrote this in the context of the discussion.  Simply increasing octane will not increase performance.  High octane fuel is only a means to overcome detonation by slowing the burn rate; but yes, a slower burn rate allows timing adjustments and valve-opening overlaps that increase performance.  Once overcome, additional octane won't add more power. 

Sam07,

The gas gauge works fine, just different than others.

120 miles is very typical to reserve, which leaves one gallon that will take you 30 or so more miles. This is the very best you should ever expect to get. Less than that is more common. So, roughly 30 miles per quarter tank, excluding reserve.

You should expect to see the half tank indicator at 60 miles from fill up, then 90 miles at 1/4 and 120 miles switching over to reserve. This doesn't change significantly from brand new to post break-in miles.

There is also very little effect from riding aggressively to very conservatively. I've ridden on a full tank at both extremes and gotten 32-35 mpg (U.S.). One poster described never getting more than 28 mpg. That's not normal and everyone advised him to get it checked. I would be happy with mileage a lot higher than 32-34, but that would require less horsepower. What's nice is that it doesn't seriously drop off whenever I ride it fast and hard.

BMW S1000R, S1000XR and Aprilia Tuono V-Twin friends are also getting somewhere in the 30s mpg. My 115 hp FZ-09 was getting mid 40s mpg and the 70 hp FZ-07s get mileage in the 50s.

If you want to save a few bucks on gas, you can run regular versus premium. As long as it doesn't ping (pre-detonation) on hard acceleration, regular works fine. The only other reason to run premium is for its extra cleaning agents. The engine already runs really clean, so running premium every tankful is a waste of money. I probably never need to run premium, but plan to do one tankful every thousand miles.

Could have sworn that the higher octane gasoline can handle higher compression, thus having the appropriate combustion rate for the engine to perform appropriately.  If you say you're running regular, which in the states is rated 87+ it might be able to do it. but just keep in mind you might run into failures and inconsistencies sooner rather than later. I'm not saying anyone is doing anything wrong, just a whether or not the parts themselves can handle long term lower Octane.  The reason recommended ratings are given with engines are to avoid auto-ignition that can damage the engine. 

IMO at the end of the day it comes down to this, will it really kill my budget to pay maybe $100, if that, more a year to run the spec'd fuel for the machine. For me the answer is no. If I need gasoline and it's the only thing available, you bet your ass I'd be running it because most likely it's in some back-water/ghetto area that I don't want to be in. Considering that everything is spec'd for normal operation with 91+ Octane rated fuel, I have a better feeling of not unexpectedly running into life expectancy inaccuracies with my engine.

As far as gas mileage is concerned, I think it'd be relative. If the machine is working hard to achieve the requested RPMs your requesting, then I think your gas mileage would be effected. BUT IMO I feel someone is splitting hairs if they are trying to achieve better MPGs by differing the rated gasoline they're using... that's the misconception of marketing by the company selling the product.  You're not going to make a huge gap by using higher rated gasoline, UNLESS your vehicle runs drastically different because it's not designed/programmed to use what ever type of gasoline your feeding it (Thinking E-85 fuel systems vs. Petrol/Gasoline systems).  I would be more concerned with auto-ignition and power loss due to the timing adjustment from the ECU.  I'm not sure how much of a power loss would be experienced, but it'd be cool if someone with access to a Dyno could run the number for us, *cough* 2wheeldynoworks *cough*...

On my ninja 300 I ran Ethanol-free 87+.  Mainly because I wanted my engine seals and fuel lines to last longer.  91+ rated Ethanol free is hard to come by in my area, it is only available at 1 gas station within a 30mi radius of my area.  Whereas 87+ ethanol free is at all the Race Track branded stations in my area.  I'm not going to go out of my way unfortunately, I wish it was more readily available.  I would run ethanol free if I could because it prolongs the life of the rubber components the fuel touches, as I understand it.  


So back onto the topic of discussion, I dislike the larger blocks on the fuel gauge.  More so in the last 1/4 tanks section.  On the flip side I do like that there is a special trip odometer that comes up to show your mileage while on the reserve.  Personal experience I've gone ~25mi on the reserve, with some spurts of 90+.  I was scared and on a long stretch of interstate without any gas stations close that where open around midnight.  Thanks guys for the approx. mileage of the blocks.  I can agree I usually get around 120mi on a full tank fill before hitting reserve with hooning every now and again.

Everywhere I've seen has ethanol in the gas except for two places. One has ethanol free in low grade only, the other is race fuel. I'm going to get back to using Startron treatment. Worked in my DR650, and doesn't contain ethanol itself as some do, believe it or not.