What Octane Do You Use?

[ScooterBum]

 Why do all the "Old guys" burn premium? Could it be WE know sumthin? Nah, we're just a bunch of old rich goats with bucket loads of money, so we like our gas premium, of coarse!
 The absolute truth has already been stated by others, so I shall not be redundant. Buy The best, name brand, premium grade gas available! Period, end of subject!
 Last summer I made a game of trying to put a whole $5 bill into my tank. I ONLY BURN NAME BRAND PREMO! I NEVER GOT $5 To FIT, got close, but no cigar! @ almost $ 4.00 a gallon!
 A better, and MORE VALID question would be about oil/ oil changes. Always stay with the same manufacture/brand when changing oils! Do NOT MIX BRANDS!!!!!!!!! DO NOT MIX VISCOSTY(ie no mixig 10-40 with 15/40, ect!)
 I use ONLY Valvoline Racing oils in ANYTHING! Why? After being a wrench for a while, you get to see the difference these things make INSIDE the engine as far as wear, cleanliness, ect.
 I used to be on a crew team for modified race car, we raced on dirt and asphalt. Our engines were put through some rigorous runs, and we tore them down weekly. When we started using the Valvoline racing formula,internal wear dropped dramatically! Made a believer out of me, because I actually saw this happen. No, I don't work for anybody, I'm a bum, a scooter bum, thank you!
 In a air cooled engine I run 10/40 for fall through spring. If the weather gets too warm, I'll change out to 20/50. But I never Wander from Valvoline Racing formula ever! It is what will be in my Agility!
 What does your dealer use? Um- prolly what ever the local guy sells him CHEAP, because he is after all in business to make the most money he can! Unscrupulous? Nah, just business, wadda ya think yer special? He buy his oils in 55 gallon drums, go look at the brand! Is it a good one? If it is, then no worries.
 GOOD GAS & GOOD OIL are the best thing you can do for extending the life of ANY internal combustion engine, how do I Know?

ASE CERTITFACATION #OR5IR7RJ2BIV**/Engine Repair/Engine Builder

Yep, had to have that do-hickey hangin on the wall, to prove I exsisted, or that I knew my pooh, I dont remember which.
Scoot On People!

[OldGuy]

Sorry ScooterBum, but I can't agree. First, "Why do all the "Old guys" burn premium?" I don't and I'm probably one of the oldest riders here. My first scooter was a Cushman I bought in 1958. Rather than document all the experts just Google "should I use premium gas" and read the results.

I once did an experiment with a 50 cc 2 stroke Vino. For 5 tankfuls I ran premium. I saw no change either positive or negative as far as performance or fuel mileage. I did however, see the difference in my wallet.

If you want to do something nice, fuel wise for your scoot use Top Tier Gasoline. For more information see here:

http://www.toptiergas.com/

As for using racing oils; yet another bad idea. Lubricants that are specifically formulated for racing leave out some additives that are necessary for street use. One of the additives that is customarily left out of the package is the one that reduces corrosive/acid build-up since racing oils are changed frequently and those same additives cause foaming. Another, for the same reason is an additive that slows the formation of "gum". This is particularly true of Castrol "R".

Google "should i use racing oil" for more info and note that the manufacturers of real racing oils do NOT recommend them for street use.

While being ASE certified is impressive my experience includes a long stint as the owner of a racing engine and car building shop that specialized in SCCA (Sports Car Club of America) ProRally competition vehicles.

[ScooterBum]

 Top tier gas seems to have a foot hold in all them name brand gas places i said to buy your gas.......
 I dont know or care who they are as a corporation, as I dont want to sell anyone anything!
 Yes, it is true that you should NOT run racing formulated oil in your station wagon, and yes they do require changing a little more often, (my god it holds over a qt!) but we are talking about an air cooled, high rpm engine! I have never seen the foaming problem you mention out side of the parafin based oils such as quaker state and penzoil, a type of oil that should never be put in anything of any value.
 As for your gas milage comment on the vino 2 stroke, I don't get it. You state that your are sports car inclined, yet you try to increase gas mileage on a 2 stroke engine simply by raising the octane alone? This is a great way to increase low rpm  power, but never  fuel economy in a 2 stroke engine. If that held weight, then theoretically, on aviation fuel you would achieve super high fuel mileage, instead of the real results you get, "THE WILD RIDE", been there done that. There are some great big differences in 4 stroke engines, weather they are water cooled, air cooled, or oil cooled, my point was to not scrimp in the area of oil & gas! Stay with the name brands if you want your scooter to last!
 I did not come here to measure testosterone or brain pans. I do not care who you are or what you've done or haven't done. I dont care if your dad can beat up my dad, if your scooter is better than mine, ect.
 I don't even care if you dont follow free advise from me and use mini mart gas & oil, it is not my scooter.
My best advice is this...........
There seems to be alot of information available on the net on scooters. Some very good(scootdawg) some absolutely worthless lies aimed at getting you to choose one product over another. If you want to REALLY know how to keep a good running scooter, then find someone who has a sweet running scooter, and hang with and learn from that person. Better that than taking my advise and blowing up your scooter. Learn to work on your own scooter, as a zen thing, like spending time with it, lovin on it, but know I'm just being sentimental, or maybe just mental...........

[OldGuy]

I don't know your dad, so why would I want to beat him up?

I never said that I was trying to improve anything by using a higher octane. One requirement of a good scientific experiment is to start out with no preconceived notion as to the result. I was simply gathering data. The result was that there was no good reason to use a higher octane than needed to prevent detonation.

You stated your qualifications (ASE Certification) and I stated mine. I had no intention of measuring testosterone or brain pans, but since you've brought up the subject of experience when I sold the Vino it had 19,600+ miles on it and had been rebuilt once. A rough estimation says that's about 7 trillion strokes of the piston.

My response was not meant to be argumentative. You stated an opinion, I disagreed and stated mine.

Peace on Earth, good will to men.