RGS Starting Issue

In the UK Shell V Power is 99 Octane and supposedly has cleaning agents to reduce fouling. A classic Jaguar guru also told me that it burns slightly cooler than other higher octane fuels from Esso and supermarkets. Not sure of the technical detail. It is also only 5% ethanol rather than 10% in standard 95.
 
Running Cooler!! In Australia that means burns slower unless you have a vehicle with large diameter pistons that allow the charge to propagate and burn thoroughly. With Lavs and older engines the piston diameter is smaller and the charge doesn't burn fully leaving a sooty deposit on the plugs and every thing else in its path, hence sooty wet plugs. Guaranteed to result in harder starting if at all possible and a rapid carbon build up as mentioned by Marty.
2Types said:
In the UK Shell V Power is 99 Octane and supposedly has cleaning agents to reduce fouling. A classic Jaguar guru also told me that it burns slightly cooler than other higher octane fuels from Esso and supermarkets. Not sure of the technical detail. It is also only 5% ethanol rather than 10% in standard 95.
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I noticed in the past on my Thruxton R if I were to use 98 octane the bike would not start from cold as quickly as it would from 95 octane.
I'll stand corrected but as I remember many new bike warranty's would not cover specifically Shell Optimax.
 
Tippie said:
It seems that fuels vary dramatically from region to region. Here at least Shell V Power 98 octane is excellent stuff (but wicked expensive), can run race bikes and I use it often in my high comp SF on the road which has until now run fine also on regular 95. Many servos are dropping 98 now unfortunately, and now 95 is getting 10% ethanol, am concerned about that in my bikes. So Oz shell 98 not necessarily same as in Wales.
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My experience in the UK matches Tippie's. Shell V-Power (99RON here) works well and is my preferred choice - apart from the 750SFC which I feed with leaded race fuel (101RON/90MON) primarily for the lead and being ethanol free to preserve the GRP tank. Probably cheaper to get an aluminium tank..!
 
The bloke who owned my Pantah started using Shell Optomax when it first came out in Oz, it was a TT2 lookalike back then with a 25-litre Imilar Fibreglass tank and solo race seat. After a while, he had issues with the carb slides sticking and then the bottom of the tank broke away flooding his garage. Whatever that fuel had in it wasn't happy contacting Fybreglass. I think it was pre-Ethinol in Oz when it happened BUT there was a scandal happening where Toluren was being added illegally to fuel via the back door to bulk up and reduce costs so maybe that was the issue.
 
Vince said:
The bloke who owned my Pantah started using Shell Optomax when it first came out in Oz, it was a TT2 lookalike back then with a 25-litre Imilar Fibreglass tank and solo race seat. After a while, he had issues with the carb slides sticking and then the bottom of the tank broke away flooding his garage. Whatever that fuel had in it wasn't happy contacting Fybreglass. I think it was pre-Ethinol in Oz when it happened BUT there was a scandal happening where Toluren was being added illegally to fuel via the back door to bulk up and reduce costs so maybe that was the issue.
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In Europe, since lead free came out in 2000, fibreglass has been going belly up. At least, new fibreglass, the old ones seem to hold out.
Paul
 
This is what happened in the boating world, polyester resin melted on exposure to ethanol. Vinylester and epoxy resins did not, unfortunately none but the most expensive manufacturers used them! At least not then, it’s changed now.
 
FWIW, in the past, long past. V power sic Optimax i used as reference fuel here. There was a summer formula and a winter formula as supplied to the outlets ( from actual company chemist, not PR drivel ). Leave it to others in commenting on real world experiences with day to day fuels, old and present.

Ethanol stoichiometric is around the 9:1 non combined tank fuel around 14,7:1 when "combined" reported it is then reduced to 14:1. When we have a choice, nothing will induce me to purchase any combined fuel based on ethanol. There is virtually no process i know of to find out the flame propagation rate for any fuels these days, University researchers may be able, not myself these days. The degree flame propagation impacts on ignition timing will, for the most part, be done by experiment in home workshops on, in our case. older Laverda engines. Many know these engines well in the modern age.

Days end you can only use what you can purchase, even in old days there were some dodgy fuels from independent operators in Australia, know the iis test pilot loved his cheap fuel and the plugs/ignition did not, threatened to ban him if he continued. He did continue, no mystery when i pulled his plugs, bright red plugs, like off rust.... " your at it again.... your banned..." yes in fun...yet a case in point. HTH j
 
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