[Discussion] Which type of petrol do you pump for Phantom?

[Charlton]

wow... sad case for TA150... i only get max 25km/l... even i hav tune my carb to b slight lean...

 

envy those riding TA200... can reach 40km/l... T.T

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

It's a pity the 150 doesn't have an RPM meter; I recalled from my cub racing days that running 2-strokes at a certain higher RPM made them more economical; something to do with exhaust resonance.

 

Depends on how the exhaust system is designed, it will start 'supercharging' the cylinder at a certain RPM range. Nope, doesn't involve racing valves, etc, just pure 2 stroke physics.

 

And everyone still doesn't believe me when I say a 125Z can eat a sportsbike in FIBUA conditions, while giving 37km/l!

 

Maybe some years down the road I'll get a 150 for a hobby bike and relive the good ol 2 stroke days :3

[jtzx]

mine fc very unstable.. sometimes as good as 36km and sometimes as poor as 32km.. faints.. continue to keep track of FC.

[armani123sg]

mine fc very unstable.. sometimes as good as 36km and sometimes as poor as 32km.. faints.. continue to keep track of FC.

 

got box usually like that one la... haha... last time my phantom also like that... immediately after my overhaul, i got 40-42km/l, then slowly reduce to 38, then 36, then 32, it started maintaining at about 36km/l... when i used fully synthetic oil, e fc was worse than using semi...

 

anyway, today when i was riding my steed home after sending my gf home, i felt super shiok... e bike super responsive and very nice, was quite shocked.. then i realised, e only difference i did today was to pump esso 98... past 2 weeks all e time shell 98 only... usually i pump 4-8litres of shell 98... today i only pumped in 4 litres of esso 98, i feel a difference, better difference...

[kmjoe]

guess bigger bikes can feel the difference in different petrol better than us ya?

[thechosenx]

Hmm for me i pump 1L of 95 and i feel the difference straight away. Then yesterday last day of V-power pumped up full tank. Its very heavy but can feel the RAW POWER! Love it

 

Went to 130 without problems

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Vpower contains certain additives that are 'friction reducing', possibly assisting with top-end lubrication of the valves, etc. At least I can't think of any other moving parts that the fuel touches. (Leaving the carb out as it deals with vaporisation of the fuel only).

 

So I think the general effect is like putting 0.5% of 2T into the fuel tank... without the fear of carbon fouling, etc, as the petrol does have extra detergents.

 

For this purpose, Esso 8000 also claims to have similar 'friction reducing' properties, but way cheaper. At $2.20 a litre or more, the gains in V-Power economy and performance may be questionable, versus cheaper Exxon.

 

A Filipino forum has some discussion on this subject; apparently the additives in Vpower were derived from Formula 1.

http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29006

 

I'm not sure if the local Vpower is 95 or 98 octane based. This may differ from country to country (Thai VPower is 95 Benzine)

 

On another performance car forum:

 

For fuel injector cleaners, Chevron's Techron (used to and may still be used under license for Shell V Power) and Seafoam have been highly effective. Regular use of Shell V Power will clean out any engine as it has the highest concentration of detergents in any US gasoline.

 

Perhaps, you do get what you pay for

 

Source: http://ncc.bmwcca.org/forum/showthread.php?t=6967

 

There's another camp that says, Phantom is not a performance bike so... it all depends on personal opinion in the end.

Edited June 28, 2010 by Pandora's Kitten :3

[naim]

been pumping caltex 98 platinum.. not bad as well.. feel that is smoother than shell 98 i used to pump... FC about 36... but of cux cant beat VPOWER! haha!

[systemx]

I have been using SPC 95 for my car over the last 8 years. When I do try other brands occasionally, I feel the performance gains are minimal compared with the price difference. Also I am biased to SPC because they basically regulate the stupid petrol cartel here. For my bike it's also SPC 95. 95 because it definitely reduces engine ping compared with 92 and there is almost no gains to be seen using 98 over 95 except for the bigger hole in my wallet.

[kan0n]

hi guys..been riding a phamton for a few weeks..im still quite new to bike..just to check..is dere any recommendation for puming petrol for ta200..been feeding my phamton shell 98..another question is that do. i have to wait my current tank to run dry b4 pumping other petrol?

[kmjoe]

i have been using caltex 92 in singapore and petronas 95 in msia... u dont have to wait till dry... anyhow mix is ok de

[jtzx]

i like mixing 95 and msia Vpower together... Good pickup ;D

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Yep, as aforesaid, petrol is petrol, mix and match at will.

 

This is not the same in other countries, for example in Thailand there are various types of petrol. Benzine, etc. Newer biofuels, ethanol mixtures, etc are not recommended in older engines like ours as they are more corrosive.

 

Looking at the compression ratio of the Phantom, 95 should be fine provided you're on a stock engine. Yes there are some utterly crazy morons like me who modify Phantoms for performance so Vpower all the wayyyy

 

The thing about higher octane for greater performance is very hard to prove on a non-performance tuned engine (it only 'feels' better due to placebo effect). Low compression cannot make use of the higher octane... it's the additives in the petrol that makes the difference, hence fancy advertising for esso98, vpower, etc.

 

However, if you get strange pinging noises from your engine (old bike) then try 98. So far only two of us have complained about combustion knock

[phantom spawn]

ron grade malaysia is lower singapore petrol grade and quality are higher and better

[systemx]

ron grade malaysia is lower singapore petrol grade and quality are higher and better

 

Are you saying MY petrol is better when compared to the same grade SG petrol??

[junhui2512]

hi guys..been riding a phamton for a few weeks..im still quite new to bike..just to check..is dere any recommendation for puming petrol for ta200..been feeding my phamton shell 98..another question is that do. i have to wait my current tank to run dry b4 pumping other petrol?

 

answer to 1)

Own Preference; I chose SPC95 cuz after trying out esso, shell, caltex, SPC95 has better FC on my phantom. Esso gives me smoother and powerful rides.

 

answer to 2)

No. but advised to do so if you want to find out which suits your riding style best.

[Isopropyl]

previously using Caltex 92 and getting ~62km/l

 

change to SPC 92 and getting ~60km/l

 

just changed from mineral EO to full synthetic and getting ~61km/l

 

next might try SPC 95 and see if there is any improvement. riding a cub.

[vvss]

used to pump shell 95, it seems ok, fc was 35km/l. when cruising at 100-120km/h, can feel the stress of the machine (machiam cant load further and felt heavy vibration).

 

last week, pumped full tank of shell v power at jb, then push the bike and felt that it was very heavy (dont feel the same weight/load when pumped full tank of shell95).

then cruised at 100-120km/h w/o opening too much throttle, immediately can feel not much stress being loaded onto the machine and it seems like very light during that cruising speed of 100-120km/h....the feel is very nice, hope can achieve more than 40/l for fc which was already achieved for shell95^^

[xavez]

Someone mentioned before in the earlier posts. RON affects knock resistance only and the total energy released when ignited is the same.

 

A quick search on wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane_rating

 

"Octane rating does not relate to the energy content of the fuel (see heating value). It is only a measure of the fuel's tendency to burn in a controlled manner, rather than exploding in an uncontrolled manner. Where octane is raised by blending in ethanol, energy content per volume is reduced"

 

"Many high-performance engines are designed to operate with a high maximum compression, and thus demand high-octane premium gasoline. A common misconception is that power output or fuel mileage can be improved by burning higher octane fuel than a particular engine was designed for. The power output of an engine depends in part on the energy density of its fuel, but similar fuels with different octane ratings have similar density. Since switching to a higher octane fuel does not add any more hydrocarbon content or oxygen, the engine cannot produce more power."

 

Simply put, fuels of higher RON is useful for engines with high compression (eg turbocharged engines).

 

But then, since 98 burns less readily, shouldn't it give a poorer FC? The flame front expands slower than that of 92 in the same time. Food for thought.

 

This also explains why most people (car drivers included) feel that their engines run smoother with higher grade petrol, as 98 burns less violently than 92.

 

Vpower is a different story as they add a secret ingredient. I suspect it's NOS. lol

 

 

I pump spc 92 and am comfortable with the engine vibrations up to 110kmh on our meters. Hard to put an exact number on FC, due to so many variables like riding style, parking location (fuel evaporates faster under the hot sun), traffic condition, EO condition......

[byon]

i havent pumped 98 for a while now. been using 92 mostly and 95 occasionally and 98/V-Power never.

 

i guess i should feed my bike with RON98, i can't stand the vibrations of late.

[Icomeforyou]

its interesting that when i use SPC 92, i'm pushing only 29-30km/l, but when used spc 95, could hit 34-35km/l, will have to try one more time this tank of spc 92, if not really go back spc 95 already....

[Zhi Ming]

its interesting that when i use SPC 92, i'm pushing only 29-30km/l, but when used spc 95, could hit 34-35km/l, will have to try one more time this tank of spc 92, if not really go back spc 95 already....

 

When using malaysia shell RON 97, my FC is around 44-45km/l , when i use SPC 92 , my FC drops to 42km/l...can feel its weaker , like more sluggish.

[Allen]

Anyone know phantom 150, FC?

[bianchi]

IMO, last time my phantom TA200 could achieve the best FC with SPC RON92..

[tankee1981]

I have been pumping Caltex 98 lately. More smooth ride so need not throttle so much to get to my average speed of 85 to 95 km/h. My FC is around 36km/L to 40Km/L. Downside is recently Caltex is the most expensive petrol!

 

I am not sure if my faulty exhaust pipe is making the FC lower though but i have a mechanic who told me that it will certainly affect power. Perhaps the Techron did help but maybe this is just placebo effect, i am not sure.