Octane Booster?

the dreaded dual plug answer

OK, David said what I was going to say...only better.

So, Grrl, if your bike "pinging" on high test gasoline? Perhaps maybe only on hard excelleration?

The solution, back in the day, was unleaded valves (the lead in 'regular" gasoline provided a measure of cushion to the valve seats) and/or dual plugging. Or...thicker base gaskets to lower the compression.

Remember, the higher the octane number, the LESS easy the gasoline is ignite.

Dual plugging allows for a faster flame front so one can advance the timing slightly.

Thicker gaskets resulted in a lower compression ratio, allowing the use of a lower octane gasoline.

I went the dual-plugging route, and added electronic ingnition. Never regretted it. Then again, it's a lot more expensive now.

BTW, if the answer to those first to questions is "no'....don't do anything.

Mac

Hmm. I need to archive this one.

Now if someone would just conflagrate all that into plain English, I'd be a happy camper.

Heptane sounds like it might be worth a try the next time I smoke a rack of ribs.

Oh -- and BG. I still think I'd skip the bottled stuff for the real stuff at the 93 Octane keg.

Rick (do I need a new gasket, or what) in AL

One more thing I'd like to add:
Very occasional "pinging" can be do to plain old bad gas.
I had my Triumph apart for almost two months due to an unintentionally extended 24K service. When I finally got it all buttoned up, it made horrible noises on hard acceleration. Of course I surmised I'd left something out, done something wrong, etc. but replaying it in my mind, I'd done it all right. Well guess what? A fresh tank of gas cured the whole mess. Gas gone bad in two months.
In the good old days when I just owned my R60, I used to buy 100LL leaded aviation gas from a Phillips 66 distributor in Denver. (Still suffering from the higher octane is better syndrome). One of the guys who worked there said you're better off buying gas from a smaller company with refineries close to you if at all possible. He said the smaller the batch of gasoline, the fresher it is. For me, this has always meant Phillips 66 and Sinclair, both companies have small refineries within 200 miles of where I lived. I've heard that with the majors, especially the ones who survive on mid-eastern crude, it's all the same. And months old. The only difference between Chevron and Mobil is the additiver package.
Both of these stories are HEARSAY, I have no proof that either is true, but I do think the R60 ran better on the leaded gas. I DID get marginally better mileage.

100LL in Denver sounds like a real misstake! You may recall that the pumps only go to 91 there, rather than the 93 we lowlanders get. There is a reason for that: the higher the octane, the denser the fuel. In thinner air a less-dense fuel works best. When I visit a friend up in Denver my car gets CRAZY GOOD mileage- at least like lowland highway mileage, even driving like James Bond through those mountain twisties! Aircraft carbs are designed with mixture controls to compensate for the thin air at altitude but if you ran 100 in a land vehicle at high altitude some jetting changes at least would be in order.

Have I missed something?

I thought when I left for work this morning that Chickenman had posted a very understandable explanation of Octane, timing, and ect.

But now, it seems like we are back to last night when I got home ...

If the engine pings going uphill, try downshifting. Have you had the timing checked lately? I know your bike is a year older than mine, do you still have points? Have the advance springs been checked/replaced? Has the engine top-end been off in recent memory? Could you have carbon build-up, thereby raising your compression? Just some items to investigate. Using an octane booster may only mask symptom of something else. I'm not trying to scare you, BG. Has the bike always done this, or is it something new?

Re: Have I missed something?

RickM said:

I thought when I left for work this morning that Chickenman had posted a very understandable explanation of Octane, timing, and ect. But now, it seems like we are back to last night when I got home ...

Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm missing something too, like all the posts I made this morning. Maybe they got moved? You're right; the confusion level is right back where it was.

I moved the fuel injection discussion over to Oilheads since someone thought it deserved it's own thread.

I hope I didn't screw you guys up.....

If your only real concern is a slight ping while going up the occasional steep hill, downshift & keep the rpm a bit over 3,000. Keeping the rpm's up to 3k 4k or more is better than lugging and the engine will knock less.

Check your timing & point gap as appropriate. If you are concerned, a clever mechanic can fine tune your timing for the fuel you use. Avoid the thick base gasket fix. My similar machine runs good on high test, but knocks a bit on the mid range.

Chevron Techron, either in their gas if you are lucky enough to be near one of their outlets, or the additive itself from the auto parts store used as directed is reputed to burn off some carbon deposits which may contribute to pinging as well.

Go to the "airheads beemer club" website & study the material. Sign up for the Airheads "list" to continue learning and to ask specific questions.

The valve seats in your machine should be good for a good long time. The exhausts tightening up between adjustment intervals is a clue to trouble with these.

Alcohol in its various forms is hard to avoid in present day gasoline. Some feel that the oxygeation chemicals are bad as well. unfortunately these are added by region & again are tough to avoid.

I used to buy a fuel additive from an Amway distributor (a product not made, but distubuted by Amway) that worked really well in my R60/6. My bike, when made, required high octane fuel, which just hasn't been around in a long time...the difference for me was, when adding a bit of the additive, the engine just "sang" like it had the old high test Sunoco premium. It was kind of like riding with the wind at your back, and quieter, too! I'd get some more in a heartbeat...I ran that stuff for at least a couple of years, and in my Dodge conversion van, as well. Mileage was improved, too. The stuff smelled nasty, though, kind of like a skunk!

I've been running my '73 R60/5 on 93 (or Sunoco 94 when I can find it) for years with no problems, during the summer when it gets over 85 I used to get some pinging, but since retarding the the timing, just a tad mind you, It hasn't pinged at all, be it running the valley roads or clumbing up long grades, or running up and down the Blue Ridge all day. Over 70K and alls well.

I wouldn't worry over much about occational pinging. Seems like most of those additives could just be a waste of money, better off paying for a good tune up, if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.

RM