Gas to put in my PCX 150

Bigbroguerra · Post by **Bigbroguerra** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:12 pm

So today, i came across a fellow PCX rider. We were astonished that there was another rider here in San Diego. He advised me to put 92 octane gasoline, the performance on the ride will make a difference he said. I want to get more feedback from you guys. heres the details for the guys in the UK, New Z and everyone else outside California.

Cali, we have 4 types of fuels
87 octane AKA regular
89 octane AKA Plus
91 octane AKA Premium
Deisel #2 (i know not to put this in my scooter)

thanks for your feedback you guys

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:20 pm

I put 91 octane in mine but that's our cheapest. Also have 95 or 98 octane. I would use a lower octane if there was an option, its not a racing bike!

Bigbroguerra · Post by **Bigbroguerra** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:25 pm

Another question would be the type of riding. I mostly use it to go to work and back, which makes me take the interstate highway for 5-10 minutes 5 days of the week. Would it be recommended to go for the 91 since I'm putting a lot of stress in that engine?

you you · Post by **you you** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 12:23 am

Bigbroguerra wrote:Another question would be the type of riding. I mostly use it to go to work and back, which makes me take the interstate highway for 5-10 minutes 5 days of the week. Would it be recommended to go for the 91 since I'm putting a lot of stress in that engine?

Why is that stressing the engine and why would 91 help?

Bigbroguerra · Post by **Bigbroguerra** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 2:29 am

I used the PCX150 to work and back, putting 50 miles round trip on the freeway 5 days a week, the engine used up the oil. Engine was replaced and now I'm checking the level and condition of the oil frequently. Just wondering if changing the octane gasoline will help performance wise

SmellyTofu · Post by **SmellyTofu** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 3:55 am

Taz, Australia's fuel numbers are RON. RON 91 = MON 87. I fill mine with RON 98 = MON 91 because it cost <$1 anyway per tank and now that I fill up a jerry can where I can fill up whenever I like outside of the price cycle, it's also the same fuel I use in the car so I can use up the small jerry can if I think the fuel is becoming a bit stale.

khaosaming · Post by **khaosaming** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 4:53 am

In Thailand, they have petrol and gasohol. My old favourite regular petrol 91 was just phased out, so the only variety if you want to use pure petrol is octane 95 unleaded now. That is pretty expensive -- around 50 Baht per litre. It's not available at every pump, though. In the countryside all they have is gasohol.

The government encourages motorists and bikers to use ethanol added gasohol (E10 and E20). The PCX 150 can take any of these. It doesn't matter what you put in there, as long it's equal to or better than 91 octane petrol and contains no more than 20 % ethanol.

khaosaming · Post by **khaosaming** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 5:34 am

Sorry, I'm out of edits again.

Icons on the user guide have colour codes, the same as there should be at every pump -- though that is not the case frequently.

Gasohol 95 E10, E20
Gasohol 91 E10
Petrol 91

I understand that the OP doesn't live in Thailand, but I don't see it hurts to have information more broadly. I doubt there's any performance issue with any octane available. Higher octane fuel doesn't give more power -- it simply prevents knocking if the engine is prone to it.

dasshreddar · Post by **dasshreddar** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:19 am

The pcx 150 owners manual says (PON)86 or higher octane... whatever "PON" is?
I've been using 91 all the time, but I would be curious to see the results, if any, if you did 87 one week 91 another week etc...
Where was that guy getting his 92 from?

Bigbroguerra · Post by **Bigbroguerra** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 3:04 pm

I think he meant 91, he must of messed up on the number because of how ecstatic that he came across another pcx rider, I know I was hahahaha. I checked on the manual, 86 or higher, I guess I'll fucks with the othe grades and see if I notice a difference.

Mel46 · Post by **Mel46** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 4:35 pm

I live in Georgia and we have 10% ethanol mixed in ours. At 87 octane the bike has no trouble running at all. We have both a PCX and a Burgman 400. My Burgman manual says not to put premium in. That leaves either 87 octane or the middle grade, which is 89 octane. Keeping in mind that we have the 10% mix in at least the bottom 2 grades, the bikes run fine on both of those. What I did find out through trial and error is that my older SUV gets better pick up and mileage using the middle grade. Now it may not make much difference on a little scooter like the PDA, but I know that my Burgman runs smoother with the middle grade and seems to get better mileage also. Hope this helps. In ALL cases, I would suggest against running the highest rated in the scooter. It may just burn your valves because it burns hotter. That is just my opinion and the recommendation from Suzuki.

Mel46 · Post by **Mel46** » Sun Apr 21, 2013 4:42 pm

My tablet is making up words. When I put PCX in it is determined to change it to PDA for some reason.

cessna151 · Post by **cessna151** » Mon Apr 22, 2013 12:38 pm

khaosaming wrote: Higher octane fuel doesn't give more power -- it simply prevents knocking if the engine is prone to it.

That is true.

Mel46 wrote:It may just burn your valves because it burns hotter.

That is false.

Higher octane does not mean it burns hotter, it only means it requires more compression and/or a hotter spark to ignite.

Some engines generate so much heat on the compression stroke that they can ignite lower octane fuel before the spark plug fires... i.e. Detonation(knocking).

Urbanian · Post by **Urbanian** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 2:30 pm

cessna151 wrote:Higher octane does not mean it burns hotter, it only means it requires more compression and/or a hotter spark to ignite.

Some engines generate so much heat on the compression stroke that they can ignite lower octane fuel before the spark plug fires... i.e. Detonation(knocking).

cessna151 is right on. Expect zero benefit from using gas with octane rated higher than required in the PCX. Honda makes high performance engines that utilize higher octanes. This isn't one of them.

SmellyTofu · Post by **SmellyTofu** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:06 pm

At the same time, if you don't use the tank of fuel in say 2-3 weeks, putting a higher octane fuel ensures that it remains just above the minimum needed.

you you · Post by **you you** » Tue Apr 23, 2013 3:11 pm

SmellyTofu wrote:At the same time, if you don't use the tank of fuel in say 2-3 weeks, putting a higher octane fuel ensures that it remains just above the minimum needed.

No. The octane rating woulnt drop. It might go a bit stale but you've probably got a few months before that happens

Just put fresh clean fuel in. It's a well made unsophisticated engine. Your previous problems sound like they were related to the oil level

Put petrol in and check the oil level?

The_Head · Post by **The_Head** » Wed Apr 24, 2013 6:00 pm

I use 87. We do have 85 here, but I don't think I'm going to risk it to save 8 cents on the fillup.

jkautz · Post by **jkautz** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:28 pm

The_Head wrote:I use 87. We do have 85 here, but I don't think I'm going to risk it to save 8 cents on the fillup.

It sounds like not one person answered this question lol Is it okay to run the premium 91 octane in a PCX150 or not?

JoshM · Post by **JoshM** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:40 pm

jkautz wrote:
The_Head wrote:I use 87. We do have 85 here, but I don't think I'm going to risk it to save 8 cents on the fillup.
It sounds like not one person answered this question lol Is it okay to run the premium 91 octane in a PCX150 or not?

If you wish to spend more money at the pump, yes it's okay to put 91 in there. It's not needed, but you can put it in there if you choose to do so.

ScooterMan · Post by **ScooterMan** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:55 pm

I use 87 in the winter and 89 in the summer here in the USA.

Higher octane gas is actually LESS volatile. Higher octane gas reduces combustion temps and detonation because it takes longer to burn. In other words, 87 is more flammable!

To fight detonation, you need to understand what causes it. There are 3 things

1)High outside temps (summer)
2)High altitude
3)Load (throttle position) & long inclines, heavy riders, etc.

I like using 89 in the summer as I ride full throttle on the freeway in 90-100 degree heat sometimes and encounter some inclines. 87 could possibly have me detonating. Prob not, but just in case, I run 89 in the summer.

What is wrong with running 91? SOme will say you are just wasting money, but there is another reason NOT to run high octane fuel when you don't need it. Your engine (combustion chamber) will accumulate carbon deposits if you run high octane fuel when not necessary that over time can rob performance. On 91, your engine can't burn the entire fuel mixture in time (since 91 takes longer to burn) and attaches itself to the valve heads and combustion chamber as carbon buildup.

So yeah, for the most part, run the recommended gas and oil!

Regarding oil...the plain bearings on the crank and the oiling holes in the motor (orifices) are designed to flow a certain amount of oil through them. You change the viscosity by running too thick of an oil, and the top end can be oil starved at times, same with the piston skirts causing premature wear. You go too thin on the oil, and the plain bearing could be left unprotected by the "too thin" oil film between the surfaces.

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