What fuel do you run in a Vee?

[Bardahl77]

There's a local place that sells non-ethanol 92 octane for about 40 cents a gallon more than the E10 stuff. Can a Vee like enough ignition lead to require more than 92 octane? I've been told some folks use 105, is that needed? I mean, what do we see, 6.5 to 7:1 compression tops?

[Robbie.Arthur]

We ran 110 leaded at the runoffs, but use Chevron 94 when we can’t get the expensive stuff.

[veeten]

100LL av gas I have run 93 octane sports gas. but the lack of lead may be an issue.
Maybe an engine builder will have some input.

[Jphoenix]

You can buy 100LL at Crest Airpark, no problem. Auburn Muni stopped selling it to me a few years ago. Maybe Thun Field, bit I’ve never tried them. Crest is just a couple miles up 18 from Pacific Raceways, so you can hop over there between sessions and fill up your jugs. Much less expensive that the race gas at the pumps at Pacific.

[t walgamuth]

I use premium without alcohol. I think 92 octane....Honda Fit engine.

[Stumpthumper]

My engine builder told me simple at the pump premium would be fine if not preferred. Our low compression engines don't need much octane. The ethanol is the biggest issue, so you may have found a great product there. I don't know how helpful lead is in reality, but since I run 100ll av gas to avoid ethanol i don't need to worry about it. My understanding is 100ll is actually closer to 96 octane for cars, since the octane ratings differ from car to aeronautical use.

[t walgamuth]

My reason for using the ethanol free is for the off season, to avoid spoilage.

The Honda probably would run fine on regular unleaded.

[veeten]

On big reason for running non ethanol is to prevent fuel cell damage.
Several cell builders have warnings written on the cell.
If you chose to run ethanol drain the fuel cell after every event,
I have a vintage boat and several marinas have fuel listed as
non ethanol but it is standard street gas. I have a simple ethanol
test tube. Add water and fuel and it shows percentage of alcohol.
I have found fuel with 0% to as high as 15%

[Matt Clark]

My engine builder told me simple at the pump premium would be fine if not preferred. Our low compression engines don't need much octane. The ethanol is the biggest issue, so you may have found a great product there. I don't know how helpful lead is in reality, but since I run 100ll av gas to avoid ethanol i don't need to worry about it. My understanding is 100ll is actually closer to 96 octane for cars, since the octane ratings differ from car to aeronautical use.

actually, 100LL AvGas is a different scale (Lean Mixture & Rich Mixture), that actually works out to about 115-130 on the automotive side (RON).

[nrider42]

Fuel threads can end up like oil threads.... Seems like the compression ratio in these motors is relatively low. What is the justification for such high octane? Maybe timing? Dunno...I am a newbie to vee so just trying to figure out what to dump in my tank in April.

[Amon]

100 LL AvGas..

[Jim Edmonds]

For most of our engines the lead is more than needed. The real advantage is Phillips 66 100LL was formulated to sit in an airplane's wings for two years without degrading. Just drain off any condensate water . . . and the airplane won't quit and kill you. I use it in my generators as well as the FF & FC.

I grew up two miles from the Phillips 66 research labs, and engine labs, where Phillips' aviation fuels were developed. Interestingly Phillips had their own nuclear reactor in Idaho. A engine oil researcher told me when i was in junior high, that if they wanted to measure the ring wear on the number three rings on a particular motor, they would buy a new motor. Take it apart, send the rings to the reactor to be irradiated, reinstall, and run to failure on a dyno. They would put a Geiger counter, or equivalent, in the oil pan and graph the increase in radiation to see how the rings were wearing with that particular oil. Of course lots of companies and universities had small nuclear reactors in that era.

Primitive engine and dyno controls then. Their engine lab was noisy with up to 32 engines at a time running different load cycles.

With all the hostile takeovers to pull cash out of companies in the past forty years, I wonder if any oil companies have the cash to put that effort into oil research any more.

Boone Pickens hostile takeover attack on Phillips cost 4000 jobs worldwide to pay him off (public information). $80,000 houses in Bartlesville were worth $20,000 at the end of that year. 2500 employee layoffs came in Bartlesville.

I rather like 100LL. 8^)

Sorry for too much information.

YMMV

Jim Edmonds

[eospeed]

I never could run as much ignition timing as I wanted with pump fuel. So always 110 or AV gas.