New Spark Plugs at 8,000mi?

Maybe your plugs went off early from preignition [pinging]. It doesnt take much pinging to wreck you plugs. The manual says if you get pinging go to the next higher grade octane. Im stunded you guys and gals are using 89 octane. Its the cheapest no dubt but I have had pinging with 91 [our lowest] and dont get pinging on 98 octane which is about 20 cents/L more.
 
DJ NEZZ said:
Maybe your plugs went off early from preignition [pinging]. It doesnt take much pinging to wreck you plugs. The manual says if you get pinging go to the next higher grade octane. Im stunded you guys and gals are using 89 octane. Its the cheapest no dubt but I have had pinging with 91 [our lowest] and dont get pinging on 98 octane which is about 20 cents/L more.
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I have used 91 octane in my FZ1 it's whole life. I cannot beleive fellow riders use 89!! Are you smoking crack? Maybe you spent too much money on crack and can't afford 91. I am at a loss!

DJ NEZZ, you have 98 octane for only $0.20 more than 91. 100 octane unleaded is $8.50US+ per gallon here is good old sunny California compared to $3.75US for 91. I use the 100 in my ATV. 5-8gallons lasts the whole weekend. There is no way I could afford $8.50 a gal times 350mi per week divided by 38mpg........:banghead:
 
Plain old regular unleaded is what the manual calls for unless you have been tuned to need higher. I have no issues at all with knocking then again because of ethanol content I run Sea Foam and StarTron about every 3rd tank of gas.
 
Yamaha states 87 so why run anything higher? There's zero gain to be had spending more money on fuel. 87 runs perfectly fine or else they'd not recommend it. I've only ever run 87 in all my Yamaha motorcycles.
 
FZ1inNH said:
Yamaha states 87 so why run anything higher? There's zero gain to be had spending more money on fuel. 87 runs perfectly fine or else they'd not recommend it. I've only ever run 87 in all my Yamaha motorcycles.
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x2 . running octane over what is required will only net a loss in performance and efficiency. octane isn`t the amount of power stored in the fuel , octane is the resistance to pre-ignition . oh and this is just my humble opinion . M
 
Be that as it may. But why then have I felt marked improvements in performance when I've changed from lower octane fuels to higher ones? I had a car years ago that was a 3 liter 6cyl turbo intercooled, we were running it on 95 fuel and ran the boost on about 14 psi. We got some 105 rated aviation gasoline and added half a tank in with the 95 and Holy Crap! the thing increased the boost pressure and power that much, the boost guage was off the dial!
I also noticed a big! improvement years ago on my, new at the time, YZF1000R. I was running 95 fuel and Shell introduced 98 fuel to australia.
 
scottyd said:
Be that as it may. But why then have I felt marked improvements in performance when I've changed from lower octane fuels to higher ones? I had a car years ago that was a 3 liter 6cyl turbo intercooled, we were running it on 95 fuel and ran the boost on about 14 psi. We got some 105 rated aviation gasoline and added half a tank in with the 95 and Holy Crap! the thing increased the boost pressure and power that much, the boost guage was off the dial!
I also noticed a big! improvement years ago on my, new at the time, YZF1000R. I was running 95 fuel and Shell introduced 98 fuel to australia.
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if you were a friend and standing near telling me this I would call B.S . . the turbo one gave me a good chuckle . with that said ,it is your story and you are entitled to it :funpost:
 
There's no doubt that certain engines require higher octane. You need to heed the manual. The manufacturer has a rating applied for reasons. Norm's C14 requires 91 but the FZ1 requires 87. The new R1 requires premium only. (US ratings applied here). In most cases, using a higher octane gasoline other than what your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your bike perform better, go faster, get better mileage or run cleaner, at least not in stock form.

Now, should you start toying with the timing or increasing the compression in your FZ1, yes, you will need to switch to a higher octane. In an engine that requires 87, running 91 will result in a lower than expected burn and a cooler running engine as a result. This can rob HP if the engine is not at the proper temp. Not a huge amount and hardly noticeable for the average street rider but maybe more so on the track or drag strip.

It is needed for many applications, it just isn't needed for the FZ1 with stock timing and compression.
 
My R6 was built to run on C12 fuel which is a 108 octane. It's a former AMA race bike. When I bought it we drained the C12 (god that stuff smells great) repaced it with Texas, pump, super, or 91 and tuned it for super, heads are 1:1. There was a 1 peak hp difference on the dyno. So C12 at $13.00 a gallon, or super at $3.59 a gallon? I'll take regular for the FZ, thank you very much...
 
scottyd said:
Be that as it may. But why then have I felt marked improvements in performance when I've changed from lower octane fuels to higher ones? I had a car years ago that was a 3 liter 6cyl turbo intercooled, we were running it on 95 fuel and ran the boost on about 14 psi. We got some 105 rated aviation gasoline and added half a tank in with the 95 and Holy Crap! the thing increased the boost pressure and power that much, the boost guage was off the dial!
I also noticed a big! improvement years ago on my, new at the time, YZF1000R. I was running 95 fuel and Shell introduced 98 fuel to australia.
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Well I can see how a turbo car would benefit from higher octane since it can run more boost. Maybe in this case the computer (with help from the knock sensor) was smart enough to limit the amount of boost with the lower octane to prevent detonation. The higher octane allowed higher boost...

As for the YZF1000R, I have a '97 and the manual calls for premium gas so the 98 octane was probably good for it.

All that being said Yamaha recommends regular gas (87 octane in the US) for the FZ1 so anything more is just a waste of money. I know it makes some people happy to run premium gas and the only damage is to their wallet...lol.
 
NJFZ1 said:
All that being said Yamaha recommends regular gas (87 octane in the US) for the FZ1 so anything more is just a waste of money. I know it makes some people happy to run premium gas and the only damage is to their wallet...lol.
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My manual recommends 87, but says to use higher octane if you hear engine knock. With it only being a difference of less than +$2 I've been running on super...
 
I'm still a bit confused but maybe it is because of our fuel blends?

If you visit this site, You will see that a manual for the 2009 FZ1-S states 12k plug change. Yamaha Owner Manuals

If you visit this site, the same thing... Yamaha Motor Australia | Motorcycles, Marine, Power Products and Golf.

If you visit the US Yamaha site and download the 2009 Owner's Manual, it states replacing at 8k miles. http://www.yamaha-motor.com/assets/service/manuals/2009/LIT-11626-22-36_FZ1_1571.pdf

Is it because of US emissions and the Ethanol in the fuel? :confused0024: :stirpot:
 
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