Optimax Why Is It Bad For Bikes?

[TURBO4LT]

Mate of mine picks up his new toy today Ducati 999 and they have told him to not use Optimax as is causes problems . Anyone know why? I asked a friend whos a motorcycle mechanic and says that it damages the bore in some bikes ? Would this be a problem for the T ?

[Guest PaulM]

I hope not!

[TURBO4LT]

Me to as its all I use

[XR6TK1W1]

Some bikes have special cylinder liners that have coatings on/in them to allow for high RPMs. Not sure if this is the case as I have never owned a Duke but there may be an additive in it that damages this. Could also be a temperature thing with the way higher octane fuels ignite. But from memory ( mostlikley wrong ) the 999 is air cooled so this shouldn't be the case.

[Guest mklee2]

Hey guys,

when I had a cbr250rr was talking with a honda mechanic about the fuel we should use. He mentioned optimax was bad for the bike due to all the additives they add to it since it can cause pre ignition , he recommended mobil premium fuel as it does not have all those cleaning agents in it.

It can damage your engine from what he was saying

[Benny]

I've been told by several bike mechanics that it fouls the plugs because optimax isn't a very clean burning fuel. that's why I don't use it in my car. If you manage to get your hands on a BP Ultimate information booklet you'll see that it is a very clean burning fuel with less polution and soot. Its recieved some special award for its clean burn.

[dave_zx9r]

As Benny says, its the plugs. Seems to foul the plugs on some bikes but not others. Late model Suzuki GSX-R's seem to be affected but my bike (Kawasaki ZX-9R) runs fine on it. BTW 999's are most definitely water cooled. Cheers.

[F6 RAPID]

Fact is, Optimax is a "stringy" fuel and can foul injectors but more importantly carbies. That is why you shouldn't use it in dirt bikes.

[mickq]

Nah, optimax is fine.

Ive used it in a variety of bikes and cars of all ages and types. I tried it the very day it came out.

Optimax may cause problems in two situations. These are the only situations where I have seen trends about these so-called problems. (PS, its very hard to find people who themseles were effcted, its always based on stories!).

1) If your engine/carby is glugged up with crap over the years, Optimax will over time clean much of that crap off. Problem is if there are big chunks suddenly feed up, they can get caught somewhere else, like a fuel injector. But that's not likely unless you really have treated your engine like crap for years. (Even then it doesnt normally happen).

2) If you ride/drive at low revs the whole time, aka Grandma driver, then Optimax may not be the fuel for you. In those situations its possible it may not burn as well as it should and may foul plugs etc. But not in all cases! All fuels will eventually have the same result if you mis-use your engine by only revving it low the whole time, but possibly optimax will do it a little sooner. There are few faster ways to ruin an engine than not revving them out now and then.

#2 above is the cause of most of the real world complaints about Optimax. Its cause is their silly driving style. Engines have a rev range for a reason: oif you dont run it through the full range now and then, then you ARE mis-treating your engine as it will start to foul with carbon deposits regardless of the fuel you use.

But if you drive/ride normally or better still hard, then its fine. Your engine will be cleaner than it ever has been and run well. As with all engines, some may run better on one type of fuel (and in that situation use that fuel) but that doesnt mean one fuel is better than the others. Ive had one bike that didnt seem to run quite as smoothly on Optimax and preferred Mobil800 instead. So that's what I give it. But another bike and car that preferred Optimax.

Note: many bikes have a habit of running rich. Many cars do so as well. In this situation the extra density of optimax may mean that even more fuel is entering the cylinders than is needed, and wont all be burnt off...leaving deposits. that's an air/fuel mix (carby/EFI) problem and not a problem caused by the fuel. Although retuning the egine running Optimax shoudl fix it.

Ive done lots of research into this (read other threads here : search for Optimax) and the rumours are 99% old wives tails. Go to a bunch of different mechanics at different places and you will find one thing in common: its VERY hard to find one who has actually worked on a vehicle where optimax was to blame. If they do make that claim, ask them how they have determined it is Optimax to blame. Id be most interested on how they can make that determination especially on an old bike or car with an relatively unknown history

If you are really nervous, then I say fill up with topimax, do some driving, and then take the car in for its next service so when they tune it, it will be tuned when its running Optimax.

With optimax you will usually also get more km's per tank.

If Ducati claim it ruins the bores, then they have doen something stupid with their design and manufacturer of their bores. Dont blame the fuel for it. Its not the first time Ducati have done something dumb...their bikes have style but that's all. Certainly not that powerful these days in comparison to others. A real world example: on some Duc's to change the sparkplugs you must take the whole engine out of the chassis because they cant be reached. So a minor service ends up costing you $1000+. Dumb. Very, very dumb.

Optimax is an awesome fuel. Its the highest tech fuel in this country.

You should not be scared of it. Not one single motorbike or car manufacturer has recommended against using it (Id love to see proof if anyone thinks one has as I havent found any). It meets and exceeds every standard. Its high octane so pretty much eliminates pre-ignition (the exact opposite of what mklee2 says: high octane fuel doesnt pre-ignite easily - that's why we have high octane fuels!).

Go for it. Ignore the rumours. Try all the high octane fuels. If your engine runs best on Optimax, then use Optimax.

Cars Ive run on Optimax for years without additives and without a single problem:

- 1982 Honda Accord (leaded car)

- 1977 Honda Civic (leaded car)

- 1983 BMW 520i (leaded car)

- 1993 Mercedes C180 (Unleaded)

- 1999 Jaguar S Class (3.0) (Unleaded)

Bikes Ive run fine on Optimax:

- 2001 Yamaha Zeal (leaded or unleaded, Idles slightly smoother on Mobil8000)

- 1996 Honda CBR250RR ( leaded or unleaded, fine)

- 1995 CB250 (leaded or unleaded, Fine)

- 1989 CBR250RR (leaded, fine)

- 2003 CBR954RR (unleaded, Fine)

- 2002 Yamaha R1 (unleaded, Fine)

[Guest PaulM]

Shell have certainly generated some brand loyalty in at least one person.

Was the case with me also before someone questioned it.

I can't compare as I have used nothing else in my T since I got it.

Have run a BMW R65 on it for last two years and have had no complaints at all.