Hello,
I've been looking into different fuels to use in my 2014 Sportsman 850 (11:1 compression ration) but isn't going to hurt my wife's 2015 Sportsman 570 (10:1 compression ratio). We primarily ride trails to explore the interior Alaska where we live. Nothing too crazy. However, I do like to push the limits of my machine from time to time. Deep mud can be a blast and ripping around a trail or track at 60+ MPH is always fun as well. Plus I recently upgraded to 27" ripsaws that are SUPER heavy!! So I was thinking 100+ octane fuel would be a good choice to boost HP and keep the engine clean. Before doing any research I was kicking around the idea of buying a drum of VP110. But after some research I am no longer sure that's a good idea. I checked the user manuals and they only state to use a fuel with 87 octane or higher with an ethanol percentage no higher than 10%. I have been running the 93 octane, the highest I can get at my local pump (not sure of the ethanol percentage) and there seems to be no issues.
My thoughts are pretty straight forward. 1. I've talked to mechanics at 3 Polaris dealers and they all agree to avoid ethanol at all costs. 2. A higher octane fuel will keep the engine cleaner for longer (or so I've been led to believe over the years). 3. I know there is a cap on the amount of power you get form higher octane fuel, but with an 11:1 compression ration there's some potential for gains in that department.
What non-pump fuels are you guys running? Would a fuel additive be sufficient to clean out the ethanol and add octane? Am I completely off target with this line of thinking?
Thanks for any help provided!!
I've been looking into different fuels to use in my 2014 Sportsman 850 (11:1 compression ration) but isn't going to hurt my wife's 2015 Sportsman 570 (10:1 compression ratio). We primarily ride trails to explore the interior Alaska where we live. Nothing too crazy. However, I do like to push the limits of my machine from time to time. Deep mud can be a blast and ripping around a trail or track at 60+ MPH is always fun as well. Plus I recently upgraded to 27" ripsaws that are SUPER heavy!! So I was thinking 100+ octane fuel would be a good choice to boost HP and keep the engine clean. Before doing any research I was kicking around the idea of buying a drum of VP110. But after some research I am no longer sure that's a good idea. I checked the user manuals and they only state to use a fuel with 87 octane or higher with an ethanol percentage no higher than 10%. I have been running the 93 octane, the highest I can get at my local pump (not sure of the ethanol percentage) and there seems to be no issues.
My thoughts are pretty straight forward. 1. I've talked to mechanics at 3 Polaris dealers and they all agree to avoid ethanol at all costs. 2. A higher octane fuel will keep the engine cleaner for longer (or so I've been led to believe over the years). 3. I know there is a cap on the amount of power you get form higher octane fuel, but with an 11:1 compression ration there's some potential for gains in that department.
What non-pump fuels are you guys running? Would a fuel additive be sufficient to clean out the ethanol and add octane? Am I completely off target with this line of thinking?
Thanks for any help provided!!