Re: Which octane is best?
Here's what I've gathered. <br />First, make sure it's unleaded (OK, that one's easy).<br />Second, make sure it's alcohol free. This can be hard in metropolitan areas, because alcohol additives make gas run cleaner, so it's required in many metro areas. But, alcohol can have a bad effect on parts of your engine and rubber fuel line hoses, so try to avoid it.<br />Third, the octane. The general consensus here seems to be to run 87 octane gas. Double check your owners manual. Your best bet is what it recommends. I've heard arguments for higher octane gas because it usually has addidtive that will help keep your engine clean, or that aren't just 'dirty' because it's cheap gas. Though I would think sticking with the big names such as Amoco you'll be OK anyways. The worst will be (most likely) some off brand that's 10 cents a gallon cheaper than the place next door.<br /><br />Let's see, what else. Additives. I've heard some good reports about some cleaning additives such as Chevron. Don't use it all the time though, just a tank ful when you need it. Your best bet is to get something that says it's specifically for marine motors!<br /><br />And stabilizers - it seems that any pre-mixed gas breaks down pretty quickly, so if you aren't going to use the tankful within a couple of weeks, a little stabilizer is good. If you're not using the gas at all for a couple of weeks or a month you want to put in the full recommended amount of stabilizer. If you're letting it sit for six months (over the winter or something) you're probably better off draining it even if you did use stabilizer. Though that can be a bit expensive if you topped off a 15 gallon tank to prevent water condensation.
<br /><br />OK, I by no means am an expert, this is all second hand research, so anyone, please feel free to contradict or correct....
