When I bought my 2000 polaris xpedition. The first
thing they told me was not to use gas with corn in it. Ethanol. I think in minnesota at least. That there is a small percentage of ethanol in our regular gas. In my home town where I buy all my atv gas. there is one special pump in each row. That has a sticker that says this gas is non-oxigenated and is for various small engines including atv's. The gas is labeled ultimate. If I remember right. Its 92 octane. So they have unleaded regular and premium and ultimate. Ultimate
has the sticker about being for atv's.

I have been using this gas. I do believe that regular and premium have some ethanol and im not sure if that is unique to minnesota or not.

Another point I wanted to make, is that I see people drive right up to the pump and pump the gas directly into the atv tank. Sometimes they use regular gas. Besides using this non-oxignated gas.
I always pump the gas into my 6 gallon container and dump the gas from the container into the atv tank. My nozzle has a strainer built in, plus the funnel I use has a strainer in it. So I strain all my gas.

A couple of times in the summer, I add sea-foam in the gas. In the winter I put some of that red stuff in my gas. Stabil, I think its correctly called.

Am I being to cautious and what do others think about what type of gas we should be using?

What do you all think?? rangerchet polaris xpedition 425 cc 5-speed.

 

Rangerchet,
IMHO, I believe you are being way to cautious. If you buy your gas from a station that has a lot of business, then you will be getting fresh, low water content fuel. These ATV's will run quite well on unleaded.
Sit outside you local gas station and see what type of gas most people use, probably unleaded. Now think of the water (condensation) that is building up in the lesser used gas tanks.
I am not a fan of oxigenated fuel, it has been proven that it will cause more damage to a fuel system, than help it. I have filled the atv tank at the pump and from a storage container, there is nothing wrong with a strainer.
Using additives in fuel is not cost affective, however Stabil does help in short term storage.
If you Atv or car, for that matter, does not ping on unleaded, use it. It's only your money going into your tank.

weetoots

 

The Polaris bible states 87 octane is fine. 89 octane if the fule is oxygenated. 91-93 octane is overkill. I use 89 in my HO with no problems.

You actuallly get more power with lower octane.

 

rangerchet

I have been using regular 87 octane from local stations ever since buying my Magnum in 97 and have not had any problems. I think the gas in our area has 10% ethanol. Neither of my dealers told me that I can not use it in my atv's. You are probably being a little too cautious, but better safe than sorry.

Some of the theories that I have on gas (some based on heresay and not proven facts):

Never buy gas at a station while the tanker is filling the tanks. The new gas going into the tanks will stir up the water and sediment in the bottom of the tank and cause it to be pumped into your car.

Buy gas at reputable stations that do a good amount of business. The more gas they sell, the fresher you gas will be.

Keep the freshest gas you can in your atv. I buy gas for the atv and lawn mower in 6 gallon containers. In the summer, with mowing and riding, I use it up pretty fast. In the spring, fall, and winter. The gas does not get used as fast so I will periodically dump it into my truck and replace it with fresh gas. That way when I refill the atv, it won't be with gas that has been in my garage for a month.

I would say that filling the atv directly from the pump is not much of a risk. The pumps should have filters on them that would catch any particles that your funnel screen would catch. Thanks for bringing up this discussion. These discussions are what makes this forum a good learning experience.

 

I think you stand more chance of contaminating your gas by putting it in a container first then into the quad. All pumps in gas stations have fuel filters in them and are changed periodicaly. The filter is capable of removing water and particles far smaller than a screen could. If you buy your gas at a reputable station, about the only thing you would have to worry about is dirt or salty crud on the nozzle when you put it in the tank or container.
Minnesota is required to put ethanol in its gas (I believe) only in the metro area (7 county) Beyond that non-oxygenated gas is available most anywhere outstate.

 

I burn 93 octane gas in my sportsman. I looked under the fuel tank today where the exhaust comes out and the pipe was a light tan color with a chaulky residue on it. A friend told me the 93 octane burns to hot which causes this. Maybe its because I didn't rejet with the K&N filter. Any comments?

 

Actually the opposite is true. Higher octane gasoline burns cooler!
This is to stop damaging "detonation" that can occur in high compression or high performance motors. Using it in a stock, unmodified
motor will give you little or no change in performance. By not rejetting with the use of the K&N filter you could be creating a slightly lean
condition, which in turn can cause engine damage also if it is run for an extended time while lean. Proper jetting should be performed for
your best performance, mileage and longevity. The best way to do it is by "reading" the spark plug after a full throttle run. If the plug is black,
its too rich. On the other hand, if it is white or light grey it is too lean. This method of doing it takes some patience and really some
experience. Your best bet is to use K&Ns recommended jetting and/or talk to others who have done it already and see what worked best for
them.