Hi
I have Pulsar 150 DTSI bike, around 3 years old....With Xtra premium petrol its giving me a mileage of around 55...whereas Im getting a mileage of only 46-47 with normal petrol..
Can anybody explain this discrepancy

Thanks
Gaurav

[Technocrat]

Hi Gaurav,

There should not be this high difference, is the pump from where you are filling normal fuel a trusted one?

[PhrozenFire]

There shouldn't be this high a difference. I have never observed a difference of more than 3-4 kmpl, between premium and normal unleaded fuel, in all my years of riding and experimenting with different brands of fuels. This discrepancy could be attributed to change in riding style or bad fuel quality, when you got the lower reading.
Also how are you measuring the mileage? tank full to tank full? Bottle test? Or, the easiest way, note the reading when it comes into reserve, fill up some fuel, note again when it comes into reserve. This could be, and very often is, misleading. E.g. You go over a bump, or speed breaker, or a slope, and the fuel in the tank stops flowing into the main pipe, and you need to switch to reserve. In this case, you will get a lower reading. Consequently, your next measurement will be on the higher side.

Best is to continously monitor the mileage. How much do you get in heavy traffic; with hard riding; during highway runs, and take an average. Try and stick to a trusted pump.

[theMAG]

Most likely is that the normal petrol is adulterated. I filled premium for my Swift- Shell, just once while I was their regular customer for normal petrol - made absolutely no difference in driving/mileage. But then again, that must have been due to the good quality of their normal petrol.

[amtak]

I could feel a difference in the pick up of the bike as compared to when I filled in normal fuel. However, it could also be due to the fact that my bike had then completed just 1000 kms and was back from the first service.

PS: I have never found any difference when i filled in Speed/Power or Xtra premium in my car.

[prabhusati]

I purchased my new Hero Honda Splendor NXG in the first week of June 08. I filled in premium petrol Power and the mileage was averaging 82 kmpl. Then some time in July 08, the oil marketing companies started to regulate supply of normal petrol in order to promote sales of premium branded petrol. The HP petrol bunk in HBR Layout where i regularly fill up changed most of the normal unleaded dispensers to Power premium petrol and from then onwards the mileage dropped to 77kmpl. The driving conditions did not change since i use the 2 wheeler only to commute between residence and office and no change in the route also.

Last 2 times, i changed the petrol bunk and use the BP outlet near the ring road in HRBR Layout. I started to get 82kmpl again. On both occasions i used normal unleaded petrol only.

Conclusion...normal and premium does not give any significant differnence in mileage.

Now i suspect the HP pump is doing some 'Hera-Pheri' either in quality or quantity.

[praful]

Originally Posted by gaurav.28ch

Hi
I have Pulsar 150 DTSI bike, around 3 years old....With Xtra premium petrol its giving me a mileage of around 55...whereas Im getting a mileage of only 46-47 with normal petrol..
Can anybody explain this discrepancy

Thanks
Gaurav

Things to Check :-

1. Mileage measuring technique
2. Number of test case samples taken
3. Fuel Quality
4. Any Change in riding style
5. Change in air pressure
6. Overall change in bike's health (tuning, sparkplugs, chain sprocket, etc)

There are too many variables influencing mileage, the only way to find out which one is actually affecting your bike's mileage would be to try and eliminate each and every variable's probability as the causing factor.

With the bunk unchanged, a drastic change in mileage can either be attributed to change in fuel quality or a change in your bike's health.

[Moby]

I ride a Pulsar 180, it performed better with extra premium. Fuel economy remained more or less the same.

[Technocrat]

You mean the engine felt smoother with extra premium or some other observation?

[Moby]

Yes. the engine felt smoother and revved smoothly. There was a slight difference in performance also.

[PhrozenFire]

Although generally used in the medical world, 'Placebo Effect' can have a large impact here too. 'One believes what one wants to believe'! Another example, memory boosting pills.
Placebo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am not discounting anybody's observations here, its just a scientifically proven fact.

[praful]

Originally Posted by Moby

Yes. the engine felt smoother and revved smoothly. There was a slight difference in performance also.

Originally Posted by PhrozenFire

Although generally used in the medical world, 'Placebo Effect' can have a large impact here too. 'One believes what one wants to believe'! Another example, memory boosting pills.
Placebo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I am not discounting anybody's observations here, its just a scientifically proven fact.

Placebo effect maybe!

But I observed this too, using Xtra Premium compared to the unleaded in the following 2 wheelers Dio/Victor/Apache. But I don't feel any difference on my 220. Wonder why! <FI probably>

[Technocrat]

Yes a Higher Octane fuel burns slower than normal one & hence gives a feeling of smoothness & thats it

For checking mileage mehod was - Immediately after reserve fill the petrol and then check the mileage again at reserve.
I have done more than 4-5 trials both with normal & xtra premium By filling Rs. 200 petrol in each case.
Invariably reading was 200 & 180 kms approx for Xtra premium & normal respectively

[KSM-Vtec]

Have tried different premium petrols on my OHC vtec. I did see difference in performance but no difference in FE. hence i have shifted back to regular fuel because it costs me less to drive down to office.