Fuel talk - octane, ethanol, etc.
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The forums are a place for open discussion of karting topics. Please respect the opinions of others. No name calling, abuse, bashing etc. of any sort will be tolerated and offending posts will be removed and offenders sanctioned at the discretion of the webmaster or the executive. All posted materials, text, etc. become the property of the CKRC and may be displayed or removed at the discretion of the CKRC.
The forums are a place for open discussion of karting topics. Please respect the opinions of others. No name calling, abuse, bashing etc. of any sort will be tolerated and offending posts will be removed and offenders sanctioned at the discretion of the webmaster or the executive. All posted materials, text, etc. become the property of the CKRC and may be displayed or removed at the discretion of the CKRC.
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JasonL
- Posts: 86
- Joined: Mon Feb 24, 2020 6:35 pm
- First Name: Jason
- Last Name: Luinenburg
- City/Town: Calgary
Re: Fuel talk - octane, ethanol, etc.
The detail on my estimate of fuel savings by going to 87 octane. I've rounded the numbers to keep the math easier...
I keep close records of our karting (and other spending). Last year, we spent $350 on kart fuel. This was between our two Rotax karts, covering 9 races and many more T&T and coaching sessions. At typical prices, this was about 200L of fuel. As I didn't spend nearly as much time on track as Carson did, I'm going to estimate that he burned 150L and I did 50L.
Our experience when we moved from Briggs to Rotax was that the Rotax karts burned about twice as much as the Briggs motors did, so let's estimate that a heavily-driven Briggs kart would burn 80L per season.
Premium fuel goes for 20 - 25 cents per litre more than regular, so savings on that 80L is about $20/yr.
Feel free to fix any incorrect assumptions I've made. It's been a while since we've been in a Briggs.
I keep close records of our karting (and other spending). Last year, we spent $350 on kart fuel. This was between our two Rotax karts, covering 9 races and many more T&T and coaching sessions. At typical prices, this was about 200L of fuel. As I didn't spend nearly as much time on track as Carson did, I'm going to estimate that he burned 150L and I did 50L.
Our experience when we moved from Briggs to Rotax was that the Rotax karts burned about twice as much as the Briggs motors did, so let's estimate that a heavily-driven Briggs kart would burn 80L per season.
Premium fuel goes for 20 - 25 cents per litre more than regular, so savings on that 80L is about $20/yr.
Feel free to fix any incorrect assumptions I've made. It's been a while since we've been in a Briggs.
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Jen and Don
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Sun May 06, 2018 11:30 am
- First Name: Jennifer
- Last Name: Cheung
- City/Town: Sundre
Re: Fuel talk - octane, ethanol, etc.
I have often said that oil and fuel are still the cheapest part of racing karts. I burn more gas in my generator to keep the A/C going in the rv than I do in the karts. I have no problem buying premium if that's what the club wants. What spare fuel I have after the weekend ends up in the truck or generator anyways and premium is way better for a small engine that sits more than it's used. Don
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Jackmazury
- Posts: 215
- Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 9:00 pm
- First Name: Jack
- Last Name: Mazury
- City/Town: Calgary
Re: Fuel talk - octane, ethanol, etc.
Since it seems to fit in this thread, I get plenty of questions about the fuel cost between classes and figured I would provide a breakdown.
For ease of use, let's say premium fuel is $1.60/L and mixing oil is $35/L. We will price race fuel at $8.40/L or ~$160 a tin. Based on my experience and lacking recollection, a Briggs uses around 4L of fuel per race day, Rotax around 8L, and Shifter around 10L.
Briggs fuel cost per day - $6.40
Rotax fuel cost per day @50:1 mix ratio - $18.40
Shifter fuel cost per day @25:1 mix ratio - $64.00
What I derive from this is your fuel cost is more dependent on which class you are running compared to which grade of fuel. All of the above costs do pale in comparison to tires, brake pads, and other wear and tear items, I left the VLR out since I do not know what they have decided on fuel spec.
For ease of use, let's say premium fuel is $1.60/L and mixing oil is $35/L. We will price race fuel at $8.40/L or ~$160 a tin. Based on my experience and lacking recollection, a Briggs uses around 4L of fuel per race day, Rotax around 8L, and Shifter around 10L.
Briggs fuel cost per day - $6.40
Rotax fuel cost per day @50:1 mix ratio - $18.40
Shifter fuel cost per day @25:1 mix ratio - $64.00
What I derive from this is your fuel cost is more dependent on which class you are running compared to which grade of fuel. All of the above costs do pale in comparison to tires, brake pads, and other wear and tear items, I left the VLR out since I do not know what they have decided on fuel spec.
Shifter #30
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phil
- Posts: 411
- Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 9:52 pm
- First Name: phil
- Last Name: haggerty
- City/Town: high river
Re: Fuel talk - octane, ethanol, etc.
Jack - not to make you feel worse, but if you re-check your math on the shifter, it's actually $98/ day with full race fuel, unless you calculated based on 50% premium mixed with it?
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Jackmazury
- Posts: 215
- Joined: Tue May 09, 2017 9:00 pm
- First Name: Jack
- Last Name: Mazury
- City/Town: Calgary
Re: Fuel talk - octane, ethanol, etc.
Math is correct, we all run half race fuel and half pump.
Shifter #30
Class Representative
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