brake it in on the eth setting it gives you 5% more fuel. then after that if you run 91non eth fuel you can switch over then.

 

This^^^^.

 

My 03 Polaris had the setting on the key. Back then it changed timing and ignition. I thought the Eth setting retarded the timing to avoid detonation associated with lesser octane fuel? I dont mean to doubt you fraser and with EFI that is entirely possible. I could be stuck in carb world.

 

Dealer told me to always leave it on the ethanol setting in case you get a bad batch of fuel with lower octane.



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Yup,better to be safe than sorry, unless you're positive you're getting good fuel. When i try to run mine in ethanol mode, it sputters occasionally around 7800. Apparently the slow burning premium is to blame

 

I just don't understand why it would be better to break it in on eth fuel...the dealer told me he put eth fuel in the tank to start it up and test run it, as soon as I burn that thru I have a can of prem 91 non eth and that's what im going to use from there...

 

91 oct burns cooler and needs more timing advance to burn correctly. 87 and 89 oct always has eth in it. Lower octane burns hotter and needs more fuel to cool the cylinder and needs a lower timing curve to burn properly. Eth also has less energy. For example if you have your sled dialed in on 87 oct with eth and if you could find 87 oct non eth your sled would run slightly richer if you didn't change your fuel settings. The main reason their is a switch is for octane differences not because theirs ethanol and non ethanol in the fuel. I see everybody talk about the switch changes fuel but I'm sure it changes timing too.
Now what I've noticed is that there's not a lot of performance change from running 91 on the non eth setting and running 87 on the eth setting. But If I put 91 in and run the eth setting I do notice a drastic change. It will run a couple hundred rpms below what it should and seems a little boggy. I would leave it set for whatever fuel your running. Being to rich on breakin isn't necessary good either. These new sleds have the mapping pretty well dialed. Plus, I beleive their is more fuel being dumped in break in mode.

 

Yup I swear mine felt a bit poochy for the first tank of fuel like it had a break-in program. I also agree with your findings on running 90 or 91 (our 90 here is equal to your 91) with the ethanol switch on. noticeable loss in power.

No Ethanol up here and by the sound of it I should be glad.

 

Please don't believe for one minute that 91oct is ethanol free, you need to read it at the pump. If it says on the pump tower this fuel contains 10% ethanol, and you use it it's best to run in the ethanol mode... The pump station will tell you (by law) what the contents of the fuel you are buying. If you where you ride can find non-ethanol fuel than that is a good thing you can keep you sled in the non-eth mode..And it will run great. There are some gas stations in VT. that are close to the trail's that order non-eth fuel just for the winter because there is a great demand for it in the winter months, no one likes running corn stalks through their 2 strokes. Hope this helps,if not do some reading on eth. gas.

 

Here in the midwest almost all premium gas up north is non-eth. I doubt you could find one that wasn't. Been that way for a long time. Even here in the twin cities it is becoming very popular. The station near my house switched to it. Lucky I guess.

 

Actually there are lots of places in Minnesota where you can get 91 Octane ethanol free. Most Cenex stations will have it. Also, stations near public boat launches also usually have it since it's legal in boats too.

For a list see here: Ethanol-free gas stations in the U.S. and Canada

This list is not all inclusive since I know of more stations near me that have ethanol free that aren't on the list. But it is out there. So far in 3000 miles of riding on my '13 Indy I've only had to put gas with ethanol in it a couple of times. Out on the trail, sometimes you have to take what you can get. But for all my local around home riding, I can always get it.

 

Haha, Ethanol IS SHIT for sure. Tough to find by me unfortunaley, at least 30 minutes drive to get some. Bummer is, they sell it at the marina on my lake for the boats, but they shut er' down for the winter. Noticable difference in out-boards as well even with out ECU changes. Just have a bit more pep to them running the the non-eth

 

So do I understand correct?.....if you CAN"T get Non-Eth fuel, best to run 87 in Ethanol mode?

 

Yes