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Leaving VP in tank bad?

Discussion in 'General' started by Clay, May 31, 2004.

  1. Clay

    Clay Well-Known Member

    I've heard it said but never confirmed...is leaving your race gas (U4 in my case) in your tank between races a bad thing? I've heard it can eat up things in your bike. If that's the case, I'm gonna have to go get myself a siphon!
     
  2. bmfgsxr

    bmfgsxr Well-Known Member

    yes, it will gum up your fuel filter.
     
  3. WERA552

    WERA552 Master Brake Oil Spiller!

    Rubbish...

    Here's what a VP Rep says about that and other things...

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    According to VP Racing fuels, you do not have to drain their fuel at night or between race weekends. I know of several racers that leave fuel in their bikes between events without any swelled lines or melted o-rings.
    Power Mist is also safe to leave in your motorcycle. This is not the case with some Nutec fuels. As a matter of fact, the only fuel I've ever seen that actually melted rubber parts was Nutec.

    As far as "corrosion" goes, there are other things that can cause it after a season of use, detonation/running lean are a couple that come to mind.

    Fogging is always a good thing to do after a race weekend no matter what you run for Race fuel. Some bikes are more of a pain to fog than others which is why many people opt not to do it. Race fuel has a much higher evaporation rate than pump gas and doesn't leave any residue in the engine. What you wind up with is very dry internal parts that are actually exposed to the elements,(through open exhaust valves etc). This is where you get the oxidization or corrosion from.
    Engines with cast iron valve seats will rust overnight if left unattended. This rust raises hell with clearances and can damage the valves and seats if it builds up enough, say, between race weekends? Steel cylinder liners will also develop rust but over a longer time period. I used to fog my engine, rotate it until all the valves were closed, duct tape the exhaust, and cap the carbs. While fogging is absolutely the best way to protect an engine the simplest way to leave an oily film in your engine is to run some pump gas through it at the end of the weekend.

    Steel cans versus plastic jugs.

    Is steel better for storage than plastic? Yes, a steel barrel with steel caps stored in a consistent environment is the best way to store fuel, especially the oxygenated flavors. A steel pail with a plastic cap is only marginally better than a plastic jug but even a jug will preserve most of the zip between weekends.

    How long will my liquid platinum stay fresh?

    Again, the real key is to keep it somewhere that doesn't have dramatic changes in temperature. Oxygenated fuels are more susceptible than non-oxy ones. Take your container and put it in the corner of the garage on a piece of wood and it'll keep longer than if it's left in a trailer that's out in the sun. It's alot like heat cycling tires.
    When heated, the molecules expand and then contract when cooled eventually wearing themselves out. The wood is important with steel containers to prevent "sweating" inside the barrel, (from contact with cement), contaminating the fuel with moisture.

    Why should I run Race Fuel in my bike?
    Race fuel produces more power, especially when a bike is tuned for it, and runs much cleaner than pump gas. I've seen engines apart after running a season on pump gas versus race fuel and you really have to see the difference to believe it.

    the Gas Guy

    Edit: Although I sometimes have gas, I'm not THE "gas guy". :D
     
  4. Johnny B

    Johnny B Cone Rights Activist

    That's right, The Gas Guy is the one who loses his gerbils in the men's room and runs around at night shrink-wrapping motorcycles with his daughter. :D
     
  5. hooter31

    hooter31 Well-Known Member

    what wera552 said...i drain my tank after my last race then i run some premix in the bike until i see smoke.seems to work well,lubes the valves so no rust between rounds.then before i go back out on the bike i drain the premix out and put good fuel in.it's alittle work but it's worth it in the long run
     
  6. bmfgsxr

    bmfgsxr Well-Known Member

    suit yourself, but i know people who have had to take their fuel pumps out and clean the filter from leaving race fuel in their tanks for too long.. i dont run race gas so im only going off what i have seen.
     
  7. ToddClark

    ToddClark f'n know it all

    in short, nutec will def. "f" up your tank and fuel pump. VP wont.
     
  8. Kevin Crauswell

    Kevin Crauswell Well-Known Member

    I say, , , ,
    That any fuel left over in the tank for any lenght of time is bad.
    ( unlessit is treated with something like : Staybilize.
    But with that said : I would go ahead and drain it. That would also include emptying the float boals.
     
  9. Johnny B

    Johnny B Cone Rights Activist

    There was one batch of Nu-Tec that was leaving gummy bears in our throttle bodies. Kind of left us up the river in Daytona last year because there wasn't very much good batch stuff available. Tom Fournier always purges the race fuel out of his bike overnight, but then again, he is known to be anal. :D
     
  10. Martin M

    Martin M Former BRP Rider

    I left a MR1 in a bike for a year and when I disassembled the carbs to clean them out there was nothing to clean - they were in perfect shape and so was everything else.
     
  11. Cindy Ivey

    Cindy Ivey Team Manager

    Last year, Both of Chuck's bikes had VP MR1 in them all year without draining a drop. We never used anything but VP and never had a problem. The bike would sit for as long as 3 weeks between weekends.

    Now I do agree that any bike that will sit, not running, for an extended amount of time should have the fuel drained. No matter what type of fuel it is.
     
  12. G Dawg

    G Dawg Broken Member

    Threadjack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Martin you're mailbox is full.
     
  13. Martin M

    Martin M Former BRP Rider

    Sorry !
     
  14. Clay

    Clay Well-Known Member

    Cool. Thanx for the response everyone. I use U4 in a 929. It will be sitting for 5 weeks once the next round comes up. I'll go out and run it a little tonight, just to keep things lubed and hopefully working right!
     
  15. G Dawg

    G Dawg Broken Member

    How much you got in the tank? If you are going to let it sit that long, it's not a bad idea to mix it with some pump.Better to be safe.I have never had a problem, but there is always a first time.
     
  16. HFD1Motorsports

    HFD1Motorsports BIKE TUNA

    I leave it in our bikes all the time no problems so far the tanks are clean and the top of the pistons well that is a thing of beauty:) been runing vp for a few years and before that nutec no problems I think that one bad batch has really been over played....
     
  17. Handicapped Racer

    Handicapped Racer Well-Known Member

    yes what he said! i left mr-9 in my tank the entire winter and ran my first race at vir on it this year no prublems!
     
  18. MELK-MAN

    MELK-MAN The Dude abides...

    VP U4 is fine left in the tank, left a tad all last season in the F4 and it still runs great..no probs with the r6 either. refer to the big post above for all the real details, good stuff.
     
  19. Trev230EX

    Trev230EX Put me in coach

    I left Nutec Mad Dog in my bike after the GNF last season and it didn't hurt a thing. Of course I use VP now so it really doesn't matter. :D
     
  20. Clay

    Clay Well-Known Member

    I appreciate the helpful replies everyone. Makes me a little less worried now. :)
     

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