Sub zero Fuel addative?

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Black_Moons

New Member
Oct 25, 2010
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Hi. I went out insanely after sunset a few days ago, below -2c or so, And while my trip out was pertty ok, after going to a store, I could not get my bike to run worth a damn without the choke on a crack, the whole way home!
CNS racing carb btw.

I think my fuel got sooo cold that it had problems atomising. Anyone know if theres a fuel addative for that? My bike is usally kept in the warmer garage so I think the fuel started off warm and cooled with time.
 
2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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Personally I've never had a problem with winter(Colorado @ 6000') weather. I do have to use the choke more to get them running and leave some choke on until things warm up but as far as fuel being too cold??? My snow blower is a 2 stroke and it gets used in some pretty nasty weather and runs good. I've never added anything to my fuel but I'm one of those strange guys who run Opti-2. Maybe your problem has something to do with thickening oil?
Tom
 
silverbear

silverbear

The Boy Who Never Grew Up
Jul 9, 2009
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Maybe a little water in the gas? Another plus with the Opti-2 is it has a stabilizer additive. I use it in my chainsaw in very cold weather. Good stuff.
SB
 
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Black_Moons

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Oct 25, 2010
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Well, I bought some Castol 'snowmobile' 2stroke oil, It rants on and on about injection systems, but also 'mentions' its for premix systems... Hopefuly it will work a little better in the cold. Considering it just snowed, I guess my bike counts as a snowmobile now.. :p

I could not find ANYTHING at lordco that was for cold weather. All the fuel addatives where just stablisers. I found ONE that mentioned it 'Improved cold fuel flow' but when I went to the counter with it, it was $35 for a 1 liter bottle. Ouch. Course, you only needed like 30ml per 40 liters fuel or something silly. Ended up puting it back.

Anyone think adding a little methonal or something might help lower the vapor point?
 
spad4me

spad4me

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Jan 20, 2008
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Arizona Bullhead
The oil in the gasoline will affect the performance.
Any castor will gel .
Use penzoil ashless aircooled oil.
Or any good synthetic like amisol.
Use a gasoline like Chevron regular it has some cold weather additives.
If you have water in the fuel it will freeze.
I have solved many odd problems by replacing the fuel filter and starting with fresh clean fuel and oil.
The local Gas stations sell lots of water with their gas after it rains .
 
spad4me

spad4me

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Jan 20, 2008
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Arizona Bullhead
Black_Moons said:
castrol oil not castor oil, Its a brand name. (Sorry for the typo previously)[/QUOTE


I do not understand your post .
A CASTOR based oil like klotz or maxima will gel in cold weather because it is vegetable based.

I use 20 percent pure Castor oil (Kotz).
78 percent Synthetic oil (catch of the day, whatever is on sale ).
2 percent marvel mystery oil , an upperlube.
During the 120 degree plus summers here.

In the winter this will gel in the carb fuel lines ,and tank .
So I use penzoil ashless , a petroleum based oil.
Castrol is a junk oil brand.
Far inferior to say Penzoil.
Click to expand...
 
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Bikeguy Joe

Bikeguy Joe

Godfather of Motorized Bicycles
Jan 8, 2008
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The reason your engine was a little hard to start was simply because it cooled off, and with a smaller engine/carb set up, the fuel mix to air ratio gets leaner. Colder air=more air in the fuel to air mix, ie makes it leaner. If you want to run in the cold, either use a little choke or re-set your carb to be a little richer.

No special additives needed.
 
Fossil

Fossil

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Mar 15, 2008
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What Joe said is correct. Lower the clip one notch on the needle raising the needle for a richer mix. You will notice the difference right away in cold weather.

Jim
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

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Jul 21, 2009
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Agreed ;)

...I did wanna take the opportunity to mention one problem when riding in very cold weather - while the fuel will be fine, your control cables can pose a problem, if there's any residual water in them at all they can jam - which can be bad news with brakes or the throttle. More so than ever, make sure yer cables are well lubed with a thin, oil based lubricant - that waxy stuff gets gummy.

Really only happens when it's crazy cold, but it's happened enough to me that I figured I'd mention it :)
 
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Black_Moons

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Oct 25, 2010
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Canada, Bc
Well, So far my solution has been.. Extend the choke cable by making a new one outta a shifter cable (just ground the knob at the end to fit the choke) And use a brake noodle to make the 90 degree bend, and put the choke accessable at the top of the bike so I can fiddle with it while riding with both hands on the handlebars.. Actualy found it helps quite a bit going up hills, sometimes it would sputter a little bit, Now I just crack the choke open a tiny bit on hills and it pulls strong :)
 
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