Fuel additive?

[Corkey250]

Have a new 2023 AR250. Manual says to run Yamalube engine rx in the fuel. Does anyone use anything else (like a Lucas product)? What have been your results? If I use something else will it void Y.E.S warranty?

thank you in advance for help.

 

[Thermobrett]

Interesting question, makes me want to look into my manual and see what it says for my boat. I know with my supercharger it requires premium fuel, but I never looked to see if it requires additives. Maybe this is just a sales ploy to push Yamalube products? I will have to let the “fam” give their advice.
BTW, congrats on the 2023. We all like pics of the new boats.

 

[Dixemon]

I run the Sta-bil 360 in every fill up

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CAW2DK?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k0_1_15&amp=&crid=2JSRGV9F0SJMF&sprefix=marine%2Bfuel%2Bsta&th=1

And i run the lucas in all my vehicles including boat about every other fill up.

Sorry! Something went wrong!

I cant say that i really see any results. It is more of a maintenance thing for the fuel and the injectors, cylinders ect.. I don't to much pay attention to fuel mileage.
I don't believe you would have to mention the use of these products to yamaha in a warranty situation. I certainly wouldn't.

 

[Thermobrett]

I throw some sea foam in the tank around every 3 fill ups and StarTron Stabil once a year. Keep in mind I use my boat year round in Florida so I really don’t worry much about stabilizing the fuel for storage, morelsss keep the fuel/water from separating and keep the injectors clean. A little precaution now can help later. I also notice in my pressure washer to keep the tank full as much as possible when storing to keep from moisture getting in the tank and adding additional water to the fuel. My pressure washer is finicky, if I don’t use it for a while and don’t top off the tank. If I add fuel months later there seems to be a water/fuel ratio offset that causes issues. It’s expensive upfront but helps performance downstream. IMO..

 

[sunbyrned]

I know this isn’t what you’re asking, but I’ll throw in that I’ve been using the Yamaha product for years and have had no problems. It’s fairly inexpensive and only needs an ounce per 3 gallons (or something like that). I use it to top off the tank for the winter as well. I know other products work as well. Just letting you know it’s worked for me so just stuck with it.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

There’s a lot of posts here about which products to use, and the type of gas you run.

I see a few members have chimed and all their products they listed are good, including what the manual says to run. My personal favorite product that I have run for years in all my gasoline powered vehicles is Techron to clean up a fuel system. I also run Amsoil upper cylinder lubricant at every fill up, as well as Amsoil fuel stabilizer before winter storage.

If you have access to non ethanol fuel run that and you eliminate the issue of phase separation that ethanol laced fuel can have. If you only have access to ethanol laced fuel then be sure to run a product like Star Tron that will prevent phase separation. The problem with ethanol is that water and ethanol bond instantly and as long as the ethanol doesn’t become saturated the water stays in suspension, when there is more water than the ethanol can support the water starts to fall out of suspension and can create issues, the other issue is that there is going to be a certain amount of water in the fuel. Lots of folks here run ethanol laced fuel either by preference or because they don’t have access to non ethanol fuel and report no issues. I have no problem running ethanol laced fuel in my boat when non ethanol fuel is not available.

As far as your warranty goes, as long as a product meets Yamahas specifications you can run whatever you like thanks to the Magnussen/ Moss act. If a company states that you have to run their product then they have to provide it to you, don’t let some salesman or service manager tell you otherwise. Again, as long as say motor oil meets the specs that Yamaha uses then you are good, just save the receipts for proof that yiu did oil changes. As far as the fuel system additive goes just run one of the products mentioned by the others or myself and you should be good, usually products like Sta Bil have a marine variant so just run that.

A really nice thing about a trailer boat is you can get your fuel at the gas station for less dough than what a Marina would charge.

Congrats ?? on the new boat and welcome! If you use the search function you can find a plethora of answers to your questions.

 

[Michal]

There is no reason to put any additives in your fuel unless you don't use your boat on a regular basis. If you use the boat only a few hours a year and the fuel just sits in the tank, yes use some additives. During the season and normal usage, there is no need to add anything to the fuel as long as you put in the recommended octane level of fuel.

 

[Corkey250]

Interesting question, makes me want to look into my manual and see what it says for my boat. I know with my supercharger it requires premium fuel, but I never looked to see if it requires additives. Maybe this is just a sales ploy to push Yamalube products? I will have to let the “fam” give their advice.
BTW, congrats on the 2023. We all like pics of the new boats.

Yeah I have a problem of over thinking or over researching, thus the full manual reading! ?

 

[Corkey250]

There is no reason to put any additives in your fuel unless you don't use your boat on a regular basis. If you use the boat only a few hours a year and the fuel just sits in the tank, yes use some additives. During the season and normal usage, there is no need to add anything to the fuel as long as you put in the recommended octane level of fuel.

How I understand it is the issue is more with the ethanol and carbon building up, not the fuel sitting. But that’s why I was asking. Thank you for the reply

 

[Corkey250]

There’s a lot of posts here about which products to use, and the type of gas you run.

I see a few members have chimed and all their products they listed are good, including what the manual says to run. My personal favorite product that I have run for years in all my gasoline powered vehicles is Techron to clean up a fuel system. I also run Amsoil upper cylinder lubricant at every fill up, as well as Amsoil fuel stabilizer before winter storage.

If you have access to non ethanol fuel run that and you eliminate the issue of phase separation that ethanol laced fuel can have. If you only have access to ethanol laced fuel then be sure to run a product like Star Tron that will prevent phase separation. The problem with ethanol is that water and ethanol bond instantly and as long as the ethanol doesn’t become saturated the water stays in suspension, when there is more water than the ethanol can support the water starts to fall out of suspension and can create issues, the other issue is that there is going to be a certain amount of water in the fuel. Lots of folks here run ethanol laced fuel either by preference or because they don’t have access to non ethanol fuel and report no issues. I have no problem running ethanol laced fuel in my boat when non ethanol fuel is not available.

As far as your warranty goes, as long as a product meets Yamahas specifications you can run whatever you like thanks to the Magnussen/ Moss act. If a company states that you have to run their product then they have to provide it to you, don’t let some salesman or service manager tell you otherwise. Again, as long as say motor oil meets the specs that Yamaha uses then you are good, just save the receipts for proof that yiu did oil changes. As far as the fuel system additive goes just run one of the products mentioned by the others or myself and you should be good, usually products like Sta Bil have a marine variant so just run that.

A really nice thing about a trailer boat is you can get your fuel at the gas station for less dough than what a Marina would charge.

Congrats ?? on the new boat and welcome! If you use the search function you can find a plethora of answers to your questions.

Thanks for the information. Yeah it seams like there are a ton of these fuel additive products out there. Just was looking at which one performs best for the best price of course ?. I have a problem with moderation, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Sometimes it creates problems for me ?

 

[Corkey250]

I run the Sta-bil 360 in every fill up

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001CAW2DK?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_as-reorder-t1_k0_1_15&amp=&crid=2JSRGV9F0SJMF&sprefix=marine%2Bfuel%2Bsta&th=1

And i run the lucas in all my vehicles including boat about every other fill up.

Sorry! Something went wrong!

I cant say that i really see any results. It is more of a maintenance thing for the fuel and the injectors, cylinders ect.. I don't to much pay attention to fuel mileage.
I don't believe you would have to mention the use of these products to yamaha in a warranty situation. I certainly wouldn't.

Thank you for the information and the links to the products you use. Got to take care of the new baby!

 

[Thermobrett]

Yeah I have a problem of over thinking or over researching, thus the full manual reading! ?

Hey, when I ordered my boat in 2021,I already had the owner manual downloaded, all the scheduled maintenance items delivered to my house 5 months before I took delivery. Never a problem being to prepared.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Thanks for the information. Yeah it seams like there are a ton of these fuel additive products out there. Just was looking at which one performs best for the best price of course ?. I have a problem with moderation, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Sometimes it creates problems for me ?

Over kill is underrated !!!

I’m sure if you just run the Yamaha stuff you will do just fine!

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Hey, when I ordered my boat in 2021,I already had the owner manual downloaded, all the scheduled maintenance items delivered to my house 5 months before I took delivery. Never a problem being to prepared.

Boy Scout motto: Be prepared!

 

[daveyjones]

What's odd is that my 2019 212 Limited S manual says to use Med RX, but my Waverunner 2023 VX HO (same engine) says nothing about additives. I figure it can't hurt to add it and I have some left over anyway. But I checked newer year manuals and I didn't see it there either. Was this snake oil? Perhaps a legal situation for Yamaha?

 

[212s]

Have a new 2023 AR250. Manual says to run Yamalube engine rx in the fuel. Does anyone use anything else (like a Lucas product)? What have been your results? If I use something else will it void Y.E.S warranty?

There's no requirement to use additives (as mentioned, if they're required the manufacturer must provide them), and they're not necessary if you use top tier fuels, they already have all the additives included for clean combustion. I only run top tier fuels so I don't use any additives in my boat or vehicles. When I had the long life iridium plugs changed in our SUV at 150k, they looked like new. Same with our older car, at 230k when we sold it, the plugs looked great.

Additives are only needed if you have an issue, like bad fuel, or bad plugs causing fouling, stuck injectors, or water separation from infrequent use, or winter storage, etc. In those situations you need a fuel additive to help clean the system, or a stabilizer while the boat sits. The rest is snake oil to sell unnecessary products at sky-high profit margins. Just pull your plugs to verify engine operating condition - they will let you know if you have an issue. If they're clean and correct colour, then you're good.

 

[AZMark]

What's odd is that my 2019 212 Limited S manual says to use Med RX, but my Waverunner 2023 VX HO (same engine) says nothing about additives. I figure it can't hurt to add it and I have some left over anyway. But I checked newer year manuals and I didn't see it there either. Was this snake oil? Perhaps a legal situation for Yamaha?

View attachment 204457

I use the engine med in my 2018 too. It’s expensive per bottle but you use very little at a time and I figure it can’t hurt anything.

Snake oil, maybe, but Yamaha isn’t really out there pushing the stuff through advertising. I think they probably believe it’s actually good for their engines. If not and it’s pure profit then they need a better marketing department because you’d never hear of it unless you owned a Yamaha, unlike every other fuel additive that people are out there pushing.

 

[Bottom Bracket]

Medx helps prevent carbon buildup in the combustion chamber. Carbon buildup in the combustion chamber will raise cylinder compression,
3 oz per 10 gallon is cheap insurance and my gas will still be good after the heat wave is over.