Yamaha Ring Plus Fuel Treatment?

[Ice_Fishin07]

Has anybody tried the Yamaha Ring Plus Fuel Treatment? Any comments from people who use it? Is it worth it?

[goose89]

Ring "FREE" Plus - yes, worth it in my opinion.

It helps prevents carbon deposits which keeps fuel injectors / carbeurators clean. It also protects all the different parts / types of metal from the ethanol, which can be very corrosive if it sits around and not being used. Our gasoline today is not what it should be for what we're paying for it. Unfortunately, we had to spend more to treat most fuels to prevent clogged fuels systems or corroded parts. Good luck....

[Getanet]

My parents bought a new pontoon a few years ago with a Yamaha 4-stroke. Almost from the day they bought it we had issues with the motor - everything from having trouble getting it started, to it shutting off while cruising in lower gear.

The issues eventually got worked out, but the keys were to use Yamaha Ring Free and non-oxygenated gas. Non-oxygenated gas is a little harder to find and a little more expensive, but worked wonders.

The motor runs like a champ now. The extra cost of Ring Free and the gas is much better than the frustration of an iffy motor and the cost of repairs.

[MuskieJunkie]

That stuff is so expensive that I just go with Seafoam in my yamaha 4 stroke, and I use it in every tank, and only use non oxygenated gas.

[Genofish]

How many ounces of sea foam to you use per gallon?

[porterhouse]

I've been using it since I bought my yamaha 115 4 stroke in 2003. Never had a problem

With the motor! Ring free is expensive but in my eyes it's worth it.

Brian

[goose89]

That stuff is so expensive that I just go with Seafoam in my yamaha 4 stroke, and I use it in every tank, and only use non oxygenated gas.

I love non-oxy gas as well, but (depending on how much gas you go through) using Ring Free would probably be cheaper in the long run. Not sayin you're wrong, just sayin.....and if I'm in an area and it's 20 miles from the next non-oxy station on the list, Ring Free is nice to have.

[h8go4s]

Okay, I need to get educated. My last outboard was a 2-stroke Merc 40 that I ran for 11 years with no fuel additives. I used good oil, strictly Amsoil the last few years. Always fogged it for winter storage, put Sta-Bil in the tank in the fall, changed plugs a few times but no other maintenance and never had a problem.

Now I have a Yamaha 50 4-stroke and I'm told by the dealer to put Sta-Bil in the tank all summer and use Ring-Free "once in a while" also. Why can't my Yamaha 4-stroke run the same gas as cars and trucks do (87 octane regular) with no additives needed? They're all 4-stroke water-cooled engines. My last truck was a Ford Ranger, still going strong at 180,000 miles when I sold it. I put lots fewer hours on an outboard than I do on a car. So why are these outboards so picky?

Ron.

[goose89]

Ron,

The newer 4 strokes, esp. Yamaha's, have pretty finicky fuel systems. Lots of info if you search. Bottom line...Yamaha' have been "bullet-proof" 4 stokes when clean / treated fuels is consistently used. Older 2 strokes aren't that finicky and don't have the tight tolerances that todays, more sophisticated 4 strokes fuel systems.

The fact that you put alot less hours on your outboard vs your car (true for all of us) also provides a clue. Gas left to sit around for over a month without any treatment / stabilizer is / will give you problems. good luck....

[Shorelunch]

Ron,

The newer 4 strokes, esp. Yamaha's, have pretty finicky fuel systems. Lots of info if you search. Bottom line...Yamaha' have been "bullet-proof" 4 stokes when clean / treated fuels is consistently used. Older 2 strokes aren't that finicky and don't have the tight tolerances that todays, more sophisticated 4 strokes fuel systems.

The fact that you put alot less hours on your outboard vs your car (true for all of us) also provides a clue. Gas left to sit around for over a month without any treatment / stabilizer is / will give you problems. good luck....

Another question regarding this topic . . . do Merc Verado's, Suzuki and Honda have similar products like Ring Free for their four strokes that they recommend?

[MuskieJunkie]

How many ounces of sea foam to you use per gallon?

Not sure whatever it says on the bottle.

Another thing worth mentioning is that it's imprortant to use these adatives when the gas is fresh. Once the gas is old (couple of weeks) you've missed the boat.

[MuskieJunkie]

Why can't my Yamaha 4-stroke run the same gas as cars and trucks do (87 octane regular)

It becauase of the ethonal in the fuel, the fuel system and motor have to be designed to handle it. I think it has to do with drying out the rubber and plastic parts. Same reason some cars can run E85 (85% ethonal) and some can't.

You could probalby run regular gas in your boat all the time and be OK, but I won't, even with addatives you really don't want that ethonal in there. My 2 cents.

The seafoam I mentioned earlier is to keep the gas from going stale and the issues assocaited with that (I made that mistake once and never will again) seperate issue from the ethonal deal.

[h8go4s]

Goose,

Lucky me, my boat never sits unused for more than a week. Usually I'm on the water 2-3 times a week from late April to mid-October. So I don't see that as an issue in my case. And I still think that the fuel systems in outboards should be no more "finicky" than those in an automobile. It's the 21st century, we have the technology, don't we?

Another thought just occurred to me. Do Yamaha 4-stroke water-cooled motorcycle/ATV/snowmobile engines have the same "pretty finicky fuel systems"? Do they need fuel additives also? And if not, what makes the outboard a different animal?

Ron.

[Ice_Fishin07]

Do you guys use Ring Free and Fuel Stabilizer even with Non-oxy gas?

Fuel stabilizer with non-oxy gas seems like over kill.

[CFRay]

I have an 02 Yamaha 115, use regular gas and I do use Ringfree,(recommended by a relative who is in the marine service business and has toured Yamaha marine plant in Japan)

This is right from the owners manual" Recommended gasoline: Regular unleaded gasoline with a minimum octane rating of 86, if knocking or pinging occurs use premium unleaded. Re: gasohol use only that which contains ethanol not to exceed 10% and meets the minimum octane rating. Gasohol that contains methanol should not be used.

[311Hemi]

Do you guys use Ring Free and Fuel Stabilizer even with Non-oxy gas?

Fuel stabilizer with non-oxy gas seems like over kill.

I do, but only for winter storage.

During the summer I use regular 87 with Marine Stabil and Ring Free. I have not had any issues. I did install an in-line canister fuel filter/water seperator for extra protection.

[Northlander]

Has anybody tried the Yamaha Ring Plus Fuel Treatment? Any comments from people who use it? Is it worth it?

I use it as a shock treatment a few times a season and it seems to be doing the job very well. I replace my plugs after every "shock" treatment.

I run seafoam in every tank and the best gas I can find where Im at.

[walleyemaniac]

Ring Free all the way! I have an '89 Yamaha 90hp 2-stroke. Not saying seafoam is bad but have had better luck with ring free. As far as price a little ring free goes a long way. Add an ounce to every tank full and double shock the last one of the season. Since I've been doing this I've never had gas or carb issues in the spring.