I just bought a 02' Skeeter with 90 Yamaha on it and I was wondering about the type of gas to put in.  The dealer said I should use 91, but my buddy said he puts 87 reg unleaded in his boat.

Also, does it matter what type of 2 stroke oil I use?  Several different ones I noticed at Academy, so wasn't sure which one was the best.

Also, do you suggest putting anything else in the gas tank, to help keep it running smooth yr round.

Thanks in advance.  I tried to search for these answers first online, but didn't really find anything to informative.

Hi spoon33. I always use the highest octane fuel I can get. As for 2 stroke oil, I use Pennzoil Synthetic. I also add Star Brite marine fuel additive or Sta-Bil Marine fuel additive to combat the horrors of ethanol in boat fuel tanks, and I suggest you do the same. I spent $600 on carburator and fuel pump rebuilds last year  :'(due to water and rust in my fuel thanks to ethanol even though I was using regular formula Sta-Bil before this happened :-?.     Happy fishing.

~B.A.S.S.~N.A.F.C.~BoatU.S.~

Run the manufactors recommended octane. If that's 87 octane, then run that. Higher octane can actually hurt performance because the higher the octane, the slower it burns and if the engine is not designed and tuned to run high octane you will not get a full burn with it.  I will say that if you're boat sits for a couple of months at the time and there's gas left in the tank, add at least as much high octane as whats in there.  I personnaly do not run old gas because gas can break down and will loose octane very quickly.  Even though I also run SeaFoam in my gas, if it's over a couple of months old, I pump it out, I will not run it through my motor.

As for oil, if you're running a DFI motor or a motor with automatic oil injectection, I would run the manufactors recommended oil there also. Different oils will have differences in viscosity that can make these motors either over oil or under oil your motor. Over oiling causes greater carbon build up, and under oiling just plain ain't good for the motor.

If you are premixing your oil with your gas, then Penzoil 100% synthetic is a very good choice.

Now, as for the idea if it's TCW-3 oils they are all the same is pure BS but I will leave that one up to you. What it boils down to is it's your motor and you run what you what you feel comfortable with.

The unfortunate thing about opinions is that everyone has one.  I have a 60 hp engine on my boat.  I bought it used two years ago.  The previous owner bought it new in 1990.  He ran 87 octane in it along with any 2-stroke oil that was available.  I still do the same thing, but I now add StarTron with every fill-up.  My engine performance has increased dramatically since I started using the StarTron.  Just another man's opinion.

I use the 89 octane gas and so far, so good.

As for oil, two guys told me to use Mercury oil in my Merc engine.

So for $38 I just purchased a gallon to use this spring when I hit the water.

If you can use 87 octane as per the manufacturer's recommendations, then go with that level.

The guys in my boat club with the big Mercury's, Yamaha's, etc. use high octane gasoline, which adds to their fuel costs.

Once again, a simple question with many answers.      

I think a lot of it has to do with the age of your motor. Mine is a 1967 Evinrude Starflite 80hp. It was designed to run on high octane, higher than you can get out of the pump now. I don't use octane booster in this motor and modern pump premium seems to be working just fine. I definately recommend using a good quality marine fuel stabilizer though, no matter the age of your motor.  8-)    Happy fishing.

~B.A.S.S.~N.A.F.C.~BoatU.S.~

As far as the oil goes----Not sure if there is still a warrenty on your outboard, but a lot of manufacturers will null the warrenty if you don't use their oil.  With my Yammy, I only use Yamalube.