Hello Guys,
Hope to have my 210 CC on the water for the first time this weekend. I have my concerns about the fuel also but was told with 4 strokes its not a problem. They are the same as a 4 cylinder car. Is this true? Cincinnati don't you have the same motor as me(Honda 130 4 Stroke). Are you having problems? I also heard that you should never mix the two fuels.
Thanks,
Jack
Jack - Yes, I run a 2002 Honda 130. The issue is not with the intake and valves, rather the marine parts that modified the Accord block, aftermarket parts along with storage issues. The problem I had was twofold.
1) The boat had run on straight gas for two seasons, then E10 in 2004. So I couldn't be sure if the switch to E10 was a problem at the gas station pump or in my tank - either way, I had a lot of water issues early in 2004 and a lot of black particles trapped in my fuel/water separator bowl. Then when my mechanic inspected my fuel system, he noted rust on my injectors and damage to the high-pressure fuel pump. Honda covered the repair.
2) After the above was resolved, I used an aftermarket fuel filter that was designed to be a direct replacement of my OEM filter. After a month of use, glue particles from the filter dissolved into the fuel, ran into my VST (vapor separator tank) and stuck the needle open flooding the VST. Then raw fuel was coming out of the vapor recapture hose, diluting my crankcase oil with fuel. My mechanic documented the problem, Honda did not cover this one - but after a few months of writing letters to the manufacturer of the filter, I was reimbursed the $400 repair bill to clean out all the glue.
So yes, the Hondas run fine on E10. But last year I stored the boat dry, put fresh gas in the tank, used OEM parts only and this spring and had zero problems for the first time in two years.