Octane

[Dustin27987]

If it is true to say that a higher octane fuel burns cooler, why is it true?

 

[jpratt]

I have heard that it burns slower not cooler, but I know not everything

 

[Ttype6]

I have heard that it burns slower not cooler, but I know not everything

You are correct. High octain fuel is harder to ignite than low octain. This is what you need when you raise compression and boost to prevent the extra heat generated from prematurely igniting the air fuel mixture. Using high octain in a low compression/low boost motor will hinder performance because it burns too slowly.

 

[Fuelie600]

I agree. Simply put, the lower the octane, the more explosive it is.

 

[BlackBandit]

Not true. Some of the fastest burning fuel is high octane. Octane is a fuels ability to resist detonation. That doesn't mean it burns slower, cooler, ect. allot of high octanes are synthetic. This lets the manufactures do some neat things. As a rule don't run higher octane than you need to. If not for performance than for your wallet. But if you do run more octane (especially race gas) than you need to, don't worry about it slowing you down. Odds are if you are asking this question you're not going fast enough to worry about it. That's not a cut. I'm just saying the only people that will really notice anything are probably running 4's in the quarter! :biggrin: HTH james