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Whether or not a higher octane fuel improves or impairs an engine's performance depends on the design of the engine. In broad terms, fuels with a higher octane rating are used in higher-compression gasoline engines, which may yield higher power for these engines. The added power in such cases comes from the way the engine is designed to ...
In the United States and Canada, octane ratings are in AKI, commonly shown as "(R+M)/2". All states require gas pumps to be labeled with the correct octane level and nearly all states do regular testing to make sure gas stations are in compliance. A minimum 82 octane fuel is recommended for most vehicles produced since 1984.
The fuel-characteristics of a particular gasoline-blend, which will resist igniting too early are measured as the octane rating of the fuel blend. Gasoline blends with stable octane ratings are produced in several fuel-grades for various types of motors. A low octane rated fuel may cause engine knocking and reduced efficiency in reciprocating ...
A fuel designated grade 130 would produce 130 percent as much power in an engine as it would running on pure iso-octane. During WWII, fuels above 100-octane were given two ratings, a rich and a lean mixture, and these would be called 'performance numbers' (PN). 100-octane aviation gasoline would be referred to as 130/100 grade. [43]
High percentage ethanol mixtures are used in some racing engine applications as the very high octane rating of ethanol is compatible with very high compression ratios. Ethanol fuel mixtures have "E" numbers which describe the percentage of ethanol fuel in the mixture by volume, for example, E85 is 85% anhydrous ethanol and 15% gasoline. Low ...
Because of methanol's high octane rating of 114, [20] it can achieve a higher thermal efficiency and power output compared to gasoline in engines developed for methanol use. However, it is also less volatile and burns at a lower temperature than gasoline, making it more difficult to start and warm up an engine in cold weather.
As more effort is put into maximizing an engine to take advantage of E85's higher octane rating, engines achieve greater power advantages. One car that has higher power on ethanol is the Koenigsegg CCXR, which on ethanol is the fifth-most powerful production car, with 20% more horsepower on E85 than on gasoline. According to the manufacturer ...
It was widely used as a fuel additive for much of the 20th century, first being mixed with gasoline beginning in the 1920s. This "leaded gasoline" had an increased octane rating that allowed engine compression to be raised substantially and in turn increased vehicle performance and fuel economy.