If you’ve ever taken a car to a gas station, you’ve noticed multiple octane choices for fuel. Diesel, 87, 89 and 92 octanes are most common at standard American gas stations, but not every person knows which fuel is right for their car. Reading your vehicle’s manual helps, but have you ever wondered why one octane is better for car than one more? As outlined by About.com, there are a number of things to consider, so enjoy the following summary.
Source of article: Know which octane rating puts a tiger as part of your tank by Car Deal Expert
Are you picking the right octane rating?
A gasoline’s octane rating measures the degree of resistance to knocking. The infamous knocking sound comes from inefficient burning of the gasoline-air mixture. The octane rating is determined after a gasoline is compared to isooctane and heptane. Isooctane has a “perfect” 100 octane rating, when heptane sits at the low end, namely zero. According to About.com, untouched gasoline has an octane rating of about 70 (70 percent isooctane, 30 percent heptane). Lead used to be the way that fuel companies cut down knocking and pinging, but current environmental standards have barred that practice, so more expensive methods of bumping the octane on unleaded gasoline have replaced the practice.
Is higher octane the clear answer?
Older engines that used a carburetor to control the air/gas mix benefited from high octane gas. The introduction of sophisticated electronic fuel injectors within the mid-1980s made going for the higher octane rating unnecessary in most cases. At that point, the octane rating standard within the U.S. became 87 octane. This worked well with the new engines and didn’t risk damaging the emissions system.
89 octane rating gasoline – How about that?
Understanding octane rating standards within the U.S. is very important here. Depending upon the state, the matching grade designation for the octane number varies. In one state, 92 octane may be premium, but in one more, it might be 90. Thus, checking the owner’s manual and the yellow sticker on the gasoline pump is essential.
What if your car requires premium?
If this is the case, you probably have a high-performance engine under the hood. Instead of passing unburned fuel into the emissions system and catalytic converter (which happens when you use gasoline with too high an octane rating and can produce a rotten-egg smell), a high-performance engine uses the fuel efficiently. On a related note, some big cities with air pollution troubles may require that automobiles use special reformulated gasoline. Oxygen-infused and environmentally conscious, this fuel burns in a cleaner fashion. Just do not drive with too little fuel in the tank; that’s muck up the valves and filters. Nobody wants that.
Find more data here:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryarticles/a/which-gasoline-to-buy.htm
http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryarticles/a/which-gasoline-to-buy.htm
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