Lead was added to gasoline to inexpensively increase octane ratings and to also help reduce engine knocking.Increasing octane and reduce engine knocking are exactly the same thing, as the test method to measure octane of a fuel is to see when a standard engine begins knocking. The higher compression ratio the standard test engine can be operated at without knocking, the higher the octane of the fuel being tested.
It will decrease engine knocking or pinging associated with detonation problems, and will posssibly burn more efficiently. It can, but if a higher octane fuel reduces or gets rid of engine knock and/or ping, I would recommend taking your vehicle to a mechanic for diagnosis. Moreso, if you have a Check Engine Light on even. It's possible that you have some carbon build up in your fuel system that is causing the knock and ping. As far as the Nitrous Oxide Emissions being reduced from higher octane fuel, I have no idea. But most owner's manuals outline which octane to use, and wouldn't recommend swaying from their recommendation.
Octane Rating. I could get into the stoichiometry and how they rate it and what not, but the short answer is that a higher rated octane fuel burns for slightly longer than the lesser rated gasolines. This can help reduce or eliminate knock while improving engine performance.
The 2.2 liter VTEC (H22A) engine recommends top grade (premium) fuel due to higher compression. You may use lower grade (lower octane) fuel but run the risk of damaging the engine and will surely reduce engine performance and reduce fuel economy.
87 Octane Regular. Can higher octane fuels give me more power? On modern engines with sophisticated engine management systems, the engine can operate efficiently on fuels of a wider range of octane rating, but there remains an optimum octane for the engine under specific driving conditions. Older cars without such systems are more restricted in their choice of fuel, as the engine can not automatically adjust to accommodate lower octane fuel. Because knock is so destructive, owners of older cars must use fuel that will not knock under the most demanding conditions they encounter, and must continue to use that fuel, even if they only occasionally require the octane. If you are already using the proper octane fuel, you will not obtain more power from higher octane fuels. The engine will be already operating at optimum settings, and a higher octane should have no effect on the management system. Your driveability and fuel economy will remain the same. The higher octane fuel costs more, so you are just throwing money away. If you are already using a fuel with an octane rating slightly below the optimum, then using a higher octane fuel will cause the engine management system to move to the optimum settings, possibly resulting in both increased power and improved fuel economy. You may be able to change octanes between seasons ( reduce octane in winter ) to obtain the most cost-effective fuel without loss of driveability. Once you have identified the fuel that keeps the engine at optimum settings, there is no advantage in moving to an even higher octane fuel. The manufacturer's recommendation is conservative, so you may be able to carefully reduce the fuel octane. The penalty for getting it badly wrong, and not realising that you have, could be expensive engine damage. Does low octane fuel increase engine wear? Not if you are meeting the octane requirement of the engine. If you are not meeting the octane requirement, the engine will rapidly suffer major damage due to knock. You must not use fuels that produce sustained audible knock, as engine damage will occur. If the octane is just sufficient, the engine management system will move settings to a less optimal position, and the only major penalty will be increased costs due to poor fuel economy. Whenever possible, engines should be operated at the optimum position for long-term reliability. Engine wear is mainly related to design, manufacturing, maintenance and lubrication factors. Once the octane and run-on requirements of the engine are satisfied, increased octane will have no beneficial effect on the engine. Run-on is the tendency of an engine to continue running after the ignition has been switched off, and is discussed in more detail in Section 8.2. The quality of gasoline, and the additive package used, would be more likely to affect the rate of engine wear, rather than the octane rating. Can I mix different octane fuel grades? Yes, however attempts to blend in your fuel tank should be carefully planned. You should not allow the tank to become empty, and then add 50% of lower octane, followed by 50% of higher octane. The fuels may not completely mix immediately, especially if there is a density difference. You may get a slug of low octane that causes severe knock. You should refill when your tank is half full. In general the octane response will be linear for most hydrocarbon and oxygenated fuels eg 50:50 of 87 and 91 will give 89. Attempts to mix leaded high octane to unleaded high octane to obtain higher octane are useless for most commercial gasolines. The lead response of the unleaded fuel does not overcome the dilution effect, thus 50:50 of 96 leaded and 91 unleaded will give 94. Some blends of oxygenated fuels with ordinary gasoline can result in undesirable increases in volatility due to volatile azeotropes, and some oxygenates can have negative lead responses. The octane requirement of some engines is determined by the need to avoid run-on, not to avoid knock. What happens if I use the wrong octane fuel? If you use a fuel with an octane rating below the requirement of the engine, the management system may move the engine settings into an area of less efficient combustion, resulting in reduced power and reduced fuel economy. You will be losing both money and driveability. If you use a fuel with an octane rating higher than what the engine can use, you are just wasting money by paying for octane that you can not utilise. The additive packages are matched to the engines using the fuel, for example intake valve deposit control additive concentrations may be increased in the premium octane grade. If your vehicle does not have a knock sensor, then using a fuel with an octane rating significantly below the octane requirement of the engine means that the little men with hammers will gleefully pummel your engine to pieces. You should initially be guided by the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations, however you can experiment, as the variations in vehicle tolerances can mean that Octane Number Requirement for a given vehicle model can range over 6 Octane Numbers. Caution should be used, and remember to compensate if the conditions change, such as carrying more people or driving in different ambient conditions. You can often reduce the octane of the fuel you use in winter because the temperature decrease and possible humidity changes may significantly reduce the octane requirement of the engine. Use the octane that provides cost-effective driveability and performance, using anything more is waste of money, and anything less could result in an unscheduled, expensive visit to your mechanic. Can I tune the engine to use another octane fuel? In general, modern engine management systems will compensate for fuel octane, and once you have satisfied the optimum octane requirement, you are at the optimum overall performance area of the engine map. Tuning changes to obtain more power will probably adversely affect both fuel economy and emissions. Unless you have access to good diagnostic equipment that can ensure regulatory limits are complied with, it is likely that adjustments may be regarded as illegal tampering by your local regulation enforcers. If you are skilled, you will be able to legally wring slightly more performance from your engine by using a dynamometer in conjunction with engine and exhaust gas analyzers and a well-designed, retrofitted, performance engine management chip.
Increased vibration leads to increased component wear, heat, and stress. Also, the less vibration, the more pleasant the car is to drive.
You can't without extensive modifications, adding counter balancers, etc. The cheapest way is to isolate the vibration by mounting the engine on rubber bushings. Place the bushings between the engine and the and the mounting surface - like big rubber washers.
buy a 2004 sportster..it has a rubber mounted engine that isolates vibration
You may be able to change octanes between seasons ( reduce octane in winter ) to obtain the most cost-effective fuel without loss of driveability. The manufacturer's recommendation is conservative, so you may be able to carefully reduce the fuel octane. The penalty for getting it badly wrong, and not realising that you have, could be expensive engine damage. If you use a fuel with an octane rating below the requirement of the engine, the management system may move the engine settings into an area of less efficient combustion, resulting in reduced power and reduced fuel economy. You will be losing both money and driveability. If your vehicle does not have a knock sensor, then using a fuel with an octane rating significantly below the octane requirement of the engine means that the little men with hammers will gleefully pummel your engine to pieces. The bottom line is that you might be able to move to a 89 octane level fuel but it will cause a loss of power & mileage, and may cause engine damage. My advice is to use the exact octane fuel listed in your owner's manual. That way you get to most the engine has to offer, in power & mileage. And you do not take a chance of ending up with engine damage.
Iso-octane is commonly used as a reference standard to measure the octane rating of gasoline. It is also used as a blending component in gasoline to improve its octane rating and reduce engine knock. Additionally, iso-octane is used in the production of solvents, adhesives, and paints.
No, it won't hurt your engine. There are computers now that can predict when to fire a spark plug to reduce ping. It is not a good thing though, you will get worse gas mileage and cause greater emmisions. Better to put high octane in there.
Use the fuel with the octane rating listed in the owner's manual for the car. Consistently using a lower octane fuel can cause knocking, which can damage the engine over time. Using a fuel with a higher octane just wastes your money. Some fuels have ethanol (or other additives) to reduce air pollution, however some of these additives can damage an engine not designed for them. Never use a fuel containing a higher percentage of these additives than is specified in the owner's manual to avoid damage to the engine. Most modern cars with computer controlled fuel injection (instead of carburetors) can operate on low octane fuel without knocking and the damage that could result, but they do this by the computer making adjustments to the injector and spark timing that sacrifice fuel mileage.