Alright, I'm not sure but I think I have it figured out now. A lower Octane gas will burn quicker, and create more horsepower, but also gives you more of a detonation problem right? Then the higher you go the slower and cleaner it burns with less detonation, so you don't risk as much of a problem of burning a hole in the top of your piston. As of yet, I've never heard any detonation on my quad, but when you are goin full throttle down the road with all the wind and stuff blowing by you're not going to be able to hear it if it is right?

I usually run just regular unleaded in my machine, but got to wondering about it because I have to run premium in my car to keep the detonation from happening. Should I be runnin it in my quad, or is really gonna make a difference at all. I'm thinking that regular should do fine in an engine like that, use a cooler burning plug and keep any detonation away. Switch to Chevron cuz it has that additive to help keep the engine clean. What are your guys opinions on this one?

 

Detonation bad enough to cause damage is pretty loud. You'd know if it was happening. There are levels of detonation as well. Light pinging is going to be less harmful that a severe rattle. Many cars can have light detonation problems because the auto makers are forced to run very lean air fuel mixtures for emissions and fuel economy reasons. Unlike ATV's, you can't just go out and rejet your car (newer cars), so the only other option is increasing the octane. ATV's are a different story. By adjusting the jetting to within reasonable limits, octane ratings become less important, at least on stock engines. Simply allowing the engine to receive more fuel will reduce or eliminate a detonation problem. A common problem occurs when an exhaust or intake modification is performed without adjusting carburetor jetting. There is more air running through the engine, but without more fuel, the mixture can become dangerously lean. Depending on how lean the engine becomes, heat will build and so will the likelihood of detonation. Jetting can compensate for this.

Your summary of power and octane is quite accurate. There is more information on this subject at www.klotzlube.com. They have pdf files on their race fuel and octane booster products that are quite informative. I didn't realize that there is more energy contained in pump gas than in high octane race fuel (per ounce). Properly adjusting the compression of an engine to match the fuel used is really the correct way to make more power. Race fuels are only effective when used with high compression ratios. The engine will produce a greater amount of power due to the increased thermal efficiency that the high compression levels provide.

 

I think you have the right idea on octane. If your quad pings lightly pulling up a long hill, especially if you let it lug too hard, it is no big deal. If the motor rattles whenever you hit the gas, I would try higher octane. I have yet to experience a non-racing quad in decent shape that pinged excessively using regular gas. Occasionally, you will get a batch of gas that doesn't quite measure up, but as a rule I haven't seen any problems. If your machine is modified, especially by upping the compression, all bets are off for exactly how high octane you will need.