OK, I have been using 87 octane in my 08 rancher, but have been considering running a higher octane. Does it really make a difference what I use?

I have been told higher octane will keep the engine cleaner, improve gas mileage, improve power, and help the engine last longer. What are the truth's and should I use an octane booster if I use higher octane fuel? Thanks.

 

most motors are designed for the lower octane. its when you have a high compression engine that the higher octane is needed. once you get up to about 11:1 compression ratio you need to use 92 octane. 12:1 compression needs racing fuel.

 

octane it mearly resistance to burning under compression. 12:1 compression bikes can use 93+octane, the 450's have that high of compression. it will make no preformance diffirence if you run higher octane in the engine. if anything you can loose power because not all the fuel is combusting properly. use the octane rateing recomended, usually 85-90 for most utilitys.

if you want to keep your engine ect. clean use Seafoam. $7 a can at walmart or hardware store, but best stuff you can buy for the money!

 

Octane doesn't burn like gasoline does and <u>high octane fuel has less energy</u>. You'll have <u>less power</u> and <u>worse gas mileage</u>. I heard it will make your engine run hotter too. That's not going to make it last longer.

If regular gas makes your engine knock, switch to premium. That's what it's actually made for.

 

righ on jumbofrank!

 

higher octane means less spark to lite. means better performance. it also burns cooler!

 

Higher octane fuel is designed not to self-ignite (pre-detonation, aka knock) and that's what makes it HARDER, not easier, for the spark plugs to ignite it too. Engines designed for regular fuel don't improve on premium and sometimes run worse. Each type has about 111,400 BTUs of energy per gallon, but sometimes premium gets worse gas mileage than regular because the more octane you have, the less gasoline" you have in each gallon of gas. In an engine that's not designed for it, high octane gasoline offers no benefits and wastes fuel and money. There have been several scientific studies to prove it and it's been published in several magazines. It's all over the internet too.

Turbocharged racing engines are a different story.

 

i have no idea what is going on. ok lets say you use 115 octane gas vs 93 octane gas. are you tring to say that 93 will ignite faster that race gas. or it is not going to burn as good? that is bass ackwards! race gas or say 115 octane is designed to burn longer and cooler than reg gas. maybe not better if the manufacturer says to use 87 or so. also you have to do something about your plug. if you change gas you gotta change plugs. simple as that. if you have a hotter or cooler gas you have to have a diffrent heat number on that plug so you dont burn stuff up!

pour a puddle of race gas on the ground and the same with reg. with a thermometer and a stop watch light both pudles and see which burns cooler and longer. you get my drift!

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>ok lets say you use 115 octane gas vs 93 octane gas. are you tring to say that 93 will ignite faster that race gas. </end quote></div>
Ha ha ha, I don't know about JF, but yes, that is what I'm trying to say.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: hacktorious

OK, I have been using 87 octane in my 08 rancher, but have been considering running a higher octane. Does it really make a difference what I use?



I have been told higher octane will keep the engine cleaner, improve gas mileage, improve power, and help the engine last longer. What are the truth's and should I use an octane booster if I use higher octane fuel? Thanks.</end quote></div>

I add Klotz Octane Booster to my 87 gas, and that bumps it up to 89. This gives me a little insurance against ever getting detonation, but anything greater than that won't do anything and might even result in a loss of horsepower.

Actually, I run the Octane Booster more becasue it has a fuel preservative and ester synthetic lube for the top end, than for a boost in octane!