The octane of diesel isnt even considered, it is a much different fuel than gasoline. I know that there are two grades, and I think it has to do with the sulfer content of the fuel.

 

Ever try taking a match to Diesel?
the high compression on a diesel creates very high PSI, which as a result creates very high temperature. this is what ignites the fuel. this is why no spark plugs, and why glow plugs are required when the engine is cold. i don't know what the octane rating is but it would be very high, is it is not very volatile. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Colville is north of spokane about 80 miles[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Yeah, you can throw a match in diesel and it wont burn. Diesel is very oily. I looked on some websites with the properties of fuels, and other fuels like gasoline, methane, propane, each have an octane rating, and diesel doesn't. I dont know if diesel has high or low octane, but I never see a figure for it.

 

didn't truckers used to run kerosene because it was cheeper, but then they started putting red die 9 in it. i heard that somewhere, just wondering if its true.

 

that helped a little. so its ok to put 93 octane in my z250. i know that. but will it make my quad a little faster? or will lower octane make it faster?

 

93 WOENT make it any faster. the only way you gain HP or speed with octane is if you have higher compresson or your running hot. some guys put 91 in when its time to re-fuel because the bikes will be hot and will start pre detonating sooner or later, thus the higher octane. you dont need 93, waste of money.

 

Exactly,
Also, Since you are in New york, it probably never really gets too ot here, so the motors dont run as hot. Here in Southern California, in the deserts, it gives a little peace of mind to run 91, sometime with a little octane boost. For trail riding here, it isnt a big deal, but in Glamis, when you are dragging up Olds hill for an hour, a little higher octane helps the motor, but not to say I run any faster.

 

I usully run close to 97 octane in my quad, and it seems like I have a lot more power than when I run straight pump gas. And truckers used to use farm diesel cuz there wasn't any tax on it, so they started to put dye in farm gas to catch truckers illegally using it. Kerosene was ran in old tracters cuz it was cheaper than gasoline. So you'd have a small gasoline tank on your tractor for starting, then switch over to the big kerosene tank for operation.

But 93 should be fine, and noticeable in the 2nd hour of riding.

 

good topic!


actually they used to run distilled oil (kerosene) instead of diesel because diesel was hard to get and basically the same thing. we heated our home with diesel for a month because we got it for free.

craZ400, you really are crazy! i don't think it's possible to run kerosene in a gas motor, (not that i'm a pro, i'm only 16) but to my understanding they used to have a system for starting old diesels with a 'pup motor' a small gas motor that turned over the diesel to get it started before electrical systems were up to snuff. actually, i remember my dad junking the pup motor in our old 'knucklebuster' cat grader back when i was a kid.

they also had some rarer diesel/gas engines, the engine would have half the cylinders set up for gas to start, and the other half for diesel or something like that. start the injectors and turn off the spark and there you go. diesel power. i think that's how some of them were, either that or they just took a gas engine and put injectors in it, and used the same cylinders for diesel and gas... that would be pretty high compression for a gas engine in a tractor, even if it was run for just a few minutes.... either that or really low compression for a diesel by our standards. i'll have to ask my pops. hehe.

 

You still are a kid! Well... so am I... 16 on Saturday.

Another plus on diesels, with new technology, they are running direct injection engines in some diesels. Its not fuel injection, but based on the same priciple, its injecting diesel right into the combustion chamber instead of using over head valves. The main idea is to get better fuel milage, and potentially less things to go wrong. Not sure on how they perform though, anyone care to enlighten me?