Quote:
Originally Posted by Racer Boy
Octane alone doesn't give you more power, but race gas DOES give higher horsepower. It's the formulation of the fuel itself. Higher octane can give more power if detonation is the limiting factor, but for most cars that isn't the case.
Most fuels with much higher octanes are racing gas, it's probably tough to find gas that is above 95 octane that isn't race gas.
My Spec Miata got about 1.5 more horsepower just from using 100 octane unleaded race fuel. That's not much, but in a class where every car is really closely matched, it was worth the $9 a gallon to use it. Would you notice the difference in our cars on the street? It's doubtful.
|
100 octane race fuel is differently formulated and kind of "oxygenated" meaning it contains some oxygen molecules already in it. When I used to race around on dirt bikes and quads we sometimes actually had to richen the carb a little or even up one jet size to use the race gas. It is also the reason you had to keep it in relatively small containers and not expose it open for long periods of time as it would lose some of it's volatile properties if you let the fumes escape and let air in. 110 octane leaded gas is just that, using lead to up the octane rating.
Threaded Mode
