What is octane?
What is octane?
You may have heard the name of octane gasoline at the gas station and asked yourself what is the octane number? How is it calculated and how does it affect power plant performance? This article tries to provide a suitable answer to your questions. Stay with us to find answers to your questions.
What is octane gasoline?
Each car engine is designed for a specific type of fuel. It is the properties of the fuel mixture that allow engineers to correctly calculate the required volume of the combustion chambers and the configuration of the pistons.
The driver should consider the manufacturer’s recommendations; Incorrect choice of gasoline octane number not only does not allow the engine to work with proper efficiency; Rather, it is dangerous and can cause serious internal damage that requires major repairs.
What is octane number?
Octane number is an index that determines the resistance of the fuel used in internal combustion engines with the formation of external mixture. The driver should know what octane number of gasoline is suitable for his car. Why is this important? Because it indicates the level of fuel resistance against explosion and uncontrolled combustion of the working mixture.
Inside the cylinder of an internal combustion engine is a piston that is filled with fuel and air mixture as it moves down the cylinder. The upward movement causes more compression and combustion due to the spark, and the ignition pushes the piston downwards.
For this reason, a force is created that rotates the motor shaft. The higher this characteristic and the more pressure the mixture can withstand before combustion, the more energy it produces.
What is the effect of gasoline with low and high octane on the engine?
The causes of the explosion of this type of fuel are the driver’s mistakes and the use of very low grade fuel. Long-term operation in this mode is strictly not recommended. If you choose low octane number, external noises will be heard first, then the power of the internal combustion engine will decrease significantly and fuel consumption will increase.
In this case, the exhaust system through which hot gases are released will also be damaged. The best solution in such a situation is to slow down and drive carefully to the gas station to get the fuel you need.
Using gasoline with a high octane number is also a mistake; Despite the fact that many drivers believe otherwise. First of all, you have to deal with increased consumption; But if the job goes on too long, carbon deposits form on the spark plugs, valves and pistons, seriously reducing power and losing dynamics.
All this explains that if the octane is chosen with a high number, the air and fuel mixture will not be compressed enough, and its combustion will be slow and incomplete. Gradually the situation worsens, the exhaust valves overheat and in critical cases burn.
Replacing valves is one of the most difficult repair jobs, without which you can’t do major repairs, and it’s time-consuming and expensive. That’s why experts always recommend choosing the right fuel to ensure trouble-free operation of the internal combustion engine.
What is clean gasoline?
Gasoline is produced by cracking and reforming methods. Both methods involve multi-stage distillation of crude oil. Gasoline reforming is considered more complicated and expensive; Because more accurate modern equipment is used for it, and most importantly, modification includes additives that increase the iso-octane content in the final product, which means the octane number increases.
The so-called “clean” or “virgin” gasoline that has just come out of the condenser of the refinery, which has no additives, and its octane number is only about 60. This fuel was used in the 1960s-1900s for internal combustion engines of all types of transportation and even for airplanes.
Today, “clean” gasoline is important only as a solvent. Its engines have not been produced for 50 years and are practically useless in today’s world.
final word
Fuel must ensure the smooth operation of the engine. The octane number has a significant effect on this index; But you should not test your car with gasoline with higher or lower octane number. Only the use of proven fuel ensures long and reliable operation of the car, eliminating the failure of individual systems and engine failure. This article explains what octane is and the importance of choosing the right octane number for the car.
