***Ficth Fuel Catalyst***

[chip]

I didn't flame you at all! I'm tryin' to help you, and if you understood the relationship octane has to compression, you would have known that! If you're too sensitive to take advice, don't post up! I can't stand people who flame others, and I love to be able to help when I can, but if you don't want to listen, just say so and I'll keep it to myself! .....but if you care to know:

You can't cheat these things. Octane ratings have nothing to do with "making" horsepower and "magically" improving gas milage. Octane needs to be matched to compression ratio. THAT'S IT! The more precise the match, the more efficeint the burn. The more efficient the burn, the more your engine can realize it's full potential. You're not creating more power, you're just allowing your engine to make the power it's already capable of making. A more efficient burn will also yeild better gas milage, because, well, it's more efficient.

A good rule of thumb is to look at your compression ratio and move the decimal point over 1 digit. That's the octane rating you should be using. That's the best way to achieve the goal you're trying to reach. Too high of an octane rating is not much of a big deal, you just waste a few pennies on gas, but too low (like you're doing) WILL cause detonation and lead to an exploded piston. There is no way around that fact! Do you really want to blow your engine trying to save a few pennies? Because the cost benefit ratio seems a little off balance to me, but that's just my opinion!

 

[Cincy]

Chip great info, I wasn't referring to your post. But bad ass info non the less. I do got a question different then my initial posting I am curious about. I'm in attitude...about 7,000 -8,000 ft depending on where I',m driving. They sell 85 octane around here. Should I stay away from 85?

 

[chip]

Altitude affects the density of the charge. It will affect certain other factors as well, but I wouldn't worry too much about those things. If you look up the compression ratio for your particular engine and match it up with the coresponding octane, that will be enough to ensure that the engine has what it needs.

If you want to improve upon that (in terms of power and fuel milage), you can put in a set of nice new plugs, a set of nice new wires, and maybe some other quality ignition and timing components. that will give you the most efficient burn.

It's really easy to get lost in the world of power and gas milage, because there are so many people (and companies) that are out to get your hard earned money, but the truth is, you already have most of what you need, and getting to where you want to be is relatively simple. The engineering has already been done for you. All you have to do is give her (your engine) the simple things that she needs. By improving efficiency, you will naturally improve perfomance and gas milage at the same time, because these factors operate hand in hand. They are not seperate from one another.

All you really have to remember is Fuel, Air (Intake and Exhaust), and Spark. Those are the key components to efficiency. Can she breath (Intake)? Is she getting the correct fuel mixture (A/F ratio and octane), Can she shit it out (Exhaust)?

That's it brother! If you can bring those 3 aspects into harmony, you are going to have a brand new animal! Don't forget, the engineers who designed our engines, did so perfectly, but there plans were polluted by regulation and cost cutting. All you have to do is give her back the things she should've had in the first place. I've been researching this Black Bear tune everybody is talking about, and they seem like good people, who know their shit. I believe that their services fall directly in line with the philosophy I've laid out here, so they would definitely be worth looking at also! If you follow this advice, I can promise you it won't let you down! Just try to keep it simple, for simple is almost always best! No need to spend tons of money, or do anything crazy. You already have what you need! Good luck, and be safe!

Chip