Comments by "Comm0ut" (@Comm0ut) on "Is Higher Octane Fuel Better? Better MPGs? More HP? Let’s find out!" video.

  1. Early fuels were so varied the T Model Ford had manually adjustable spark advance.
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  2. Ask whoever told you that for a scientific citation. The mechanic world is full of old Bubba tales. Octane is a measure of fuel's ability to resist knock.
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  3. Better cite specific company assertions regarding specific chemical additives because generalizing is often inaccurate. Who is doing the "supposing" and based on what empiric evidence?
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  4. EDIT: In futue it would be useful to have testing advice from engineers who work in the industry and they should be easy to find for the asking since Project Farm has a wide audence. While this is "fun" it's not really science so people seriously interested should be reading Society of Automotive Engineers papers because when it comes to things that appear simple the reality of fuels and engineering is quite complex. SAE octane measurement is interesting stuff but it should be made clear what octane IS NOT. Much love for Project Farm but this particular episode is an example of presumed competence exceeding layperson expertise. Octane is not a matter of "fuel efficiency" nor horsepower IN ENGINES NOT OPTIMIZED BY DESIGN OR TUNING to exploit it. WWII fighter recip engines are an example where high octane fuels permitted optimization permitting higher HP outputs Axis designers were unable to match not due to lack of talent but due to poor fuels. The purpose of octane is DETONATION RESISTANCE which permits higher compression. On vehicles designed for non-ethanol fuel the only point in using higher octane ETHANOL FREE fuel is being kind to your fuel system, for example on vintage engines like my old Nortons. A nice thing about carbs is I can temporarily richen them to use fecal petrol then readjust after fueling with the good stuff. Higher octane on any system not designed for it is mostly pointless. For example the worst modern fuel is often superior to mid-last century fuels which engine ran very low compression ratios to use. Go further back and it's overkill for a T Model or A Model Ford.
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