Can you ruin your car if you put aviation fuel in it, lets say 50/50?

Question

I would like to put a few dabs of aviation fuil in my car, but befor i ruin it i would like to know if it will kill my car. 107 Octain

Answer 1

i wouldnt suggest that you put av-gas in your tank the only reason saying this is you will most likely do damage to the engine aircraft engines are build so they can take the kind of heat put out by the ignition of the fuel automobile engines are not designed to withstand that kind of heat so you most likely will ruin the pistons and rings melt the plugs if not the engine and overheat the car very fast

i must ask whats the reason for the aviation fuel in the car in the first place

Answer 2

No, it won't hurt your engine. However, some avaiation gasolines do contain lead which will ruin your catalytic convertor.

The octane numbers of aviation gasoline (avgas) and automotive gasoline (mogas) are determined differently, though, so 107 octane avagas is probably pretty close to 92 or 93 octane mogas. If your car requires premium fuel it should run OK but you won't get any added performance from it. If your car requires regular fuel it won't do anything for you -- aside from be a waste of money. And "a few dabs" won't do anything at all in any auto engine.

The primary differences between avgas and mogas are vapor pressure (lower in avgas to prevent vapor lock) quality control (dirty fuel has much greater safety implications in aviation) and the method of calculating the octane numbers.

There's nothing magical about avgas and it certainly won't destroy an automotive engine. Using mogas in an aircraft has much greater safety implications if the aircraft and engine are not covered by a supplemental type certificate allowing mogas use.

Answer 3

This depends on your car and what aviation fuel you are talking about. If your car has a catalytic converter (anything in the U.S. built in 1975 or later, except for some trucks), Avgas (typically 100LL - 100 octane low lead), even if diluted with auto gas, will destroy the catalytic converter through a reaction between the platinum elements in the cat and the lead flowing through the exhaust from the fuel, rather quickly leading to complete blockage of the cat converter and, as a "side benefit," spewing a variety of toxic fumes. If your car is a bit newer, and has oxygen sensors, the lead will quickly coat the sensors, rendering them useless, as well as destroying your catalytic converters. It won't help performance in almost any 1971 or later car, either, as manufacturers decreased compression ratios drastically from previous levels in order to allow them to run on "regular" and the soon to come unleaded gas (necessary in 1975 for catalytic converters). The higher octane and lead content serve to offset detonation in high compression engines, and actually have a lower energy level on burning than lower octane gasoline - the reason for greater power output was the higher compression ratios, not the higher octane fuel. On the other hand, if you have, say, a 1969 L-88 427 Corvett with 12:1 compression ratio (like the one I used to own), it will run like Jack the Bear on a diet of straight 100LL. Otherwise, don't bother.

If you are considering Jet A (or any other jet fuel), DO NOT induce this into your fuel system. It is, basically, refined kerosene with various anti-bacterial and anti-icing additives, it won't burn in a gasoline engine, and will rapidly gum up your entire fuel system.

Answer 4

It won't kill your car but it actually could HINDER the performance. Once you get above a certain octane with modern cars, the oxygen sensors (especially the post-burn) perceive that they are not burning the fuel completely. This causes the car to perform all sorts of tricks, involving timing and mixture, which in the end actually limit performance. And this all depends on what your car is. What do you drive?

The highest retail octane fuel you will find in most markets in the US is either 92 or 93 (US Octane that is, which is calculated by (research octane + motor octane)/2), sometimes 94. Unless you are turbocharged or supercharged, or have something really high compression, the higher octanes won't necessarily do all that much.

Answer 5

It won't kill your car just you catalytic converter. Depending on the age of your car it make not have that large of an effect. 50/50 for a one time deal will not make any difference, but if you do it everyday it will reduce the efficiency of the car. I once had a 1977 Bonneville that didn't have a catalytic converter and it took aviation fuel with out a problem!

Answer 6

As usual, Boston's got it right. AvGas (aviation grade gasoline) won't make your car run any better, and the lead in the fuel WILL harm your catalytic converter.

As far as other aviation fuels... Jet A or other jet fuels... Unless your car has a diesel engine, don't try it. Jet fuel is more like kerosene, and won't work in an engine designed to run on gasoline.

Answer 7

It depends on how new your car is. Double check my info, but I'm pretty sure Av-gas still has lead in it, which will hurt your car. A little might not do anything, but I don't think you will see any benefits either way. A high compression racing engine will benefit from the higher octane. Street cars don't benefit much from the higher octane ratings unless tuned for it.

Answer 8

too ture with the higher octains resisting compustion. You can take a small puddle of jet fuel and drop a match in it and it wont explode; theres just not enough energy there to start the reaction.

Answer 9

Don't think it's a good idea as a car engine is specifically designed to run on a certain octane of fuel. Can't really be that good for it to put in such a different octane.

Answer 10

No, it won't kill your car, but unless you have a screaming high compression motor you are just wasting your money. The whole purpose of higher octane fuel is when you have alot of compression, like in a racing engine running 14:1 is that the higher the octane number the higher the fuels resistance is to detonating (knocking and pinging) before it gets in the cylinders where it's supposed to go boom. Higher octane fuel also burns cooler, than lower octane fuel. Heat and pressure, mostly heat are your engines enemy. You probably won't notice any difference in performance unless you car is knocking and pinging, then it won't do that anymore, but it's cheaper to just buy some octane booster at Pep Boys..............

Answer 11

Racing fuel is purchaseable at some of the 76 Union and Circle K filling stations.