How much limit is there to the amount of octane that I can put into my car?

Question

If i put too much octane in the gasoline is it going to hurt my car's engine? Or I can put as much octane in it as I want?

Answer 1

Octane is the biggest hype ever. All it does is prevent engine knock/pinging/detonation. You use the level of octane that eliminates your engine knock, and you are set. More octane does nothing for you except empty your wallet faster. If you can use 87 with no engine knock, go for it. You'll be money ahead.

Answer 2

As usual, most people have no idea what octane is. It isn't more powerful or better cleaning. Higher octane gas just burns a little slower. Some high compression engines need it to keep peak pressures down. More won't hurt your engine, but it won't do any good either. You just need to use what the manufacturer recommends. More is just a waste of money.

Answer 3

I know a lot of people who believe the higher octene gas they use the better. That's not true and they're wasting their money. Different engines are designed to run best at specifed octane values. If the manufacturer recommends 87 octane, then that's best. Using a higher octane may seem macho, but it's a waste of money and reveals ignorance.

Answer 4

OMFG!!!! why do you people answer questions when you abviously have no F@#$%@#%$ clue what you are talkng about.

Octane rating is only a referance to a fuels risistence to ignition which means it does not yeild a hotter more powereful combustion and it does not equal more HP PERIOD if anything running a higher octane than required by your specific engine and tune will yeild you nothing more than possibly a failure to ignite(mis-fire) or an incomplete burn of fuel. if want to play the HP game with fuel alone you would want to run as low of an octane fuel as possible while maintaining the ability to have a contolled ignition event...the opposite of detonation or knock/ping. the reason race cars run high octane is due to the cylinder pressure created by the compression ration of the engine via mechanical compression(NA) or that combined with pressurization of the the incomming charge(turbo...) equalling such a high cylinder pressure that the use of a lower octane would result in a uncontrolled ignition event(Detonation).

nautia75, how the hell does a more ignition resistant fuel make a hotter spark?!?!

Answer 5

Most gas is 87, 89, 93 octane. If you put in 93 octane and add in a bottle of STP cleaner, you might increase it up to bout 95 octane. You can even add in mixes that you can get at the parts store called Octane 103. It increases the gas up to 103.

You can't create enough out of normal gas to blow up the engine. You would have to get into alcohol or nitrous to get into that temp and octane level for damage.

When I was 18 I use to fill up my 85' Honda CRX with 93 octane (only took 87) and would add 3 bottles of the STP cleaner during the fill up. I would then take on BMW 3 series and Toyota FX's and just womp on them hard. She never game me issues.

Answer 6

By the way I am using my wifes screename. I have worked with cars using high octane fuel for racing. we were running 110 octane in our car. of corse, higher octane means more powerful spark and better performance. depending on the condition of your engine will determine how high you can go. our engine was in great condition but we had no racing parts on it. I would say if your car is in great shape you should have no problems running even 110 octane. the higher the better!

Answer 7

If you use too much octane it can hurt your car. The octane rating you should use depends on your compression ratio.

Here is a link that talks about octane http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm

Answer 8

there is nothing wrong with going higher in octane rating. most cars run on 87. the only diff. is that hihger ocatane rating burns cooler. thats for constant high speed operation. helps keep combustion chamber from overheating. most people think that by increasing octane rating they get horsepower but they wrong. if used at normal operating speeds it might lower HPs and torque.Octane reading is is just a number given to gas to classify its resistance to detonation.

Answer 9

i have a 2002 dodge vipor i have modified the engine its producing now 750 hp stock was 450 hp i run straight octane in it i buy it at the airport its around 110 % octane what a rush you will have

Answer 10

First see what the manufacturer recommends. Then use that. Of course if you want to waste money you can go higher, which won't hurt anything but your pocket book. Of course it won't help anything either. But hey, your choice.