What are the Benefits of High Octane Fuel in a Classic Car Engine?

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@timothyproksch2915 Ай бұрын

In 1975 I used to drive a 1966 Pontiac Bonneville . I lived right next door to the Pontiac Oakland airport. Busiest airport in the state of Michigan. Planes would line up three and four at a time to get gassed up. I’d pull that car onto the tarmac wait in line with the planes and fill the car up no questions asked. Wild. I think that cars 389 had 11 to one compression from the factory. I’ll pay the cost for the performance. You only go around once.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@timothyproksch2915 I’m with you. Wow, that had to quite the lineup on the tarmac - would love to see that today but I don’t know if I could get away with it.

@timothyproksch2915 Ай бұрын

@ I doubt it. I wish I had a picture looking out that windshield across that long shiny hood at the back end of those airplanes in line in front of me .

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@ rotfl

@craigpennington1251 Ай бұрын

My uncle had a 65 Bonneville. That was a very nice & fast car. I live a few miles from the airport & gass up all the time.

@timothyproksch2915 Ай бұрын

@ lately ?

@33plyrod Ай бұрын

Terrific on all that you said here. You have the perfect y-block for street driving. I built one like that back in the 60's and it would get up and go pretty good. Great job on all of your videos !!

@OlysGarage Ай бұрын

We are really fortunate here lately in SW Washington, to have 92 octane non-ethanol available at many stations out of the pump, locally. It's roughly a dollar or so more per gallon than the 87 octane 10% ethanol stuff. Even a couple stations offering non ethanol 87 octane too. But like you were saying, the shelf life is a HUGE benefit, when you have a fleet like i do. I've rarely touched a carb for rebuilding since the switch, and mine do sit quite a lot. It's an expense up front, but let me tell you, time spent replacing rubber products and the cost of carburetor kits make the added fuel cost nil. Great video Rev, and good information to share!

@leahslemonade Ай бұрын

Love the thumbnail!

@CalicoClassics Ай бұрын

Awesome. 👍 Great video. You line up the facts. I like it. Probably would be able to squeeze a couple points on your advance. Total timing. Either way awesome watching you go through the gears as well. Thanks man. Used to run 94 up here before they did the ethanol thing. Now Shell 93 I think it is nicer than the Chevron 94.

@lefin1027 Ай бұрын

I’ve been running 100LL in all of my motorcycles since 08’. I leave them stored with full tanks. It will evaporate some over time. After sitting 8 years I installed a new battery in my 05’ honda RC51 and it started immediately. I’ve never had to stabilizes it !! Also use it in small engines.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@lefin1027 wow - that is a long time for sure - thanks for the info, had no idea it had that kind of longevity

@ToddsHouseofSpeed-uq5sp Ай бұрын

I have a fair amount of experience with aviation fuel VS race gas in a high compression street car. Aviation gas is formulated for cold / very cold ambient temps and low oxygen content. When you run it at sea level (or similar) it has less heat energy than race gas. Also, it tends to 'flash' in the intake when hot - causing lean condition and stumbling on acceleration. Because of that, you need to go up in jetting all around. In the end, it still makes less HP/TQ. My recommendation: leave the avgas at the airport😊

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@ToddsHouseofSpeed-uq5sp appreciate that comment and experience, any info on your engine’s setup (compression ratio, ignition system, carb, etc)

@vr6swp Ай бұрын

When I was playing around with VW Bugs (80’s - early 90’s) I knew a dude that had a Bug with an early 70’s built motor running high compression, according to him everybody ran 11 or 12:1 then. The motor would only run on race fuel or av gas. Luckily for him he lived pretty close to a small commuter airport and could get av gas easily. He was always claiming 115/145 av gas with a small amount of 2-stroke oil per gallon was the way to go. Were I live now, a few stations sell 98 or 101 unleaded race gas for the local dirt track guys

@alantrimble2881 Ай бұрын

And your local general aviation airport sells 100 Low Lead Avgas.

@michaelsullivan2361 Ай бұрын

I’ve been running aviation gas in my muscle cars ever since Sunoco 260 & 240 went away. My current car, a 66 Galaxie 428, I tried tuning and running it on 93 pump gas, and it ran okay. But, it was not tolerant of long-term storage. You could probably get more gains on your 55 Y block by leaning out a little and advancing your timing, when running 100LL.

@chuckmcconnell3446 Ай бұрын

Excellent. Thank you.

@GlenJS Ай бұрын

On my 78 Suburban with a 454 I buy no alcohol (clear gas) fuel unless I have to. Some stations do not have "Clear Gas" so I have to buy premium "oxygenated" fuel. This usually happens when I am on trips so I am not familiar with the hidden stations where I can buy good gas. I have experienced the same issues that you are talking about when I run alcohol laced fuel and when I run non-alcohol fuel.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@GlenJS I cannot believe how quickly the gasoline comes to a boiling point. That quick clip of the glass fuel filter I installed temporarily proves the point. That Suburban is a great vehicle / excellent model (and engine) btw

@roughseas3455 Ай бұрын

In my 1957 Ford with a 292 Y block, I typically use the standard 87 or so octane we get at your typical gas station. Sometimes I put a bit of a higher octane in the tank, but not always. Would a using a higher octane fuel, like mid grade, be an okay medium to do as standard?

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@roughseas3455 if you have ECZ-G heads then I would certainly say yes to that question.

@roughseas3455 Ай бұрын

I'd need to check the casting number on the block, but thank you.

@einstein3509 Ай бұрын

I have a different experience with AV 104 octane from my air port. My engine has 10.2:1 compression We tuned it with 93 octane 10% ethanol pump gas. On the Dyno. Then drained the fuel and ran 104 AV gas and I lost 6 hp. I don’t remember how much TQ was lost. It also idled rougher/choppier. We tried everything we could to get that power back with no success. Drained it and put the pump 93 gas back in and just like that got my 6 hp back. I’ve actually been running 87 pump gas and it idles smoother and has more throttle response. Octane does not give you HP. It gives you the ability to build and run your engine with more HP. My engine will turn 6500rpms on 87 with now issues. More if I don’t stop it. Ran a 12.22 1/4 mile on 91 octane a couple of years ago.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@einstein3509 petty solid info / thank you for sharing it. Would love to see video of those dyno runs!

@einstein3509 Ай бұрын

@@HotRodReverend I just have one and it doesn’t show any information. Engine Dyno And it’s the first run so it’s not at full rpm’s. kzbin.infoxJqARSmjd5Q?si=1a-axGXd5ZM3tmL8

@einstein3509 Ай бұрын

@@HotRodReverend Here’s one tuning it on the dyno after making some changes kzbin.infocL7V3TBNrzo?si=jjnVtgxu77jKnUmA

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@einstein3509 Thanks for the links!

@johnsartelle8320 Ай бұрын

I have 11 to 1 compression and run low 10 seconds in the 1/4 mile, with 92 clear fuel. I have tried 110 race fuel and 100LL . The car always runs faster with 92 pump fuel. Seems strange, but true.

@johndavidwolf4239 Ай бұрын

100 LL is formulated for older un-geared aviation engines that typically run at around 2700 RPM at near full throttle, what car-people would call "lugging", so at low "car" rpm's is where you will see the greatest benefit. As alcohol carries some of its own oxygen, so if you jetted your carb for E10 it will be jetted too rich for alcohol free fuel. If you didn't re-jet, or change spark timing, my guess is that your increase in power and MPG may be that you had slight pre-ignition with mogas.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@johndavidwolf4239 makes sense

@frederickcwinterburn1837 Ай бұрын

My experience with 10% ethanol gasoline has been completely different other than the boiling issue which can make for hard hot starts on carbed engines that have low fuel pressure. Otherwise no issues in running or storage for two years and longer. I do live in Canada so some of the storage time is in the bitter cold and perhaps that makes the gas last longer. Where I live I can't buy gasoline without ethanol. There is a nearby airport so perhaps that could be a source of non-ethanol fuel, but really not worth it for my old cars.

@joelmiller7 Ай бұрын

I have 89 non-ethanol available at Circle K in Colorado

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@joelmiller7 count your blessings my friend!

@paulw5563 Ай бұрын

Automotive gas and aviation gas are rated in different ways. 100LL avgas is actually about 105 octane when rated as auto gas. Where I live I can get 91 octane non-ethanol. For my vintage cars and snowmobiles, I mix 100LL avgas with the 91. Mixing 1 gallon of 91 with 1 gallon of 100LL will get you about 98 octane with the benefit of a little lead and some stabilizing effect.

@Rod-y3m Ай бұрын

I have used e10 89 octane for years only had one problem with it. That was plastic float in carburetor replaced with a brass one. Problem solved also since where I live we have below zero temperatures in winter because ethanol absorbed the water condensation I have not had a frozen fuel line in years carburetor or fuel injected

@3029dz Ай бұрын

It also attacks Aluminum, leaving white salts in the Carburetor.

@hattrick2219 Ай бұрын

We always had some "pop" (nitro) from the race car to use as necessary.

@taylormayberry4826 Ай бұрын

We had a Sunoco here in South Florida used to sell av gas out of the pump for airboats. Been a while since I’ve been to it don’t know if they still do

@reedcearley1392 Ай бұрын

I use 87 and 90 octane non-ethanol fuel in my classics (also lawn mowers) compression ratios range from 8.5 to 9.0 to 1. Run great. Ethanol will destroy the classic auto fuel systems.

@craigpennington1251 Ай бұрын

Will also cause vapor lock. Ethanol.

@tomnekuda3818 Ай бұрын

If your engine is not "knocking" or pre-detonating on pump gas it doesn't need more octane. Higher octane merely burns slower and more evenly coming out of the squish area in the piston/head instead of exploding in the quench region of the combustion chamber. The only way you got more power was either: 1) your imagination or 2) you advanced timing and advance curve or 3) your engine was in a state of pre-detonation on pump gas and you did not know it. With the Y-Block series, most of them didn't have hardened valve seats....you need tetraethyl lead to keep from pounding out the seats. Back in the day I had a '57 Ford with the 292 in a 'police interceptor' configuration (high compression/4-bbl) and it have benefitted from higher octane fuel.

@craigpennington1251 Ай бұрын

I ran AVGAS in all my muscle cars. No problems whatsoever. I also put in into my 1969 BSA full race cafe bike. Again, no problems & great performance. All this was before 1972 on stock muscle cars. After 1972, muscle cars became a slug from the factory. You had to modify the hell out of them. Also, you're right. Cheap booze is NOT real gas. It's horrible. Running AVGAS, my plugs, and tail pipes were clean. NO FUNK or carbon. Everything I was running had 10:1 or more compression pistons. A good tune on a high compression engine burning 100 octane burns very clean & smells nowhere near the stench ethanol gas. REAL gasoline needs to come back.

@MAXMPG Ай бұрын

Octane products are added to gasoline to retard burn in combustion chamber to prevent preignition. On the other side of the coin, octane is added for higher compression engines. To use higher octane fuel allows more spark advance. If your engine pings, increase octane. To run higher octane when unneeded, only hits the pocket book. If you drive your car often and pump gas runs ok in your car, pump gas will burn fine. Over 10 compression ratio really likes more octane. Compression causes heat, octane allows fuel to deal with the heat.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@MAXMPG yep, this fuel definitely had more octane than needed

@MarthaGomez-h3o Ай бұрын

I have heard that Shell's 91 octane is ethanol free 100% pure gasoline.

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

In some places that may be true, but out here in California it all has the ethanol unfortunately.

@twobitsworth1556 Ай бұрын

1967-68 Mather AFB Ca. Vietnam War returnees would buy pony cars / muscle cars and mix 115/145 Aviation Gas with pump gas . retired USAF 1966-86 crew chief on reciprocating engine propeller aircraft. T28, C47

@KurtKoster-s6t Ай бұрын

The latest is EPA is trying to remove the lead from avgas now

@HotRodReverend Ай бұрын

@@KurtKoster-s6t not surprised - need to look that up and get informed… out here in California, Sacramento is trying to push through a gas tax of well over $2. How the average consumer will have done that I do not know. People are leaving California left and right already because of this craziness.