[ST] Octane

["Bob Floyd" <monobldg@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Alright. I have to vent, and if need be, re-educated.

>From time to time I have seen reference made to "premium", "high octane",
"the good stuff" etc, in connection with pump gas. In some form or other,
this is virtually always in the context, or in some form of, getting the
best performance from your ride. 

This makes ZERO sense to me! I'm no rocket scientist, but I do know that
octane is, in fact, a combustion RETARDER. It is used in race and other high
performance bikes specifically because of that. Higher octane levels allow
tuners to raise compression, set timing right to the edge, and all sorts of
other trick stuff while avoiding the resultant potential byproduct of
pre-ignition. 

Therefore, if you're riding a bike with the normal types of tunes, that is
to say, one that has as much stress on reliability as performance,
pre-ignition is not likely a problem. If you don't experience "pinging"
(pre-ignition) then there is NO PROBLEM running regular gas! In fact, you
may actually be cutting performance. This is because regular should actually
be considered the hotter gas, if you will. If you experience lag when you
barely open the throttle, it could be because you're running premium when
regular would actually work better.

I think the oil companies get enough of our money without throwing it away
on octane. I'd rather spend my pennies on cooler clothes so I can at least
LOOK fast.

Okay, if I'm wrong, educate me.

Bob Floyd
01 RS
65 BMW R50
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