7 Fuel Myths Stupid People Fall For

[Music] today we're talking about gasoline what's the best fuel for your car does higher octane mean more energy or more power if you put premium gas to a car that requires regular gas will it improve your engine performance or gas mileage hop in and we'll get going in the us unleaded gasoline usually comes in three great normally we have 87 for basic or regular 89 for plus or mid grade and 93 for premium but what is octane rating and what does it mean octane rating refers to how resistant the fuel is to combustion by pressure the higher the octane rating the more compression the fuel can withstand before it ignites higher octane fuels are often required or recommended for engines that use a higher compression ratio and or use supercharging or turbocharging to force more air into the engine increasing pressure in the cylinder allows an engine to extract more mechanical energy from a given air fuel mixture but requires higher octane fuel to keep the mixture from pre-detonating octane rating does not relate directly to the power output it has nothing to do with the energy contained per liter or per kilogram of fuel fuels with a higher octane rating are used in higher compression engines that potentially yield higher power but such higher power comes from higher compression of the engine not necessarily from the gasoline do you know why the octane numbers of gas stations in the us differ from those in europe europe has 95 and 99. does this mean that europe uses higher octane no because in the u.s gas stations use pump octane number or p-o-n but europe uses iran which means research octane number it's just a matter of definition so the american 89 octane or mid-grade is the same as a european 95 octane and the american 93 or premium grade is the same or similar to the european 99 in 1921 an english engineer harry ricardo discovered that the more iso octane in the fuel the more resistance it was to detonation he developed the scale to measure detonation resistance gasoline made up of 100 iso octane was given a octane rating of 100. harry's work ultimately led to the general use of octane ratings there are a lot of myths about octane so answer true or false the different octane levels means different energy content different octanes burn fuel hotter or colder or faster or slower different octanes burn fuel cleaner and more fully if you answered yes to any of these myths then unfortunately you were wrong because one the different octane levels all contain the same energy content two they also all burn the same temperature at the same speed three a clean or complete fuel burn depends not on the octane but mainly on the air to fuel ratio in your car's combustion chamber so let's break it down what happens if your car requires high octane gas but you fill it with low octane instead nowadays modern cars have electronic control units ecu's that can adjust engine timing and performance to operate even with lower octane fuel so your car will drive but engine power and fuel economy will still suffer frequent use of fuel with octane lower than what your car needs can lead to poor engine performance and eventually damage both the engine and the emission control system here's why ignore the ecu for a minute in general using lower octane gas and high octane gas car means that under high pressure gasoline will ignite spontaneously and earlier than it should and what is called detonation that is thermal shock will occur this is a spontaneous uncontrolled ignition of fuel in the engine detonation leads to a sharp rise in temperature and even to a possible explosion will your engine survive the detonation and how do you know if or when it's happening simple you hear a knock sound from the engine when a detonation occurs this knock is created by pressure waves that occur during the rapid combustion of the mixture and get reflected from the walls of the cylinder and piston this reduces the engine power and accelerates the wear inside so if detonation waves occur the engine can be damaged or destroyed that's how gasoline with a lower octane rating can damage the engine pistons if you regularly use it in a car that requires high octane what about the opposite scenario let's say your car maker requires regular unleaded gas but you upgrade with mid grade or premium will this affect fuel economy or engine performance it depends on your driving conditions for example in most cars higher octane fuel can improve performance and gas mileage and it can also reduce carbon dioxide co2 emissions during severe duty operate like if you're towing a trailer or carrying a heavy load especially in hot weather but under normal driving conditions you'll probably get little to no benefit in fuel economy or engine performance in that scenario you have to ask yourself why pay more for premium gas so is there a difference between what your car maker requires versus what they recommend yes there is a difference in general if your vehicle requires mid-grade or premium fuel then higher octane fuel is worth the extra cost if your owner's manual says your car doesn't require premium fuel but says that your vehicle will run better on higher octane fuel in other words it's recommended but not required well then it's really up to you the cost increase is typically higher than the fuel savings but some drivers value lower co2 emissions and lower petroleum usage by even a small amount and for those drivers this is more important to them than costs in conclusion what fuels should you use for your car at minimum use the fuel grade required by the original car manufacturer where can you find that information it's always written in your car manual if you lost your manual you can check either the fuel door because it's usually written there or if it's not there it's probably on the fuel cap or if it's not there check the fuel gauge on your dashboard here's a quick cheat sheet on how gasoline works in your car so you get to the pump you fuel your car the gas goes straight to the gas tank well inside the tank is a fuel pump it pumps the gas into your car's fuel line the fuel filter filters out debris in a gas next the fuel injector sprays gas into the piston cylinder the gas gets processed in the engine typically in a four stroke cycle first air gets sucked into the cylinder the air and fuel mix as the piston moves downward in the cylinder as the piston moves back up it compresses the air and fuel mixture then the spark plug ignites the compressed air and fuel this causes a combustion reaction the liquid gas gets converted into exhaust gas which forces the piston back down the exhaust valve is open the exhaust gases leave the cylinder travel through the exhaust pipe through the catalytic converter which reduces the pollutants into less toxic substances like carbon dioxide nitrogen and water and then the gas is passed through the muffler and into the air then there's gas additives they can work to increase the octane rating of gas inhibit corrosion lubricate and allow higher compression ratio for greater efficiency and power however some additives are harmful and are regulated or banned in some countries oftentimes gas retailers treat the gas they buy with specific additives ever hear of top tier detergent gasoline in 2004 top-tier gasoline was developed to go beyond the minimum standard for detergent additives to better protect engines from carbon buildup and deposits on the intake valves nowadays engines have become far more precise operating under tighter tolerances and higher compression ratios with cleaner emissions and improved fuel economy and that's why many big automakers audi bmw fiat chrysler automobiles general motors honda mercedes-benz toyota and volkswagens support top tier gas top tier fuel must maintain levels of detergent additives that result in a higher standard of engine cleanliness and performance as compared to the epa minimum requirement also it can't contain metal additives let's talk about ethanol ethanol is an alternative alcohol fuel it's made from plant materials like corn and sugar in fact did you know that much of the corn grown in the u.s isn't eaten popped or creamed some of it is turned into ethanol it's added to gasoline because it's a cost-effective way to raise the octane rating of gas also ethanol burns cleanly so it's also a way to help reduce emissions ethanol can be burned in a gasoline engine but it's less than ideal compared to gasoline reason is it has less chemical energy than diesel or regular gasoline but since ethanol comes from renewable sources it makes a lot of sense to use as much of it as we can ever see the badge for e85 and wonder what that is e85 is a blend of 85 ethanol and 15 gasoline it's designed for use in flex fuel vehicles which can use both gasoline or a mixture of gasoline and ethanol well what happens if you actually put e85 in a non-flex fuel vehicle well your car may run poorly and the check engine light might turn up but it shouldn't cause major damage to your car just be sure to add regular gasoline to the tank when you can to further dilute the ethanol while 85 ethanol is a bit high use for normal gasoline cars a more conservative ratio can help stretch gasoline supplies and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels in fact that's why at most regular gas stations these days you might notice a pump with a sticker that says something like may contain up to 10 ethanol or a blue pump with a blend of 25 30 or 35 percent ethanol these fuels work just fine in most modern cars built after 2002 and that's why we see a bit of ethanol in virtually all gasoline nowadays you should check your owner's man on both gasoline and ethanol or a mixture of both and here are some fun facts about gasoline did you know that the u.s accounts for about 44 of the world's gasoline consumption which country do you think has the world's largest gas reserve you're probably guessing somewhere in the middle east but believe it or not it's venezuela they have 298 billion barrels compare that to the us we have just 33 billion and you might be surprised to hear that the us gets more of its oil from canada and mexico than it does from the middle east if you enjoyed this video please like the video thanks for your support

Channel: Scotty Kilmer

Views: 1,254,565

Rating: 4.9351969 out of 5

Keywords: auto, auto repair, car, car diy, car repair, cars, diy, how to, mechanic, repair, scotty kilmer, car review, 87 octane, 91 octane, 93 octane, buying gas, gas myth, gasoline, gasoline myths, is premium gas better, myth, myth busted, premium gas, premium gas myth, premium gasoline, premium vs regular, premium vs regular fuel, premium vs regular gas, regular gas, regular gasoline, type of gas for cars, types of gasoline, what type of gas to buy, what type of gas to use, chris

Id: rf1uTdvNWhI

Length: 10min 29sec (629 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 31 2021