ST220 Fuel type

Hi,

Yeah, I was suprise when I was in the US as to how low the octane of your fuel is, no wonder it's so cheap :-)

In the UK (sorry .. Europe :-) ) we get 2 types 95 & 98.

Adge

Not REALLY that different. UK uses RON (Research OCtane Number) North America uses both RON and Motor OCtane Number - MON- added together and divided by 2

So, typically ADD 5 points to the US # and you have the RON..

So UK uses 90 and 93 in NA terms

NTL opined in news:f7H3b.208$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfep1-gui.server.ntli.net:

That does explain it !

I had wondered why there should be such a difference

Adge

If you want to run a lower octane fuel retard your timing a bit. So long as the vehicle doesn't diesel you can most likely tune the timing to not ping or knock with that octane rating. Pinging and knocking _will_ destroy an engine. That little ping noise is the gas either burning or exploding prematurely and pushing down on a cylinder when the cylinder is moving up in it's bore. Ignoring pinging and knocking is a surefire way to kill your rings real fast if your lucky, if your not lucky, you will need a total rebuild when your bearings go south from all that extra pressure in the wrong direction.

I say this from experience. My grandma's '68 302 was in great condition until she let my uncle use it. He ran it with 87 octane for ~6 years, ignoring the knocking and pinging. The rings are beat, two cylinders barely hold any compression, and I believe it has some loose bearings in the bottom end as it makes a hollow knocking sound mostly at low engine speeds. When I got it from him I did my best to take care of the car but it wasn't enough, and it didn't even go a year before the parts weakened from his abuse finally had enough. He saved maybe $200 on gas, and now it's gonna cost me a fortune. The moral of the story is that it's a lot cheaper to take care of your car and do it right. If you want to run a lower octane, try it. But make the proper adjustments and if it still doesn't like it, don't force it. You'll save a lot of money in the long run.