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I've recently been asked by my readers and customers to extend our horsepower calculator with the ability to not only model different engine setups, but to go even further, and model those parameters for engines running on alternative fuel.

This request sent me off on a journey researching the ins and outs of race and exotic fuels trying to decipher what it is that makes a high-octane fuel so important to a high performance engine. and how each fuel (or even a mixture of these fuels) would affect the engine's air and fuel requirements, its power delivery, and it's safety and reliability.

We usually only use one term to describe a performance fuel which is the Octane rating, and in my mind, and after all this research, I find that simple rating to be more of a simplistic marketing tool than a real performance insight... primarily because you can not correlate it directly to any performance measure.

For example, there are many 'rules of thumb' out there about each octane point being worth an additional:
5psi of boost pressure5 degrees of additional ignition timing advance25 point of static compression

But these rules of thumb will break down for certain fuels because octane is not the sole parameter that determines a fuel's adequacy for a high performance applications.

For example, Kerosene -also known as Aviation Gasoline or Avgas- has an octane rating of 100 which is about 8 octane points higher than that of premium Gasoline. According to our rules of thumb, this fuel should be able to withstand 5 more pounds of boost pressure from your turbocharger or supercharger compared to premium grade gasoline.

Looking deeper though at Kerosene we find that it has an auto-ignition temperature of 210 degrees C which is 70 degrees lower than the auto-ignition temperature of gasoline. This lower auto-ignition temperature makes Kerosene ideal as an aircraft fuel because it speaks to the easier probability of ignition of the fuel at high altitudes and in cold temperatures.

Down here on the surface of Earth, a 70* lower auto-ignition temperature, combined with the hot ambient air temperature of the asphalt of a race track (typically 15 to 20 degrees centigrade above ambient on a nice sunny day), and combined with an additional 5 pounds of boost pressure (from following our rules of thumb) will almost definitely cause a catastrophic onset of pre-ignition in the engine ultimately destroying the piston crown.

Another good example comes from the use of an oxygenated fuel like Ethanol or Methanol or Propanol. These oxygenated alcoholic fuels can increase an engine's power output without the additional boost pressure, timing advance, or compression ratio increase typically required by non oxygenated fuels that are advertised as 'high octane' fuels.

These oxygenated fuels carry a small percentage (typically 1 to 6% by volume) of oxygen in the fuels molecular structure. This oxygen is released when the fuels molecular structure breaks down during combustion. Both the breakage of these oxygen-carbon bonds as well as oxygen enrichment of the combustion chamber work to elevate cylinder pressure and volumetric efficiency, two factors that are directly related to the flame front travel speed (and thus related to ideal timing advance).

Once again, the rule of thumb when switching from Gasoline with a marketed octane rating of 92 octane points to Methanol with its octane rating of 119 points and an oxygenation of 2.5% by volume would be to advance spark timing by as much as 40.5 degrees which is obviously incorrect (as this much timing advance is a sure fire way to pre-ignition and should never be seen by any vehicle at full load), let alone the additional simulated timing advance that occurs with this type of fuel from the faster moving flame front due to the oxygenation of the fuel.

Many times we find that in real world trials, that optimal timing with an oxygenated alocoholic fuel comes with a conservative amount of advance (or even some timing retard) compared to a gasoline tune depending on the exact oxygenation rate and the ratiometric mixture of the alcoholic fuel and gasoline (for Example E50 with 50% gasoline and 50% Ethanol). This also becomes more evident when comparing fuels like MTBE (a typical octane booster for gasoline with 118 octane and 0.8% oxygenation by volume) with Methanol (with a very similar octane rating of 119 octane but a much higher 2.5% oxygenation by volume) as the optimal spark timing and the final power output (due to the 2.5% boost in volumetric efficiency from oxygenation) will vary significantly for virtually the same 'high octane' rated fuel.

The final and most important example is with respect to a fuels auto-ignition temperature which I've eluded to earlier. In modern day hotrodding we typically find enthusiasts working on 'downsized' engines (which is has become a green trend in our industry) where engine displacements shrink smaller and smaller from one generation of car model to the next, while power output, acceleration, and performance are maintained or even increased through supercharging, turbocharging, variable valve timing, and innovative gearing and drive-train technologies.

In these smaller displacement engines running at higher volumetric efficiencies and higher induction pressures (only furthered with further modifications and tuning) the fuel's auto-ignition properties becomes paramount to the safe operation of the motor.

In the real world, air heats up every time it gets compressed by a non-ideal compressor (be it a supercharger, a turbocharger, a piston, or a rotor). The hotter the air is, and the more stages of compression (such as a piston compressing air already compressed and heated by a turbocharger), and the higher the final compression ratio, the higher the final temperature of the intake air charge. In extreme conditions, or with an extreme combination of boost pressure and engine static compression ratio the final air and fuel mixture entering the combustion chamber can reach temperatures high enough to allow the mixture to auto-ignite.

Other factors that affect auto-ignition are all related to intake air charge thermal management such as:
Use of the wrong heat range spark plugHot spots or sharp edges in the combustion chamber that can glow hot and cause preignitionPoor heat evacuation in they cylinder head (such as the use of old school cast iron heads in high boost applications).Poor combustion chamber cooling such as poor layout of cooling passages in the engine block or lack of under-piston oil squirters or a low capacity oil system.Improper exhaust valve timing, malfunctioning exhaust gas recirculation valves, and clogged exhaust systems all of which lead to exhaust gases (at 900 degrees C) returning to the combustion chamber and overheating the intake air and fuel charge.

However, no matter how well designed or optimized the engine is, a fuel with a higher auto-igniton temperature will always be safer than a fuel that has a comparable octane number with a lower auto-ignition temperature.

If we look at Toluene for example with an octane rating of 103 points and an auto-ignition temperature of 480 degrees C in comparison with E85 with its octane rating of 102 degrees but a much lower auto-ignition point of 365 degrees C then it becomes clear that in a high boost application Toluene would be a safer choice of fuel, even though the 'advertised' octane rating of both fuels is very similar.

In the early 90's, rally cars had a peak power limit of around 300 to 350 horsepower depending on the class. Given that 300hp can be achieved at 3000 rpms at 30psi of boost, or at 6000 rpms at only 15psi of boost; then we see an opportunity to make a car that produces 300hp early in the rpm range and holds that power level all the way to red line - in accordance to regulation - using a variable pressure boost control system. The rally car manufacturers, did in fact employ these 'over-boost' systems to boost power delivery in the mid-range and create faster accelerating cars with over-inflated torque curves making the cars more versatile as well. The side effect of these 'over-boost' systems is the amount of heat introduced into the intake air temperatures due to the high pressure ratios being used; couple that with the high ambient air temperatures feeding into the turbochargers in those hot desert rally stages and it becomes apparent why Toluene - which has the highest auto-ignition temperature of all the standard hydrocarbon fuels - was the fuel of choice for those cars... even though it has a mediocre octane rating of 103 octane which is much lower than the 118+ rating of fuels like Methanol, Ethanol, Xylene, or MTBE.

Therefore, choosing the right fuel is more about understanding the design limits of your specific application and choosing the fuel with the proper octane rating (which combats knock and detonation), with the proper oxygenation (which improves volumetric efficiency for displacement limited engines and increases flame front travel speed allowing for lower timing advance settings as well as higher potential red-line rpms), and the proper auto-ignition temperature (that ensures that even on the hottest day with a heat soaked charge cooler, that you will still have a significant margin of safety protecting you from pre-ignition).

Pure octane ratings are a great marketing tool, just like Stereo system wattage and computer processor frequency where 'more is better' even though other factors like stereo system's peak dB level or the computer's total MIPS (millions of instructions per second) may be a more telling benchmark of the system's actual performance.

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The automobile industry for a long time has been looking for a way to get rid of fossil fuels associated with contamination issues. This has been quite a long time, however, the evasive, things are changing with the discovery and use of hydrogen powered cars. Hydrogen car, only to produce water and heat, therefore zero harmful emissions. The car is also very effective and a relatively powered. How hydrogen car work? The car uses hydrogen cell that converts hydrogen to electricity, which powers the car then. It is a technical development, which is still ongoing, there are a number of leading automotive companies.

Some of the latest developments in 2009, Toyota Motor, which spent fuel cell and was able to Cruise the right road with traffic to 533 km. This was the Us government project, which was very successful. Hydrogen car, the key challenge is the hydrogen cell that can add up to 100 000, the price and the price of the car, not many people can afford it. It is also very little hydrogen cell cars. These shortcomings in the concession of the BMW Hydrogen car, for example, which uses an internal combustion engine without hydrogen itself in the cell. BMW H2R, a race car; to develop a good efficacy, which goes up to 286. It accelerates to 60 mph time of speed 6seconds There are a few filling stations, thus a new BMW H2R hydrogen is a hybrid type of petrol as well as to use.

General Motors Company is also able to reduce the hydrogen fuel cell, which places more hope for those buses are required for the Platinum catalyst. In order to be able to store enough hydrogen, most of the hydrogen car is in the shall, moreover, that bears the carbon reservoirs, which fits in with a good amount of cars. Make better cars, companies must also equipped with a braking systems incorporating the regenerative braking is now enabled for hybrid-electric cars or be able to get the energy created as the brakes. They also have an extra battery for later later to accelerate the car.

One of the hybrid car hydrogen, which are hydrogen-cell restrictions is that it still has some of the emissions of nitrogen oxides, which are harmful to the environment of emissions pilaamaan. However, most of the shares of car accessories, which are used for the purpose of use of electricity or hydrogen-cell lithium battery, although the latter requires continuous Chargers shown so much flexibility in future cars.

Finally, the hydrogen car is Eco friendly and green driving. This technology has the ability to completely overhaul the automotive industry and the consumers are sure to enjoy. Sounds like science fiction, even if it is a fact that exists today. The only question is the cost of the car. The car is currently very expensive and only a few people can afford it. Is the hope that it is more affordable in the future as it is revolutionizing one. Add investment should establish a definitive solution of the cars, as well as the needs of mankind.

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Yes, you read that correctly. Water, gas, in practice, that means you can now use an alternative to the latter case, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former. The consumption of gas is always great. All vehicles and all over the world in different sectors of the machineries used this very efficient fuel today.

Of course, the gas is a scarce natural resource, which is very good. Price fluctuations are, of course, the expected daily. More often than not, you can be sure that the gas cost is higher than that of today, tomorrow.

But do not have to worry about it too much longer. Researchers have tried to look for alternative sources of fuel. Some of them are now proud to announce the winner, that they have found incredible discovery. Water can be used as a substitute for gas now. Incredible, right?

Well, believe it. In addition, the money that you can save on purchases of natural gas and is definitely not the other advantages of choosing a water for gas.

The most obvious advantages of water gas is the help that they adopt in the nature. A lot of us are very aware of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and other toxic substances that fuel combustion on the environment caused by the negative effects. However, all did not really say that they are doing their share of mother nature.

Water gas Kit, which has been created and distributed today, you can certainly help your environment. By replacing the water main fuel your vehicle is not so difficult, as most people think it should.

If you are a serious burden air pollution problem and the saving of extra cash in the process of getting the know-how of surface, the gas your car after you read this, it should first of all, you should do.

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