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Octane ratings - Top
- The central issue in choosing an octane rating is that higher octanes are designed to produce a smoother and somewhat slower buring rate than lower octanes. This is the reason that lower octane fuels sometimes cause pinging or knocking in our modern short-stroke automotive engines. Since The Atomic 4 has a slightly longer stroke than bore diameter (refered to as being “under square”), it is somewhat better to use as high an octane as possible. However, the good news is that the Atomic 4 (early or late model) seems to run well on any of the currently available fuels. The reason that our engines run as well as they do with lower octane fuels is due to the fact that deep combustion chambers in the head produce a lower than normal compression ratio. The resulting low compression largely compensates for the longer stroke (in terms of octane considerations). This is the most important design feature which gives the Atomic 4 its reputation for smoothness and reliability. We have come to believe, over many years of listening to reports of fuel problems, that mixing different additives can cause occasional unintended consequences, in much the same way that mixing different medicines sometimes does in our bodies. - Updated:
November 4, 2003
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