RE: RE: Fuel Costs

[Bagsmode@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 2000-01-13 5:18:29 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
owner-bmw-digest@domain.elided writes:

> Simply put, the octane rating of a fuel determines the propensity to explode
>  rather than simply burn when mixed with air and ignited.  Exploding is bad.
>  Burning is good.  The higher the octane, the more resistant to exploding.
>  
>  If you are running too low of an octane for your motor, you will get
>  pinging.  Pinging in its extreme form is also known as detonation.  The
>  fuel/air mixture is igniting all at once and exploding instead of igniting
>  as a flame wave.  The resultant "bang" is very hard on the pistons, head,
>  rods, and cranks.  I've seen bent rods, cracked heads, pounded-out crank
>  bearings, cracked piston skirts, and chainsawed crankcases (*really* bad
>  thrown rods!).
[snip]
> This is a very OVER SIMPLIFIED explanation, so please keep the flames to a
>  minimum if I over generalized.

No flames here.  I'm fact, for a computer geek, that was a great explanation 
and I thank you for putting it in terms that everyone can understand--even if 
the car-techies out there was like "yeah, yeah". 
;-)

~Glenn

------------------------------