QLINK recommends that all of our units be run on high octane fuel (93 octane). We recommend this because all of our power sports units run on engines with high-compression ratios that are more prone to pre-ignition and detonation than average car motor. Using the incorrect fuel for your motor can cause serious damage to your unit that will turn into a costly non-warranty situation.
The first thing to know is the definition of an Octane Rating in terms of fuel; the Fuel Octane Level is the measure of resistance of gasoline to pre-ignition and detonation (commonly referred to as “engine knocking”) in internal combustion engines (like the one on your QLINK unit). The Octane Rating of fuel does not measure the quality of the fuel or necessarily guarantee increased performance should you use it; it measures the fuel’s ability to resist pre-ignition and detonation, which would cause serious engine damage.
Detonation is when the fuel in an engine ignites at too low of a temperature. This sends powerful shock waves through the combustion chamber before the piston reaches top dead center, causing force on the piston that works against the connecting rods and crankshaft. This force is converted into dangerous strain and heat that is absorbed by the engine. These premature shockwaves also force the unburned, boundary, lubricating layer of fuel/air mixture off of the walls of the combustion chamber, causing distinct rings of carbon build up on the piston and cylinder wall. These rings are only distinct when burning low octane fuel.
So how does a higher octane fuel prevent pre-ignition and detonation? The higher Octane Rating the fuel has, the more Activation Energy it has, and since Activation Energy is the energy required to start a chemical reaction, a Higher Octane Fuel will take more heat and pressure before it ignites, which will translate into more time for the piston to reach top dead center before the fuel will ignite and send shockwaves through the chamber. With this correct timing the piston can properly absorb the shock, and turn it into useful power by working with (not against) the other movable engine parts!
An Octane Rating of 87 means that the fuel is made up of 87% hydro-carbons with a very high resistance to detonation, or very high detonating temperature; and 13% of the fuel is made of hydro-carbons with a very low resistance to detonation, they are very reactive to temperature and pressure. As the Octane Rating of a fuel goes up, so does the percent of the fuel made up of resistant hydro-carbons, translating to proper ignition timing and resistance to detonation.
As you can see, since all QLINK units have high-compression ratios, meaning they work with high amounts of pressure and heat, QLINK must insist that you spend the extra dollar to fill up your tank with the highest rated gas at your local station in order to prevent pre-ignition and detonation; this is the only way to prevent serious engine damage that would be deemed non-warranty due to the use of improper fuel.
