IT has been demonstrated that high compression ratio engines can operate with an appreciable reduction in gasoline consumption. However, it is apparent that these engines cannot be made available to the public until additional antiknock quality is provided in the fuel used. The method of antidetonant injection is submitted as one means by which these more economical engines can be operated in the very near future.
Gasoline engines require high antiknock quality gasoline only when they are at or near full throttle. Most ground vehicles operate under these conditions but a small part of the time, making it economical to supply an antidetonant only when it is needed.
An alcohol-water-tetraethyl lead antidetonant used through a fully automatic device will give octane numbers at costs competitive with refinery methods according to the author. In taxicabs, for example 19 to 25 road octane numbers can be added to a base gasoline with a consumption of 4.0 gal of antidetonant per 100 gal of gasoline.
