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A Coordinating Research Council, Inc. (CRC) cooperative program was conducted to determine the difference in octane requirements between technical raters and “customers.” The trained raters used the CRC E-15 procedure to determine the octane requirement of the vehicles while the customers' perception and objection to knock were determined through the use of a questionnaire. The results showed that the customers' objections and perceptions were overwhelmingly based on knock, rather than acceleration performance or after-run. The difference between the technical and customer octane requirement at the midpoint satisfaction level was 3.8 (R+M)/2 octane numbers using the population comparison and 4.1 (R+M)/2 octane numbers using the distribution of delta analysis. The statistical analysis of the database also showed that the differences between customer objection and perception levels were generally small (less than or equal to 1 (R+M)/2 octane number).

A study was conducted under the auspices of the Coordinating Research Council, Inc. (CRC) to assess the potential effects of gasoline octane quality on vehicle acceleration performance. Twelve participating laboratories, representing both the oil and the automotive industries, tested a total of 182 vehicles as part of the 1989 CRC Octane Number Requirement Survey. The vehicles consisted of 78 with electronic knock control systems (knock sensors) and 104 without. All testing was performed using the 1989/1990 CRC FBRU fuel series. The results showed that acceleration performance of vehicles with knock sensors was significantly affected by gasoline octane quality.

A pilot study was conducted under the auspices of the Coordinating Research Council, Inc. (CRC) to assess the potential effects of gasoline octane quality on acceleration performance, fuel economy and driveability in vehicles equipped with electronic spark control systems (knock sensors). Fourteen vehicles were tested by five participating laboratories, representing both the oil and automotive industry, on CRC unleaded reference fuels of varying octane quality (78 to 104 RON). The test vehicles included nine naturally-aspirated and five turbocharged models. The results showed that acceleration performance was the parameter most sensitive to octane quality changes, particularly in the turbocharged models. No significant improvements in fuel economy were found with increasing octane. Drive-ability was not affected by fuel octane within the commercial fuel range, but three vehicles showed degraded driveability with sub-commercial octane fuels.

Union Oil Company of California tested 106 new 1975 domestic and foreign vehicles for on-the-road fuel economy using the Fuel Economy Measurement - Road Test Procedure - SAE J1082. This paper gives the results of the test and discusses vehicle selection, procurement, break-in, tune-up, instrumentation description and development, track procedure, and driver techniques. Each of the vehicles was tested for emissions following the 1975 CVS-CH Federal test procedure as specified by the Environmental Protection Agency. Included in the results are fuel economy figures for the three SAE J1082 cycles, as well as fuel economy figures obtained from the EPA dynamometer procedures. Complete vehicle specifications and emission figures are shown.