Mastery Cyclic Pickups?

[øøøøøøø]

I could be wrong, and I don't have a lot of deep knowledge of this stuff, but this is from the article I linked to above:

A more-reliable source with better information:

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/gas ... -depth.php

I mean, I think I am getting the point of that article, that there are two testing methods to arrive at the minimum octane level, and that minimum octane value is derived by dividing the results of the two tests by 2.

I still don't see a direct contradiction that the octane number does not refer to a percentage of a whole, like the article I have linked to says?

There are two testing procedures described, and neither seems to involve determining the relative percentages of individual components of hydrocarbons, is what I'm taking away.

The fact that the two methods are averaged also seems to indicate that the article you referenced may be in error, or making the same erroneous assumption that I long made re: percentages.

If it were as simple as determining the percentages of the respective hydrocarbons, there would probably be no need for averaging, right? Surely we have the methods to determine the chemical composition of a substance?

[Larry Mal]

If it were as simple as determining the percentages of the respective hydrocarbons, there would probably be no need for averaging, right? Surely we have the methods to determine the chemical composition of a substance?

You know, the more I look into it, I start to see your point. There certainly seems to be a strong case for it being a straight up percentage:

Heptide molecules ignite readily under compression and octane molecules do not. The more octane molecules in a gallon of gas, the less likely it is to ignite under compression.

The octane number relates to the percentage of these molecules in a gallon of gasoline. If a gallon of gasoline has an 87 octane rating, that means it has 87 percent octane molecules and 13 percent heptide molecules. A 91 octane rating means 91 percent octane and 9 percent heptide.

However, that may have been an older standard or something, because now I am reading that there are other additives that can increase the octane value, lead was famously one:

Straight-run gasoline has an octane number of about 70. In other words, straight-run gasoline has the same knocking properties as a mixture of 70% isooctane and 30% heptane. Cracking, isomerization and other processes can be used to increase the octane rating of gasoline to about 90. Anti-knock agents may be added to further increase the octane rating. Tetraethyl lead, Pb(C2H5)4, was one such agent, which was added to gas at the rate of up to 2.4 grams per gallon of gasoline. The switch to unleaded gasoline has required the addition of more expensive compounds, such as aromatics and highly branched alkanes, to maintain high octane numbers.

So from reading that it seems like there are other methods to arrive at an anti knock value, or maybe more accurately a compression value.

But the testing doesn't tell me anything, other than that to protect the consumer they test it in two different ways to arrive at an accurate value.

Regardless, though, calling something "octane" certainly should imply that there is an actual amount of octane to it, rather than a compression value or anti knock capability. Because we do know that the gas in the pump does contain octane and usually heptane.

[hulakatt]

Brittany Howard is just an amazing singer and showman, for instance.

Truth. I wish she had put out more music with Alabama Shakes but her other stuff is pretty good too. Been listening to the remixed jaime album lately.

[mikeymike]

haha, I reconciled this long ago by accepting that music is performance art, and in performance art the way your stuff looks matters. It's literally part of the art.

They definitely should have full-length mirrors in guitar stores. If a guitar makes you feel like you look cool, you're going to enjoy it more. Fact.

My local guitar store has mirrors in their demo rooms, and I use them to evaluate if the vibe looks right (when the guitar sounds good). I just hope no one walking by notices!

[hexes]

I'd like to see some other people's ideas for alternative body styles that would look good with these pickups. That Harvester is kind of hideous, and the art style on the BilT isn't really my thing. So far the top choice seems to be just a Jazzmaster.

i love that harvester, but it’s also a Wandre shape originally. I want to ask him who specified the pickups…

[hexes]

LOL! Now, lets have a discussion about premium gasoline...

trust me, as a west-coast USA turbocharged subaru driver, 93 AKI is a requirement.

91 and below will grenade your engine to bits in heat and at altitude. I add ethanol to keep the knocking down in extreme temps and altitudes

or, subaru could build a better engine…

[hulakatt]

LOL! Now, lets have a discussion about premium gasoline...

trust me, as a west-coast USA turbocharged subaru driver, 93 AKI is a requirement.

91 and below will grenade your engine to bits in heat and at altitude. I add ethanol to keep the knocking down in extreme temps and altitudes

or, subaru could build a better engine…

Funny, I'm an East Coast, turbocharged Scooby driver! I'm running an 06 STI but I think I'm done with it, it's just too high maintenance for me anymore. I've had it for 6 years now and it's been up and down the coast but I'm just tired of babying it all the time. Still the best car I've driven but the worst car I've owned.

What are you running?

[Maggieo]

I have little choice but to run 91 in my 335i. Thankfully, the N55's twin scroll, single turbo, seems to like it just fine.

Before that my WRXs all wanted a little STP on top of the 91.

[Lost In Autumn]

Seems like the high octane race fuel might be concentrated, you can see a video of these guys adding race concentrate to street gas and bringing the octane above 100%:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5QjqP1THI

You guys know what is also high octane? Fucking Mastery pickups, that's what.

Fun fact: the higher the octane a fuel has, the less energy it has per liter. Octane references resistance to knocking and detonation under compression. If you have a motor that’s optimized for regular gas, if you use high octane fuel, you’re wasting your money and it will bring zero performance advantage

*weird analogy of the week*

I think it's a bit like Milk (hah!, bear with me). 100 octane is, like, full fat unskimmed raw milk. 95 is semi-skimmed, 90 or below would be skimmed. When it comes to 110-120+ octane I guess its like getting full fat milk and dumping a load of extra cream in.

*end: weird tenuous analogy*

[mackerelmint]

How did I not see this fine thread sooner?

Time to opine! "It's ugly".

With that said, I was sincerely hoping that Larry would have gotten an angry screed back from Mastery that we could all enjoy.

And with that said, My experimentation with the B230 redblock engine from Volvo has shown me that I reliably get around 1/3 more miles out of a tank of premium gas than I do with regular gas in an engine with a factory (de)tuning. That makes it far cheaper to just buy premium. In a turbocharged B230 with a GOOD tune, you're simply going to blow your engine up if you don't use 93 octane or better. Making it far cheaper just to buy premium.

And the detergent additives are nice, too. Buy good gas, people.

[mackerelmint]

Oh, and don't buy Subarus.

[hexes]

Oh, and don't buy Subarus.

disagree. the new BRZ is great and will be my 4th subaru.

[mackerelmint]

Oh, and don't buy Subarus.

disagree. the new BRZ is great and will be my 4th subaru.

You must be crazy.

[LVC]

Brittany Howard is just an amazing singer and showman, for instance.

Truth. I wish she had put out more music with Alabama Shakes but her other stuff is pretty good too. Been listening to the remixed jaime album lately.

Waitaminute... Is she subliminally promoting those Cyclic pickups in the pic below?

[Jaguar018]

All I put is 93 in my 2005 WRX. It has like 130k miles.