if you squeeze them, must they SCREAM?

TODAY'S high-compression engines present new problems of engine noise to automotive engineers. This paper deals with some of the factors which contribute to rumble, knock, and surface ignition. The work was primarily concerned with the influence of fuel composition on the equilibrium octane number requirement and surface ignition tendency of high-compression engines. Both the effect of the combustion-chamber deposits formed by the fuel and the effect of the combustion characteristics of the fuel itself were considered. The results indicate that a reduction in gasoline tail-end volatility or the use of an effective ignition control additive can reduce knock, surface ignition, and rumble; while use of gasolines containing high concentrations of aromatic hydrocarbons can increase these combustion difficulties.