Engineers know that high-octane fuel can take more compression without igniting, so high-octane engines compress more than low-octane engines, and low-octane fuel can cause them to knock.
Recovery technology aims at helping athletes bounce back from the intense training and activity their bodies go through, and make the most of those high octane workouts.
But low-octane engines don’t compress enough for high-octane fuels, and there isn’t enough time between the spark and the gas being swept out of the chamber for all that fuel to be used up.
That means some high-octane gas gets wasted if it’s in the wrong engine, and once it’s out of the engine unburned, it can mess up things like the system that should be cleaning your exhaust.
The United States Navy used the statistics of the law of averages to buck up the morale of their men. One ex-sailor told me that when he and his shipmates were assigned to high-octane tankers, they were worried stiff.