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Octane Blending Calculator

Find the octane of a blend of two fuels, or the volumes of each fuel needed to hit a target octane — pump gas with race fuel, E85 or an octane booster.

About this tool

The Octane Blending Calculator handles the two questions that come up when mixing fuels. First, given two fuels of known octane and volume, the resulting octane blends linearly by volume: result = (V1 × O1 + V2 × O2) / (V1 + V2). So blending 10 gallons of 91 with 5 gallons of 100 octane race fuel gives (10×91 + 5×100) / 15 ≈ 94 octane. Octane here is the AKI (R+M)/2 pump rating, which blends closely enough to linear for practical mixing.

Second, target mode works backwards: given the two fuels' octanes, a desired target and a total tank volume, it finds how much of each fuel you need. The fraction of fuel 1 is (target − O2) / (O1 − O2), then V1 = total × fraction and V2 = total − V1. The target must fall between the two octane values — you cannot blend two fuels to a number higher or lower than both — and the tool flags that case. Volumes are shown in both US gallons and litres.

This is the standard way to stretch expensive race fuel, top off with an octane number in mind, or estimate a blend with E85 or an octane booster treated as a high-octane component. Real fuels can blend slightly non-linearly and E85 changes air-fuel requirements, so treat the result as a close estimate and tune accordingly. All math runs locally in your browser.

Frequently asked questions

How is the blended octane calculated?
By volume-weighted average: result = (V1 × O1 + V2 × O2) / (V1 + V2). Pump octane (AKI) blends close to linearly, so mixing equal volumes of 91 and 100 gives about 95.5 octane.
How do I hit an exact target octane?
Use target mode. Enter both fuels' octanes, the target, and the total volume you want. The tool solves the fraction of each fuel — fraction of fuel 1 = (target − O2) / (O1 − O2) — and shows the gallons/litres of each to combine.
Why does it reject my target octane?
Because a blend can only land between the two input octanes. If you enter fuels of 91 and 100, any target below 91 or above 100 is impossible, so the tool asks you to choose a target within that range.
Does this work for E85 or octane boosters?
Approximately. Treat E85 or a booster as the high-octane component and enter its effective octane. Blending is close to linear, but E85 also changes air-fuel and energy content, so verify the final mix with tuning rather than relying on octane alone.

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