Hot Weather Volatility Requirements of European Passenger Cars

This paper reviews studies in Europe during the summer of 1977 to investigate the possibility of expanding gasoline supply through relaxation of existing Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) volatility specifications. Performance parameters investigated included vehicle vapor lock and hot weather driveability under both controlled and consumer operation. Overall, it appears that some existing RVP specifications could be relaxed and still provide satisfactory consumer protection levels. This would permit more optimum utilization of available high volatility, high octane gasoline components and expand gasoline product yields while minimizing crude requirements.