Octane boosters? does it really work?

[gregshin]

Here in cali we only get 91 as our highest pump gas...i really dont feel like spending $5.xx for race gas....I would just like to have at least 93 octane or better. Also below is how i can tell i am knocking real bad

My ECU with full stand alone Fuel controller

 

[Bleep]

Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

 

[StageLeft]

Good question...

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Bleep
Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

BOWDOWN to one of the f4st3st N1554Ns on Anandtech!!

gregsin's 240sx

 

[bleeb]

I don't think octane boosters make any difference... just install NOS in your car.

BTW: BLEEP you have a very similar handle to mine!@

 

[gregshin]

Originally posted by: Bleep
Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

I've got a japanese engine swap and the car is actually supposed to run on 93 otane

 

[Zenmervolt]

Yes they work. You'll probably need two or more bottles per tank though.

ZV

 

[AsianriceX]

I'm pretty sure ocatane boosters work. Back when I used to peruse the dsmtalk forums, they would use Xylene(sp?) to boost their octane levels so they could run higher boost. Never used it personally though, seeing as how I ended up with an Altima instead of a DSM... or any other boosted car for that matter.

 

[Kadarin]

Octane booster will boost your gas' octane rating. However, it is highly unlikely you'll see any benefit from using the stuff unless your engine has a very high compression ratio, you have advanced the ignition timing beyond reasonable limits, or unless you are using a power adder (nitrous oxide, supercharging, turbocharging). The octane rating refers to how fast the fuel will burn; the higher the rating, the slower the burn. It has nothing to do with the amount of energy in the fuel itself.

 

[atom]

Originally posted by: gregshin

Originally posted by: Bleep
Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

I've got a japanese engine swap and the car is actually supposed to run on 93 otane

You do realize that octane ratings in Japan are different than US octane ratings don't you? If you've been driving around on 91 octane and haven't been experiencing any ill effects then why change?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: atom

Originally posted by: gregshin

Originally posted by: Bleep
Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

I've got a japanese engine swap and the car is actually supposed to run on 93 otane

You do realize that octane ratings in Japan are different than US octane ratings don't you? If you've been driving around on 91 octane and haven't been experiencing any ill effects then why change?

I'm sure the car has knock sensors to retard the timing when running on suboptimal gasoline. I can put 87 in the maxima, but it asks for 91, and will run weaker when not at 91.

 

[bleeb]

Originally posted by: atom

Originally posted by: gregshin

Originally posted by: Bleep
Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

I've got a japanese engine swap and the car is actually supposed to run on 93 otane

You do realize that octane ratings in Japan are different than US octane ratings don't you? If you've been driving around on 91 octane and haven't been experiencing any ill effects then why change?

true true dawg.

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: gregshin

Originally posted by: Bleep
Why do you think you need high octane fuel? Do you know what octane means?
Bleep

I've got a japanese engine swap and the car is actually supposed to run on 93 otane

Japan's octane rating is different from what we have in North America...

Their 98 octane is like our 91 octane.... so you might even get away with using 89/87 gas here...

 

[StageLeft]

I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that somebody who's dumped many thousands into importing an engine from japan and putting it in his car probably is right if he says that it needs 93

bTW almost all the premium gas in alabama is 93, so move here greg!

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing that somebody who's dumped many thousands into importing an engine from japan and putting it in his car probably is right if he says that it needs 93

bTW almost all the premium gas in alabama is 93, so move here greg!

Well then to answer his original question, octane boosters will only make a minimal difference... you will have to put an aweful lot of those pills in to boost from 91 octane to 93...

 

[Bullhonkie]

You can source toluene from places like Sherman Williams or paint supply stores for under $4/gal in some areas, and it has an effective (R+M)/2 of 104 IIRC. I'm lucky enough to live near a gas station that sells 100 octane unleaded from a pump for $4.29/gal, so a blend of 3 gallons or so every fillup gets me to 93-94 PON.

 

[Mill]

Nope, Octane booster is very overrated. Even the more expensive type will only raise your octane by .1- 0.5 octane points if that. You need much more than that to get to 93 octane. I suggest your reduce your timing or start buying SOME race gas to use. Yeah, it's 5 a gallon, but you are the one that modified the car. Live to learn, because I had to buy race gas too whenever I changed nitrous jets. A few gallons of race gas+toluene and you should be set.

 

[iwearnosox]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Octane booster will boost your gas' octane rating. However, it is highly unlikely you'll see any benefit from using the stuff unless your engine has a very high compression ratio, you have advanced the ignition timing beyond reasonable limits, or unless you are using a power adder (nitrous oxide, supercharging, turbocharging). The octane rating refers to how fast the fuel will burn; the higher the rating, the slower the burn. It has nothing to do with the amount of energy in the fuel itself.

Higher octane makes a world of difference in my 99 jetta, otherwise it drives like one of Jerry's kids is behind the wheel..

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: BCYL
Japan's octane rating is different from what we have in North America...

Their 98 octane is like our 91 octane.... so you might even get away with using 89/87 gas here...

No. ROZ 91 Octane is [(RON+MON)/2] 87 octane roughly speaking. ROZ is typically 5 points higher than the equivalent [(RON+MON)/2] rating. 98 ROZ should be about 93 [(RON+MON)/2]. I'm betting that his engine requires 98 ROZ and that he has already converted it to 93 [(RON+MON)/2] since 93 is NOT a typical ROZ rating if I am remembering right.

ZV

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: iwearnosox

Originally posted by: Astaroth33
Octane booster will boost your gas' octane rating. However, it is highly unlikely you'll see any benefit from using the stuff unless your engine has a very high compression ratio, you have advanced the ignition timing beyond reasonable limits, or unless you are using a power adder (nitrous oxide, supercharging, turbocharging). The octane rating refers to how fast the fuel will burn; the higher the rating, the slower the burn. It has nothing to do with the amount of energy in the fuel itself.

Higher octane makes a world of difference in my 99 jetta, otherwise it drives like one of Jerry's kids is behind the wheel..

And that's because your ECU is readjusting your timing in response to the higher octane gas.

Remember, octane ratings are just an indication of how resistant to burning the gas is. The additive used these days, and I'm unsure of what it is now, is simply a flame suppressant. The higher the octane rating of a gas, the more resistive it will be to exploding under more advanced timing settings or higher compression ratios before the spark plug can ignite the fuel/air mixture. Of course, oil companies always portray higher octane gas as being a way to increase performance. But unless your owner's manual specifically states your car needs higher octane gas than 87 for peak performance, putting 91 octane in your tank does nothing but enrich the oil companies faster.

Now, heavily modified engines are a whole different animal.......and 91 may not even be close enough. When we were into street racing back when I was a kid (early to mid-70's), Sunoco had a big range of gas up to 98 octane or so.....seem to remember them having 100 octane at one point. The "fasrnu" guys would go airporting and buy AV gas......reputed to be 110 octane or thereabouts.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Mmm, snake oil. :beer:

Originally posted by: bleeb
I don't think octane boosters make any difference... just install NOS in your car.

The local riceboy/import shops have been moving crates upon crates of NOS-brand octane booster. Yes, Holley/NOS makes octane booster. Wonder why? Couldn't be to cash in on a trend/riceboy fad, could it? Naaah.

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Yes they work. You'll probably need two or more bottles per tank though.

ZV

<FnF> Two bottles. The BIG ones. And I need them by tonight. </FnF>

The "octane boost" you're getting is probably all in your head. Your money would be better off spend upping to a better grade of gas at the pump - or in gregshin's case, just suck it up and pay for the race gas when you're going for a day at the track. If the performance gain isn't substantial enough to justify the price hike, then just stick to 91 octane (or whatever you can get without incurring wallet-rapage). For daily driving, I doubt that your engines taking any extra abuse from being two points short unless you're constantly redlining the thing and pushing your psi to stupid-high levels.

And BTW, I wanna see timeslips.

- M4H

 

[jjessico]

Octane booster will not do anything for your car. Its octane boost rating is points is not what you think. 1 point of octane boost will not turn 92 octane into 93. 1 point of octane boost will turn 92 into 92.1. So think about how much you would have to pour in there to get one point. On top of that, unless your motor has knocking problems from too high of compression with crappy gas, you probably won't get a whole ton of power out of a 92 to 93 jump.

Although you can mix your own octane boost, you had better be ready for a big oops if you screw up. I honestly don't think its worth it.

On another note, that no one has mentioned yet, do not put AVgas or leaded racing fuel into a late model. The lead will destroy the oxygen sensor. They do make special non-leaded race gas for high compression rice boy cars, so you might want to check that out.

Jason

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
The "octane boost" you're getting is probably all in your head. - M4H

Incorrect. Though they don't raise the octane by more than about 0.5 points.

ZV

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
The "octane boost" you're getting is probably all in your head. - M4H

Incorrect. Though they don't raise the octane by more than about 0.5 points.

ZV

Well, if you're gonna get picky then ...

I really doubt that most drivers would notice if you dropped a bottle of the stuff in their tank. Switching them from regular to premium, sure you might notice a little more pep - but not for a half-point boost (at most) from snake oil.

- M4H

 

[Templeton]

You might want to look into making your own using xylene, the small bottles you find in stores will probably cost more then just running race gas. You might also want to look into water or propane injection if you are mainly looking to supress knock while upping the boost/advancing timing. I haven't used either personally, but have researched water injection a bunch and plan and throwing together a kit this spring. It's nice because it's only injected above a certain pressure level you set, so you wont have to worry about constantly filling up the reservoir when doing highway driving.