Octane

[bobreimer]

With a Vortech supercharger I need 94 Octane which is generally available here in Canada.

However, sometime on a trip I wind up with 91, or 89, and the car feels just dead. That happened last weekend. So I added a bottle of Octane Booster.

End of problem. The engine felt sharp, just like its old self. From now on I'll keep a couple of bottles in the trunk for those times when I can't get the higher octane fuel.

 

[gmail]

umm i really dont know if you should be boosting anything if you dont know about detonation.
you do relise detonation can blow your engine up?
i really think you need to do some reading on boosted engines.

the reason you were down on power is because the computer probley seen the detonation and pulled so much timing the car was down on power.

if i was boosting even 9 lbs like that i wouldnt be running anything less then premium stuff.

you could get away with lower octane fuels if you stayed out of boost but why risk it ?

you spent the money for the supercharged setup why run a chance of blowing it on cheap fuel?

get a second car is what i say.

 

[93rev2sev]

gmail, he said that he uses 94 octane but last weekend it wasn't available so he added octane booster. He obviously knows about detonation.

Everything about your post was sophomoric.

How many lbs of boost are you running?

 

[yamahaSHO]

I honestly don't get the point of the post. Obviously higher octane is going to allow more timing and if he's running a SHO Shop tune, that's exactly what they do, give lots of timing. When you run lower octane, it'll detonate so bad that it will pull the full 10* out and thus the slow feeling. You'd be better running the correct timing at lower octane.


It was my impression that most octane boosters only bring the octane up .x (IE: 91.2, 91.3, etc...).

 

[1995mtxsho]

NOS Brand Octane booster is the only "booster" I have found to do much of anything.

Read the bottles, most advertise Points. 10 points equals 1 number that you would see at the pump, e.g. 91 octane.

Most bottles of booster will give the point value, and in nearly all cases it is miniscuel. Almost all that I have seen advertise LESS than 10 points...
Thats like going from 91 octane to 91.7 octane. For what ? $3-$6?

NOS Brand is the only one I have found to ADVERTISE 60 points; 6 octane numbers. Going from 91 octane to 97. Now that is an actual improvement.

Around my area NOS Octane Booster runs around $11 a bottle, which is a little expensive, but it does actually do somehting FOR your money.

 

[SHOZ123]

Toluene is what is most octane booster additives are made of. Buy it straight by the gallon. A lot cheaper.

 

[SHOZ123]

Easiest to get is lacquer thinner with is ~50/50 toluene and xylene and about $10 a gallon.

Homebrew Gasoline Octane Boosters
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Formula #1 - Toluene
R+M/2.........114
Cost...........$2.50/gal

Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.2 Octane
20%...........96.4 Octane
30%...........98.6 Octane

Notes: Common ingredient in Octane Boosters in a can. 12-16
ounces will only raise octane 2-3 *points*, i.e. from 92 to
92.3.
Often costs $3-5 for 12-16 ounces, when it can be purchased for
less than $3/gal at chemical supply houses or paint stores.

Formula #2 - Xylene
R+M/2.........117
Cost...........$2.75/gal

Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.5 Octane
20%...........97.0 Octane
30%...........99.5 Octane

Notes: Similar to Toulene. 12-16 ounces will only raise octane
2-3 *points*, i.e. from 92 to 92.3. Usually mixed with Toulene
and advertised as *race formula*.

Formula #3 - Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE)
R+M/2.........118
Cost...........$3.50/gal

Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.6 Octane
20%...........97.2 Octane
30%...........99.8 Octane

Notes: Oxygenate. Very common in octane booster products. Has
lower BTU content than toulene or xylene, but oxygenate effect
makes the gasoline burn better and produce more energy.
Formula #4 - Methanol or Ethanol
R+M/2.........101
Cost...........$0.60 - $1.75/gal

Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.3 Octane (Methanol)
10%...........94.7 Octane (Ethanol)
20%...........Not Recommended

Notes: Methanol is wood alcohol. Ethanol is grain alcohol and
found in Gasohol in 10% ratios. Both alcohols are mildly
corrosive and will eat gas tank linings, rubber and aluminum if
used in excessive ratios. Main ingredient in "Gas Dryers",
combine with water.

Formula #5 - Isopropyl Alcohol and Tertiary Butyl Alcohol
R+M/2.........101
Cost...........$0.60-$1.50/gal

Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.5 Octane
20%...........Not Recommended
30%...........Not Recommended

Notes: Similar to Methanol/Ethanol. Isopropyl Alcohol is simply
rubbing alcohol.

Sample Mixture
To make your own octane booster, it is easiest to make up a
large
batch, and then bottle it up in "dosage-size" uses.

Below is the basic formula of one of the popular octane booster
products. To make eight 16 ounce bottles (128 oz = 1 gal):
100 oz of toulene for octane boost
25 oz of mineral spirits (cleaning agent)
3 oz of transmission fluid (lubricating agent)

This product is advertised as "octane booster with cleaning
agent
*and* lubricating agent!". Diesel fuel or kerosene can be
substituted for mineral spirits and light turbine oil can be
substituted for transmission fluid. Color can be added with
petroleum dyes.

 

[bobreimer]

Good comments all .... nice use of "sophomoric".

I was only making a suggestion for those situations where you can't get the fuel you need. Its not a scientific observation and I know that a lot of testing shows that octane boosters don't do much (Fifth Gear for example) .... but I think they do help with forced induction .... and while its a subjective observation .... I could feel the difference immediately.

I've driven my SHO Shop S/C car for three years now with no problems or reliability issues. Not a perfect tune, but a good street car. When forced to run lower octane fuels I just stay out of the boost.

 

[gmail]

gmail, he said that he uses 94 octane but last weekend it wasn't available so he added octane booster. He obviously knows about detonation.

Everything about your post was sophomoric.

How many lbs of boost are you running?

he said 9 lbs first off.

also he dont seem to know much if hes willing to risk his engine with low grade fuels when boosted..
sorry if your not gonna use caution dont cry when it blows.

im not trying to be rude to the guy but i think he needs to spend some more time learning.
it was a smart idea keeping a lot of octane booster in the car in the future in case something like this happens again.

personally id probley just use another car or plan my route out better if there is a risk of not having high grade fuel

 

[ycode90]

Octane is your friend.