Buying 110 to bring octane up, good or bad

[ronbuick]

Here in Idaho the best we can get is 91 octane, so I'm buying a barrel of 110
to bring up the octane level to around 95-98 with 23 -25lbs boost, with you guru's out there is this a good thing or a dumb thing to do??

Ron

 

[Terry_H]

Wouldn't alky injection kit be way cheaper in the long run? Save the race gas for the track.

 

[d90dan]

I have mixed pump/race gas in the past with no problems.
Only down side is if the 110 is leaded you'll be going through 02 sensors and plugs more often.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

I have been mixing a 50/50 of 110 and 93 for over 2 years on my Talon and all is well. You will want to get a Denso Stainless 02 for sure, my Denso lasted 2 years before dying while the factory sensor died in 3 weeks!!!!

One nice thing about tuning to the blend is that no worries about pumps dying and things going dry or getting clogged.

But I do agree that it would be cheaper to go alky, just have the pump rebuilt every year and you will be ok.

 

[Mr.Spool]

ronbuick,i would definatly switch the car over to alky.i remember the days of race fuel and i don't miss them.the race gas works but is extremly expensive,i can't see putting that in the tank with gas prices where they are at now.i run the alkycontrol kit and it plain works for alot cheaper.i have had 0 issues with the system and you can live in those high boost areas.my system has run flawlessly for several years now without being touched at all,i've also seen fuel pumps fail on 8-9 second pass and blow motors.everything mechanical can break weather its an alky pump or fuel pump running race gas.

 

[ronbuick]

This will be for track use only, heck you can not race on the streets any more, too many people on the roads, unless your a complete idiot or it is way late at night, but then again I'm old and in bed by 9:30, in the good ol days you could get away with it, but not in today's world. I do run alky but want to bring the octane level up to around 95-98 just to be on the safe side because of the crappy 91 that we get around here, so my question still stands, good idea or bad??

Ron

 

[Mr.Spool]

ronbuick,do you knock with the alky and 91?what is target safe, 800mv?i've run 91 and alky with no knock.

 

[ronbuick]

At 22lbs no knock will be going to 23-25lbs,, just want the added insurance or maybe I'm just paranoid.

Ron

 

[Boost231]

i think your idea is good. its always good to have a cushin once you start turning the boost way up. anything over 25 i would like to have some more ocatane myself then just 91 in the tank.

 

[Not Avg 6]

I have been mixing a 50/50 of 110 and 93 for over 2 years on my Talon and all is well. You will want to get a Denso Stainless 02 for sure, my Denso lasted 2 years before dying while the factory sensor died in 3 weeks!!!!

One nice thing about tuning to the blend is that no worries about pumps dying and things going dry or getting clogged.

But I do agree that it would be cheaper to go alky, just have the pump rebuilt every year and you will be ok.

Dr. Booster,

You get your pump rebuilt every year?

 

[Razor]

I replace my fuel pump once a year whether it needs it or not. It's cheap in the scheme of things. An engine is $4000 and a fuel pump is $100. You play you have to pay.

cheers,

Julio

PS: Ron, if "you" feel safer adding race gas go for it.

 

[Not Avg 6]

I replace my fuel pump once a year whether it needs it or not. It's cheap in the scheme of things. An engine is $4000 and a fuel pump is $100. You play you have to pay.

cheers,

Julio

PS: Ron, if "you" feel safer adding race gas go for it.

OK Julio, I'll do the pump once a year. I still very new to this, I guess we should do the filter also. Is it anything else?

 

[Razor]

I guess my point is, if you rely on things that can at some point fail, then we need to look at their service interval.

Some can say their alcohol pump last's 8 years.. others 2 years.. etc.. if you wait until it fails.. what happens when it fails.. can be a lot bigger problem.

If you do yearly pumps.. you more than likely wont ever have a problem. Maybe a pump every 1.5-2 years. Whatever interval you feel most comfortable with. Vs someone who replaces after it fails...

There are knock sensors, system test buttons, visuals, pressure readings, etc that can be done. This gives us a cushion and sense things are working.

Just, dont race your engine to 30 PSI boost with a 10 year old fuel pump in the tank...to see if the motor leans out.. this is the point.

What is my recommended service interval on the alky pump... I would say every 1.5-2 years should be fine. If your using the system extensively, and running the motor on the edge all the time, replace the pump yearly. At this point, it has more than paid for itself in race gas savings.

Most of the pumps I see fail are contamination related(fuel/oil/debris). Others when they get over 4 years old, the seal starts drying out.. but this depends on alcohol used, environmental, etc..

This pump replacement question is a hard thing to answer. I would love to see the alcohol pump last 20 years, but at some point we need to be practical on mechanical parts subjected to a chemical.

 

[Not Avg 6]

I see your point, being a newbie, I never did look at it that way. I don't want to find out my pump limit the hard way. Thanks

 

[turbov6joe]

I've found that the race gas/meth combo slows my car down down quite a bit....too much octane (slow burn). I ended up draining my TTA of all it's 112 and switched to straight 92 and the car was picking up 28 mph between the 1/8 & 1/4 split....with race gas/meth it was maybe 22mph gained. I'm not a chemist, but the difference between 91 and 92 octane is minimal.

 

[GNVYUS 1]

I sent the pump back to Julio to get upgraded etc after the first year of use and plan on doing it every year of usage. The problem is that the car does not run every year so I technically don't get it rebuilt every year. :frown:

 

[ronbuick]

I do not plan to run straight 110 and meth, kinda defeats the purpose, what i will try is 5agl. of 91 and 2 gal of 110, that should give me about 96 or so octane on 25lbs and see what happens form there.

Ron