like the title says? just thought about trying some,wanted to see what you guys think. my car really likes sunoco ultra 94,thats all i ever put in it,unless i run race fuel. car seems a little more finiky with this new combo @15lbs of boost and on a TT chip,timing i have at about 16 degrees
octane booster is it worth it
- Thread starter BIGPSI
- Start date
Welcome!
By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.
In short...........waste of money. If you look at the bottle, you will see that you aren't even getting a half octane boost. Most of the ones you find on the shelf are about .2 octane. That will make no real difference what so ever. If you are looking for more boost, you should be ok to about 17psi on 94 octane and no alky. Anything over that, and I would be careful.
Anything you add 16oz at a time to your fuel is snake oil.
If you want to run more boost....get an alky system. You are taking a BIG chance turning up the wick with over the counter octane boosters.
94 octane and 16-18 psi is more than enough to put a whoopin on almost every car in your neighborhood.
Run that stuff for a while, then pull your orange plugs out and take a look.
If you want to run more boost....get an alky system. You are taking a BIG chance turning up the wick with over the counter octane boosters.
94 octane and 16-18 psi is more than enough to put a whoopin on almost every car in your neighborhood.
Run that stuff for a while, then pull your orange plugs out and take a look.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2002
- Messages
- 13,068
It's not going to hurt anything. I was getting knock at 15lbs of boost, just added the booster and can run 17 with no knock. You should have some room to move on the boost and timing even on 94 Sunoco. Just keep an eye on the scanmaster readings. I feel it's worth it but my mods are not real aggressive.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2002
- Messages
- 13,068
Nor will it help.
Save your $5 and go buy a 5 dollar footlong at Subway, you will feel better.
So thats what's mucking up my plugs. 94 is no longer available in NY, but there is 110 over by the local race track for like $7.50 /gal.
Turbo6Smackdown
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2005
- Messages
- 6,110
Race fuel for 7.50 a gallon? There ya go. Mix it in with your normal fuel, and off ya go. You can mix for 95 octane for pretty cheap. Now you know it's the real deal. Make sure it's not leaded though (most likely it is... why leaded is even still around ive no clue) or you'll gum up your O2 sensor.
Best bet. Buy a gallon of xylene.
Though, by the 35th or so can of xylene you've bought, you could have installed an alky kit
So to recap;
"Anything you add 16oz at a time to your fuel is snake oil. "
"16-18 psi is more than enough to put a whoopin on almost every car in your neighborhood."
"Save your $5 and go buy a 5 dollar footlong at Subway, you will feel better."
Best bet. Buy a gallon of xylene.
Though, by the 35th or so can of xylene you've bought, you could have installed an alky kit
So to recap;
"Anything you add 16oz at a time to your fuel is snake oil. "
"16-18 psi is more than enough to put a whoopin on almost every car in your neighborhood."
"Save your $5 and go buy a 5 dollar footlong at Subway, you will feel better."
Turbo6Smackdown
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2005
- Messages
- 6,110
Wait a minute... I just seen your signature...
You have a girdled block with a front mount...and you're askin about octane booster in a can?? Woah. You got a lot of reading to do, with an engine like that. Did this car come that way? Did you just get it?
Not trying to flame anyone, cuz I don't do that, but, I hope your screenname changes to lowpsi, 'till you find out how fuel is made, and how it works, and how that relates to our cars, or you're going to blow the pistons right out of your hood, like an anti aircraft missle.
And my next question is... You have a 9", 3500 stall, for a TE45 turbo? Is that right?
You have a girdled block with a front mount...and you're askin about octane booster in a can?? Woah. You got a lot of reading to do, with an engine like that. Did this car come that way? Did you just get it?
Not trying to flame anyone, cuz I don't do that, but, I hope your screenname changes to lowpsi, 'till you find out how fuel is made, and how it works, and how that relates to our cars, or you're going to blow the pistons right out of your hood, like an anti aircraft missle.
And my next question is... You have a 9", 3500 stall, for a TE45 turbo? Is that right?
CaptainInsane-O
Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2006
- Messages
- 262
Continual use of over the counter octane boosters will lead to buildup of a rusty-orange residue... most of these so called boosters only raise your octane by a few tenths & contain a big slug of Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) which is the source of said buildup. With regular use, this gunk will coat the combustion chamber and backsides of your valves worse than cheap gas & old oil. Problem is it starts acting like a heat sink, driving up combustion chamber temps and offering lots of irregular surfaces for pre-ignition (detonation) to flash from.
Most cost effective way to pump up "effective" octane is through an alky kit... Xylene or toluene homebrews can work well too (1:3 mix is like running 100 octane unleaded) but over time ends up costing a lot more than alky will.
Apparently you guys are right on. Lately I've been experiencing this very problem, especially on hot days. I thought it was due to the low octane gas so I kept adding more and more oct. boost. I pulled the plugs last week and yeah they looked like hell. Any ideas on how to undo this?
CaptainInsane-O
Member
- Joined
- Jun 13, 2006
- Messages
- 262
Apparently you guys are right on. Lately I've been experiencing this very problem, especially on hot days. I thought it was due to the low octane gas so I kept adding more and more oct. boost. I pulled the plugs last week and yeah they looked like hell. Any ideas on how to undo this?
Try "steam cleaning" the combustion chamber with a bottle of GM Top Engine Cleaner, Seafoam or pther such product. An alky system will also do the trick FAST or a couple of quarts of xylene / toluene over the next few tankfulls will get the majority of the MMT buildup outta there.
I'll check on that 110 octane near by, if it's leaded I might just put the stock chip back in until I come up with a solution.
RmvBfrFlght
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2007
- Messages
- 2,234
If you are loking for a boost in octane pour a gallon or two of toluene in the tank. Not cheap, but it works. Xylene can also be used, and is higher in octane then toluene, but it is hard on plastics. Which can be found in fuel systems.
RemoveBeforeFlight
RemoveBeforeFlight
Evans Ward
Love those LC2/ Y56 cars!
- Joined
- May 24, 2001
- Messages
- 2,060
+1 on both suggested. Since they are hard on rubber parts, key to it is to use this when you can burn the entire tank within a day or two. Long road trip is a perfect time to do so. :smile:
no this car didn't come this way!! i built it,and i sure as hell know how to turn the fuel up!! just thought i would ask about octane booster since i have no alky or race gas! i've owned this car for over 10 years and ran 11.90's on stock stuff. yes i have a 9'' 3500 for a te 45a and it spools like mad. looks like you need to do some reading up with those 009's and tie down strap,does anyone use those anymore? if you want to bring your car to ohio and run me thats fine,lets see how good you hold up! if you beat me then maybe i'll listen to your advice. thanks everyone else for your input
Turbo6Smackdown
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2005
- Messages
- 6,110
Looks like you took it as a flame... Ahh well. Whether or not a person has the extra money to dump into a car, has no bearing on what knowledge he possesses about it. All I was asking was... if you had this car for that long, how can you just now be asking about this? I'm not trying to insult anyone, it just struck me odd that's all. Don't take it all personal now. That's not my intention.
