Here in California we get this crappy 91 octane gas and have to detune our cars to accomodate it. If I throw a bottle of 104 octane booster in with each tankful of gas, can I safely kick up my timing without fear of detonation?
Does octane booster really work?
- Thread starter badboy
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Badboy if your ride is still under warranty like I assume it is being it's a 2004, Warranties have been denied because of evidence of octane booster being used. Do a search :beer:
I don't have much of a warranty left with all my mods so that's not an issue for me.
Does it matter what kind of booster you use? Alcohol based (Machtane) or petroleum based?
Does it matter what kind of booster you use? Alcohol based (Machtane) or petroleum based?
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Jim Bell of Kenne Bell recommends an Octane Booster on his web site. I can't remember it off the top of my head...but he swears up and down by it. It actually comes in 3 different strengths and Summit carries all three last I looked.
Yes...they absolutely work. You just have to make sure you get one that is sensor safe.
I live in Arizona and we run the exact same swill you do. I find it interesting that you are tuning for it. I haven't touched mine and I've never heard it detonate. Of course, I'm still stock too so if you've turned the boost up, I can understand that.
Yes...they absolutely work. You just have to make sure you get one that is sensor safe.
I live in Arizona and we run the exact same swill you do. I find it interesting that you are tuning for it. I haven't touched mine and I've never heard it detonate. Of course, I'm still stock too so if you've turned the boost up, I can understand that.
You would need 1 gallon of 104 octane booster per 4 gallons of 91 octane gas to arrive at a mix of 93.6 Octane. How much do those 12 oz bottles cost?
If you want reasonably priced octane booster that actually works, buy some pure Xylene from your local hardware or paint store. It has an effective octane rating of 114-116. You will need to mix in a few teaspoons of Marvel Mystery Oil to provide lubrication to the injectors and pumps, since Xylene is so dry. You can also use Toulene, which has a slightly lower effective octane rating. The Turbo Buick community has a lot of information on xylene at www.turbobuicks.com . A 1:3 ratio, xylene to pump fuel, is a pretty good mix that nets 98-99oct. A 2:3 ratio can net you 101-102oct, but that's a pretty strong mix. If you're worried about the effects of xylene and/or toulene, just look up that composition of race fuel... xylene and toulene are what provide the bulk of the octane boost.
The bottled boosters don't work as advertised. They can effectively raise the octane rating of a full tank by less than a full point. Very expensive option if you want to actually raise is by a few full points. The stuff that Jim Bell recommends is NOS octane booster. According to the Summit website, a 12oz. container of this crap raises the octane level of 12gal of fuel by 4-7 octane points! People assume they mean full points, when they really mean 0.4-0.7. For 12oz. of anything to raise the effective octane rating of 12gal of 93oct fuel, the booster would need an effective octane rating of 609!
The street version of NOS booster is only good for 2-3 points, as in 02.-0.3 octane points.
The bottled boosters don't work as advertised. They can effectively raise the octane rating of a full tank by less than a full point. Very expensive option if you want to actually raise is by a few full points. The stuff that Jim Bell recommends is NOS octane booster. According to the Summit website, a 12oz. container of this crap raises the octane level of 12gal of fuel by 4-7 octane points! People assume they mean full points, when they really mean 0.4-0.7. For 12oz. of anything to raise the effective octane rating of 12gal of 93oct fuel, the booster would need an effective octane rating of 609!
The street version of NOS booster is only good for 2-3 points, as in 02.-0.3 octane points.
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When ever the octane booster sais something like "raises octane 3-4 points" what that really means is that you will go from 91 to 91.4 That is not enough difference to change the tune safely.
Find somewhere with unleaded race gas, and mix it in as needed.
Thanks for the info guys.
Which is why using Octane Boost is a waste of money IMO. We discussed this in a thread a year or so ago. The general concensus was that to gain an appreciable increase in octane you'd have to spend more money on Boost than you would probably find practical. Adding one bottle to a tank of gas isn't going to do much of anything.MidLifeC said:
Good post. I should have read it before posting mine comment above. You said it a heck of a lot better than I did. ;-)WDW MKR said:If you want reasonably priced octane booster that actually works, buy some pure Xylene from your local hardware or paint store. It has an effective octane rating of 114-116. You will need to mix in a few teaspoons of Marvel Mystery Oil to provide lubrication to the injectors and pumps, since Xylene is so dry. You can also use Toulene, which has a slightly lower effective octane rating. The Turbo Buick community has a lot of information on xylene at www.turbobuicks.com . A 1:3 ratio, xylene to pump fuel, is a pretty good mix that nets 98-99oct. A 2:3 ratio can net you 101-102oct, but that's a pretty strong mix. If you're worried about the effects of xylene and/or toulene, just look up that composition of race fuel... xylene and toulene are what provide the bulk of the octane boost.
The bottled boosters don't work as advertised. They can effectively raise the octane rating of a full tank by less than a full point. Very expensive option if you want to actually raise is by a few full points. The stuff that Jim Bell recommends is NOS octane booster. According to the Summit website, a 12oz. container of this crap raises the octane level of 12gal of fuel by 4-7 octane points! People assume they mean full points, when they really mean 0.4-0.7. For 12oz. of anything to raise the effective octane rating of 12gal of 93oct fuel, the booster would need an effective octane rating of 609!
badboy said:
NOS is the only one that really works to raise octane. I read this a bit back in either Hot Rod or Car Craft, but 104 and other large names were included, but the NOS stuff was the only one that actually worked.
Some of the other homeade ways don't really work for raising it. I'm sure that an engineer could tell you the difference, but for all intents and purposes, it's probably not worth the money.
Side note, Lucas Oil Products make a fuel additive/stabilizer. It works really well to aid against detonation, as well as helping reduce the ill effects of low sulfur fuel. It also helps hold the fuels octane while in storage. I'm a big fan of it, works really well.
Some of the other homeade ways don't really work for raising it. I'm sure that an engineer could tell you the difference, but for all intents and purposes, it's probably not worth the money.
Side note, Lucas Oil Products make a fuel additive/stabilizer. It works really well to aid against detonation, as well as helping reduce the ill effects of low sulfur fuel. It also helps hold the fuels octane while in storage. I'm a big fan of it, works really well.
mblgjr said:
Xylene and Toulene may be considered homemade, but they are the only solutions that work. The are the exact chemicals that are in race fuel. You just have to add a little lubrication to offset the dry nature of the chemical.
RDSZ said:
I have heard some good things about Torco, but that gets really expensive. That stuff lists for $16/bottle. Xylene isn't cheap either, but it's cheaper than that. Cheapest way to buy it is in 5gal cans. I would be interested to know that actual octane rating of the Torco. Biggest advantage would be that it's pre-lubricated.
AZ gas sucks! Good think i can get 100, 109, or 116 octane!
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