are over the shelf octane boosters worth it?

 

Worth what? I don't think that they are worth the octane boost, as there is probably something wrong with your car if it is detonating, so I think that fixing the problem would be better than fixing the symptom. For the added power increase, yes, they may be worth it for your Fast and the Furious street squirrel drag racing. Once agian, though, it would probably be cheaper to use racing fuel or add the active ingredient (methanol, ethanol, xylene, toluolene, kerosene, etc.) instead of paying for the brand name. You can find the active ingredient in your favorite "octane boost" product by researching the MSDS sheet. For example, this one is 80% kerosene (also used as jet fuel, weed killer, degreaser, etc.), and 20% BS (found in nearly every product, LOL).
http://www.wd-wpp.com/msdsmag1/00100994.pdf

 

I thought I am the only one who seldom use the search button! LOL!

Hey Rice Rocket, what is the year, color, trim, and interior color of your RX-7? When did you buy it?

 

Read my post in this thread.

 

VP Racing fuel. I love that stuff.

 

Octane booster isn't necessary useless. For most N/A cars, it is not really necessary. On cars like the WRX that runs best on as high octane as possible, those octane booster would be effective.

Bottom Line: N/A cars don't need them unless you are having problem with detonation.

 

Like I said in the thread I linked, octane boosters do not increase performance on their own! Increased octane just provides higher resistance to detonation. It allows more advanced ignition and/or higher boost, which will make more power. Any engine can benefit from higher octane but only if it's tuned for it. Just tipping a bottle of octane booster into a car's tank will do nothing, no matter what car it is. If any engine is detonating, there is a problem somewhere that's causing it. Octane booster might stop the detonation, but it won't fix the problem. Don't use octane booster to "fix" detonation!

 

I have found that octane boost is a waste of money I tried it to see if I could get better gas milage but I think it got worse. Up at my favorite Sunco you can pull your car up to the back pump and get some 100 octane CAM2. I put that in when I run at the strip really pisses me off when it rains right before I leave for the strip (there goes $20 down the drain)

 

No, turbocharged cars work the same way. If you are not detonating, then you don't need higher octane. The idea that your turbocharged car will run better with the highest octane available is BS, and in some cases the higher octane actually produces slightly less horsepower.

In the US, many of the "octane" boost products actually do contain power-increasing aromatics. However, there is only so much performance (ie not much) that you are going to get from the small 12-16 oz bottle. These bottles sell for $3-10 USD, so it's really more of a gimmick for the teenage street racers.

 

To use Octane booster or no, I would definetly ask Pros such as Reted, Soul Assasins, and Mazda2Turbo for more information.

 

Ah, MSDS's--Material Safety Data Sheets, no ?

The Army is big on those things; it's quite a pita posting them with every kind of POL product in out motor pool.

I've been told by 2 different respected mechanics that the octane "boost" you receive is measured in tenths of an octane unit; as in: gain up to 7 points! means going from 93 to 93.7.

I use race gas as a preventative measure when I'm at the track against detonation. That's it--I know I won't gain any power without retuning my rex

 

Why would you want to raise your octane unless you need to. Higher octane means less combustable by compression. When you raise the compression of your engine, i.e. turbocharger,supercharger,bigger cams(piston engine), rotary porting, lower octane fuel tends to "predetonate", this is called ping-ing. This is bad for your engine and your spark plugs. This is why race cars and such use higher octane in their engine. So unless your car is ping-ing then there is no need to raise your octane.

 

Yeah it's not much better in the Air Force either. You can't even order Windex without first having a copy of the MSDS. The cleaners they would like you to use don't clean crap. Give it up for OSHA and the EPA.

Octane booster are worthless if you ask me. Some say they clean fuel systems, but that's more of preventive maintenance, rather then a permanent fix. I use a mixture of 2 gallons of race gas VP red stuff with 2 gallons of 91 octane. For the added safety of getting a bad tank of gas. However, i don't actually expect to gain any horsepower without significantly tuning it first. Really they're just a waste of money.

 

That’s wrong, read the thread I linked to above. Some octane boosters have been proven to raise octane several points. They do work, but like you said, you still won’t gain any power without tuning for it. Me too. Track time means higher sustained temps, which means an increased chance of detonation. A proven octane booster is cheap insurance.