Octane booster
 

Hey, 91 Octane out here in Cali ain't supposed to cut it with higher boost levels, right? Is there a such thing as a good octane booster out there, or is there gonna be a need for a mix of higher octane gasoline?

Toluene - 1 gallons/ tankful (20 gal) gets you up to about 95 octane iirc, buy it at any professional paint store in 1 or 5 gal cans. all the other based "Boosters" on the market only give a 2-3% boost (ie 91x1.03 = 93.7) in "Octane Effect" most of which is due to the CLEANING effects of the Methanol/Ethanol and not an actual increase in octane rating. do a search on Toluene it has been discussed on the Forum alot in the past.
:cool:

toluene "trick" is still not a good substitute for proper racing fuel. all other over the counter "octane boosters" are worthless.

How much boost on what kind of turbo are we talking here?

Not sure yet...ordered my ECU and HOPE to get it someday! HA!HA! Just want to be safe though...that must be a pretty good money making scheme though, if that's true about over-the-counter octane boosters.

I wish I had saved the info I got off another forum from an engineer who did some specific testing for a fuel company. they tested all the available brands of octane boosters and checked to see if they did anything. the results showed that things like toluene and a couple other simple chemicals did a better and cheaper job. but all the additives had problems that made race fuel still a better choice.

I honestly had never heard of that chemical before...is it bad for the car though? I honestly don't think I'll be needing any "extra octane", but I was just curious.

It's a nasty chemical. Do not breathe it or let it get on your skin. Prolonged exposure is bad, mmmkay?

Over the counter octane boosters are snake oil. The gas stations that sell race gas around here won't let you simply drive up and start pumping it into your car. You have to pump it into something like a drum that will let you take it offsite.

Octane booster seems to keep my knock levels in check (from Power FC Commander) with 0.85 kg/cm2 (12.1 psi) @ the track? I use Snap Octane Booster. One bottle treats 20 gallons. It's $2/bottle (yellow). Cheap insurance if you ask me...

Toluene is the non-carcinogenic version of the organic solvent, benzene (which is carcinogenic--cancer-causing). Only difference structurally is that toluene has a methyl group (CH3) attached to the benzene ring.

Both have very good anti-knock properties, but will also dilute your gasoline if enough is added.

If you're running high boost, 1 kg/cm2 (14.22 psi) or more, then I'd stick with race fuel (104 unleaded Sunoco GT).

It's non-carcinogenic? Hmm, I'll believe you (I don't really know much about chemistry) but I'm still not going to use it on my Corn Flakes all the same. ;)

according to my wife who is a Bio-environmental Engineer for the USAF, says "proper care should be taken when handling that crap, it's really nasty stuff......you're not using that stuff are you?"

Just in my coffee first thing in the morning, but not after dinner. Otherwise I'd never get to sleep at night.

SleepR1

The tests I read about most octane boosters give you barley .25 -.50 of octane increase ie 93 octane + Booster =93.25. Most of the cheap brands have Methanol while the more expensive VP, NOS, Amsoil have MMT which will give over 1 point.

I use Sunoco 94 unleaded, so if the Snap Octane booster takes me to 95, that one point is enough to decrease my knock readings (Power FC Commander display)...

Of course octane booster is no substitute for the real thing, Sunoco 104 unleaded race fuel; I could run 1 kg/cm2 (14.22 psi) @ the track with 104 race fuel!

With 94 unleaded and octane booster I run 0.80 to 085 kg/cm2 (11.4 to 12.1 psi) @ the track with knock levels in the low 100s. Without octane booster I've seen knock levels as high as 180 to 190 with Power FC Commander. Like I said octane booster is cheap insurance...

Try the threads on toluene on supraforums, they have reams of info, not the least of which is the fact that F1 used it to keep their motors in one piece back in the day of the 40psi Turbo engines. There are guys here running 30psi on California gas, and toluene mix. The ratios are ALOT higher than what you guys are talking about though. Carl