Octane Boosters...good/bad????

[ROKS ROKET]

Any thoughts on the use of octane boosters? 93 is the highest I can get around here in CT. The car runs fine on that , but I see these boosters in the auto stores. STP™ has this 104 octane that you can add to a full tank. Does it really help boost your fuel? I could remember 97 at the pumps, right? I could be wrong or im showing my age. Isn't 1974? Hehehehehe.

Lol, the good ol' days of easy leaning over the fender quick fixes.

ROK

[GTOdriver7]

unless your engine NEEDS the higher octane due to a supercharger, NOS, aggressive head/cam, etc; it is a waste of money. use the minimum octane needed. there are really no gains to be had from using "racing fuel". its just to prevent engine Knock on very high compression engines.
as for fuel additives, i am VERY leary of adding anything to my fuel. many contain alchohol and solvents which can dry up gaskets and seals. hope this helps.

[nikivee]

Talking from experience. They are snake oil, Worthless. When they say gains of 7 points, they don't tell you it's really .7 points.

[ROKS ROKET]

unless your engine NEEDS the higher octane due to a supercharger, NOS, aggressive head/cam, etc; it is a waste of money. use the minimum octane needed. there are really no gains to be had from using "racing fuel". its just to prevent engine Knock on very high compression engines.
as for fuel additives, i am VERY leary of adding anything to my fuel. many contain alchohol and solvents which can dry up gaskets and seals. hope this helps.


That makes sence 7, I used a fuel system cleaner on my "90" DeVille w/ 158k on it, and octane booster too. I haven't used anything, but 93 in the GTO, and never will. It did make the Cadillac run better tho, maybe it just cleaned out the injectors. I had just bought the car in June.

[JimHoward]

Octane has absolutely nothing to do with how much energy is extractable from the fuel. Rather, octane is a measure of resistance to knock (detonation).

So, since some high performance cars have had their compression ratios increased, which tends to increase the tendency to knock, those engines require higher octane.

I have a race car that requires at least 110 octane and I typically use 114 octane merely because it is more convenient and readily available.

I would never consider putting that $6 /gallon fuel into the GTO. It would be a complete waste of money.

Jim

[GTOdriver7]

Octane has absolutely nothing to do with how much energy is extractable from the fuel. Rather, octane is a measure of resistance to knock (detonation).

So, since some high performance cars have had their compression ratios increased, which tends to increase the tendency to knock, those engines require higher octane.

I have a race car that requires at least 110 octane and I typically use 114 octane merely because it is more convenient and readily available.

I would never consider putting that $6 /gallon fuel into the GTO. It would be a complete waste of money.

Jim

everything he said 100% true.

[ColoradoGoat]

everything he said 100% true.

It is not going to give you any added performance.

[GTOdriver7]

It is not going to give you any added performance.

is this a question or a statement?

[gto_in_nc]

Given the period, I'd guess "statement."

[OrangeCrushM6]

Fuel injector cleaners absoulutely work, but octane boosters, forget it.

[gto_in_nc]

With one minor exception, I suppose (now that I think about it...) If the fuel you are using is right at the "knockpoint" for your engine conditions (CR, temp, etc.) such that a fractional increase in octane level (in tenths of a point, perhaps?) would avoid knocks, then the additive could help and, in a computer-controlled car like ours, avoid the knock-avoiding spark retardation.

[GMH GTO]

Far as the family of fuel additives go, how is 500ml gonna do anything when its mixed with 15 gallons of fuel? thats a spit in the bucket. You can get tolulene, mix it properly with 93 gas and make about 98 octane.

But you only need 93 in nearly any streetable LS1 combination.

Fuel injector cleaner doesn't clean injectors well, it cleans the back of intake valves and combustion chamber reasonably. Injectors can only be cleaned and rebuilt off the vehicle by a specialist. They have a screen in them that gets funged up with hardend crazy glue it seams.