Octane booster: Worth it?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 494
Likes: 12
From: Aubrey Texas
Octane booster: Worth it?
Hi guys,
Bone stock 2002 Z06
here in texas the difference between 87 and 93 octane is over 60 cents a gallon. I know that some octane boosters, burn up the cats, and o2 sensors. So would putting say 87 or 89 in with octane booster be better, or would Torco race fuel concentrate be better? Or should I just stay with 93 octane. Purchasing octane booster/race fuel concentrate would probably cost more than just filling up with premium. Just wondering if there are any benefits to either option.
Thanks,
Logan
Bone stock 2002 Z06
here in texas the difference between 87 and 93 octane is over 60 cents a gallon. I know that some octane boosters, burn up the cats, and o2 sensors. So would putting say 87 or 89 in with octane booster be better, or would Torco race fuel concentrate be better? Or should I just stay with 93 octane. Purchasing octane booster/race fuel concentrate would probably cost more than just filling up with premium. Just wondering if there are any benefits to either option.
Thanks,
Logan
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 5,278
Likes: 539
From: Kelowna BC
How much driving do you do? OK, $0.60/Gal is a fair chunk, but what does it cost you monthly?
Me, it's just one of the costs of driving such a car. Nice and simple; go to the gas station and fill up with 94 octane, done. I couldn't bother messing with octane booster.
Me, it's just one of the costs of driving such a car. Nice and simple; go to the gas station and fill up with 94 octane, done. I couldn't bother messing with octane booster.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 5,375
Likes: 328
From: CA.
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15
I never trusted octane boosters---If you look at your plugs after running them they all turn a weird shade of red/orange--Who knows how these chemicals can affect the life of your engine----If you are feeling racey you would be better off mixing about a 50/50 mix of unleaded race gas and that would raise your octane level to about 98---
Unless your car was tuned with lots of timing there would be no benefit to run higher than 91/93 anyway----A stock C5 should run well with pump gas on a stock tune--
Hi oct fuel does not make more HP unless you are having detonation from excessive timing from a re tune---
PS: these heads are so efficient that they do not require lots of timing---Not uncommon for an engine to make the best HP at WOT with LS6 or 243 heads with only 19* of timing----
Unless your car was tuned with lots of timing there would be no benefit to run higher than 91/93 anyway----A stock C5 should run well with pump gas on a stock tune--
Hi oct fuel does not make more HP unless you are having detonation from excessive timing from a re tune---
PS: these heads are so efficient that they do not require lots of timing---Not uncommon for an engine to make the best HP at WOT with LS6 or 243 heads with only 19* of timing----
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 122
Likes: 7
[QUOTE=L_popo;1591260700]Hi guys,
Or should I just stay with 93 octane. P/QUOTE]
I take the contrarian view
to stimulate discussion.
Unless you are tracking the car or at WOT all the time - your car will run just fine with 87 octane Regular. There is an alternate fueling map already there that will conform to Regular gas. When the system recognizes impending knock, it will pull back the timing - which costs you HP (mostly at WOT).
But for a driver where you find WOT maybe twice a week, you may hardly notice the difference. Find out for yourself - run a 1/2 tank of 87 and see what happens. Especially in the cold weather we're having, you may not see much difference. It's less of an issue with a non-Z, but you should be just fine with 87. If you think combustion deposits are an issue, run a can of Techron every few weeks.
Granted, it's heresy to run Regular in a Z - but it's not necessarily a technical issue. Bottom line - your motor needs 93 octane ONLY when it would otherwise detonate on 87. But your system will prevent detonation - at the expense of WOT performance. The issue is: is some HP loss more important than 60 cents a a gallon?
BTW: for $50 any tuner shop can alter your programming to make 87 octane even less of an issue.
Or should I just stay with 93 octane. P/QUOTE]
I take the contrarian view
to stimulate discussion.Unless you are tracking the car or at WOT all the time - your car will run just fine with 87 octane Regular. There is an alternate fueling map already there that will conform to Regular gas. When the system recognizes impending knock, it will pull back the timing - which costs you HP (mostly at WOT).
But for a driver where you find WOT maybe twice a week, you may hardly notice the difference. Find out for yourself - run a 1/2 tank of 87 and see what happens. Especially in the cold weather we're having, you may not see much difference. It's less of an issue with a non-Z, but you should be just fine with 87. If you think combustion deposits are an issue, run a can of Techron every few weeks.
Granted, it's heresy to run Regular in a Z - but it's not necessarily a technical issue. Bottom line - your motor needs 93 octane ONLY when it would otherwise detonate on 87. But your system will prevent detonation - at the expense of WOT performance. The issue is: is some HP loss more important than 60 cents a a gallon?
BTW: for $50 any tuner shop can alter your programming to make 87 octane even less of an issue.
Last edited by smartadze; Jan 6, 2016 at 11:48 AM.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 494
Likes: 12
From: Aubrey Texas
[QUOTE=smartadze;1591263350]
Thank you for your input, as you bring up points that I haven't thought of yet. I will try 87 and see how that works.
Hi guys,
Or should I just stay with 93 octane. P/QUOTE]
I take the contrarian view to stimulate discussion.
Unless you are tracking the car or at WOT all the time - your car will run just fine with 87 octane Regular. There is an alternate fueling map already there that will conform to Regular gas. When the system recognizes impending knock, it will pull back the timing - which costs you HP (mostly at WOT).
But for a driver where you find WOT maybe twice a week, you may hardly notice the difference. Find out for yourself - run a 1/2 tank of 87 and see what happens. Especially in the cold weather we're having, you may not see much difference. It's less of an issue with a non-Z, but you should be just fine with 87. If you think combustion deposits are an issue, run a can of Techron every few weeks.
Granted, it's heresy to run Regular in a Z - but it's not necessarily a technical issue. Bottom line - your motor needs 93 octane ONLY when it would otherwise detonate on 87. But your system will prevent detonation - at the expense of WOT performance. The issue is: is some HP loss more important than 60 cents a a gallon?
BTW: for $50 any tuner shop can alter your programming to make 87 octane even less of an issue.
Or should I just stay with 93 octane. P/QUOTE]
I take the contrarian view
to stimulate discussion.Unless you are tracking the car or at WOT all the time - your car will run just fine with 87 octane Regular. There is an alternate fueling map already there that will conform to Regular gas. When the system recognizes impending knock, it will pull back the timing - which costs you HP (mostly at WOT).
But for a driver where you find WOT maybe twice a week, you may hardly notice the difference. Find out for yourself - run a 1/2 tank of 87 and see what happens. Especially in the cold weather we're having, you may not see much difference. It's less of an issue with a non-Z, but you should be just fine with 87. If you think combustion deposits are an issue, run a can of Techron every few weeks.
Granted, it's heresy to run Regular in a Z - but it's not necessarily a technical issue. Bottom line - your motor needs 93 octane ONLY when it would otherwise detonate on 87. But your system will prevent detonation - at the expense of WOT performance. The issue is: is some HP loss more important than 60 cents a a gallon?
BTW: for $50 any tuner shop can alter your programming to make 87 octane even less of an issue.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 156
Likes: 19
From: Reading Pennsylvania
The 93 octane has twice the additive package content of the 87 octane. This is primarily to keep the fuel system clean including the intake valves. For the difference in price I would use 93 octane.
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no way would I run 87 in mine but that's just me... gas in our area has been pretty cheap as of late, if you can't afford a few more bucks per fill up for the good gas then maybe try not to drive it as much or look into getting a different car
Racer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 297
Likes: 26
From: San Jose California
Octane is misunderstood
As a Chemical Engineer, I know that octane (C8H18) has less energy than the mixture of hydrocarbons that we call gasoline. The ONLY reason we accept the reduction of energy due to the addition of Octane in the gas is because Octane dulls the spread of combustion in order to suppress pre-detonation (knock). Never use a higher octane level than necessary or you're losing power and money.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 2,922
Likes: 219
From: West Branch, MI
So.... dang it.. those supercharger guys were right. Meth injection solves this issue. Really sort of an unusual thread as I like to save $$$ as much as the next guy. But to try and skimp on my gas for a few bucks? Nah. I'll just run the 91 or 93 and pay for it everytime. I'll not be bothered with worrying about saving a few pennies for my baby. I've spent thousands making it my car and the way I want it. A few dollars every week or so just isn't worth the hassle.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 6,226
Likes: 33
From: Morton illinois
St. Jude Donor '14-'15
As a Chemical Engineer, I know that octane (C8H18) has less energy than the mixture of hydrocarbons that we call gasoline. The ONLY reason we accept the reduction of energy due to the addition of Octane in the gas is because Octane dulls the spread of combustion in order to suppress pre-detonation (knock). Never use a higher octane level than necessary or you're losing power and money.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 4,449
Likes: 409
From: Portland OR
You can certainly get spark knock at part throttle high load situations.
The knock sensors certainly do take care of it, but remember they first have to hear it befor acting on it.
The car will slowly revert to the low octane table over time.
Octane boosters move the numbers tenths of points.
There are some that are quite effective. But they are expensive! So there would be no benefit.
Ron
The knock sensors certainly do take care of it, but remember they first have to hear it befor acting on it.
The car will slowly revert to the low octane table over time.
Octane boosters move the numbers tenths of points.
There are some that are quite effective. But they are expensive! So there would be no benefit.
Ron
Instructor
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 122
Likes: 7
It isn't a "learning" function - the lower-grade fueling table is separate, enabled at all times, and the car will revert to it as soon as fuel-related knock is encountered. Switching back to 93 octane reinstates the normal table.