I'm a little concerned about the tune I currently have and just replaced the rings on a LS6 and don't want to "take them out" with detonation.

Does octane booster really work and if so which one?

 

I tried all the junk from the parts stores and the speed shops. They advertise an increase of 10 points. Then, in the fine print it says 10 points is equal to one (1) octane point----USELESS! The only one I found, unless you mix it up yourself is Torco. They clearly state for example :1 quart to 10 gallons 93 octane=104 Octane, 1 quart to 20 gal
of 93 =97 octane. Their phone number is 1-800-67TORCO. This stuff is about $8-10.00/can. If you have a local distributor, you may be able to save freight. It can ship UPS. I buy a carton of 6 cans. The stuff always seems to be in short supply. Hope this helps.
You can also do a serch for "Torco" for more info.

 

No octane booster is worthless.

Here is the explanation of octane that you really need to read:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question90.htm

Hope that helps.

 

I use 1/2 can Torco to full tank of 91 Chevron and cannot make the engine ping under any driving conditions!!

 

I use Xylene (you can buy it at home depot) and it does wonders for my Grand National. I can increase the boost 3-4 lbs using it without getting any detonation.
I baby my vette, therefore, never used any type of octane boost.

 

Be careful with these products. Most Octane Boosters, including AMSOILs, are leaded. This will cause problems with your 02 sensors.

Read the label of anything like this you buy.

 

Do you know if this is true for TORCO ?

 

'Bess talk to jbsblownC5.
'Nuff said!
Roy

 

Then let us all know what he said.

 

I've been running Torco for almost 2 years now. It plain works with no adverse side affects. It comes in an unleaded version which I am a distibutor for.
JB

Check Forced section for group purchase going on right now. Sign up there.

 

Why? Your mod list shows nothing that would indicate you need any of this.

 

I got pinging when stock and with my mods under high gear loaded conditions as well as very high RPM and worse with heat or A/C on.

TORCO fixed this...I can't MAKE it ping now!

Probably when I get a good dyno tune it should be removed.

 

Look at Torco's active compunds. Is it mostly Toluene, Xylene, or MMT? If so, then just go buy a gallon of it at Home Depot or Lowes, and mix no more than 20% with your fuel. As stated it works great in turbo cars and is cheap.

 

Torco is specifically formulated to go into your car, and a $125 5 gallon can will turn 200 gallons of 91 octane into 100 plus octane race fuel.
How does that compare price wise to putting something from a hardware store into your car?
JB

 

I don't doubt that Torco is blended for gasoline.

But since a large portion of the aromatic content of your gas is Toluene (up to 20% by volume in some gas) adding a bit of Toluene or Xylene can get the octane needed to do the job and do so in a very economonically feasible manner. At ~$5 gallon I say that it fares very well from a cost benefit standpoint. That was my reason for asking about the active components, (for instance an MSDS safety sheet).

Again, my question about the Torco additives were simply to find out what Torco is using since the majority of the active ingredients are probably avaliable off the shelf at your local hardware store and at a fraction of the cost.

As another example you can buy 25 gallons of Super 104 fuel for $125 at the pump. If I buy a drum of it it, its even cheaper... and you can mix it 92 octane pump + 104 unleaded race mixed 1:1 will get you 98 Octane, mixed 2:1 will get you 96 and mixed 3:1 will get you 95, or just run it straight. You have about the same the same effect as most octane boosters.

I question the composition of octane boosts since I have been around gasoline refining my entire life and I do understand a bit about what is and isn't in motor fuel.

If folks are happy with using Torco, thats cool and all. I have no problem with Torco or any of their products. But if you can get the same result for a lot less money, then I'm cool with that also.

 

At $125 for 25 gallons of 104,plus 2.00 a gallon for 25 gallons of super unleaded, that comes to a total of $175 for 50 gallonsof 98 octane fuel.
I can have a 5 gallon can of Torco delivered for no more then $160 total cost. You can mix this with 200 gallons of super to then have 205 gallons of 100 octane for a total cost of $560.

$175 divided by 50 = $3.50 per gallon.

$560 divided by 205 = $2.73 per gallon.


You must also take into account that it is very hard to find 104 in california, you can usually find 100 at the pumps, and that costs $5.50 and up per gallon. We also have 91 not 92 for super. This sways the #s even more.
There are many ways to raise octane for hipo motors, Torco is one very convenient, and cost effective way to do it.

JB

 

Joel

TORCO is even less per gal if you do your math to get 98 octane instead of 100 as was calculated for the pumped gas.

 

I found Torco being discussed on a few forums when I checked into it.

If this is correct, it isn't MMT, its benzene and MTBE unless Unless “proprietary multifunctional additive” = TEL and/or MMT

Benzene is certainly not responsible for the advertised octane increases. It has an octane rating of 115. 10% Benzene = 2 octane increase with typical pump gas. Plus Benzene is a Cat 1 carcinogen, and is a Federally regulated substance.

Xylene that is commonly used as a do-it-yourself fuel additive (like that found at paint supply stores) is a different form (mixed isomer) than that found in laboratory supply stores (single isomer). But the lab-grade single isomer variety is hard to obtain and obscenely expensive (like $100/gallon). The paint-variety Xylene is lower octane than Toluene.

MTBE is an oxygenate.

A quick way to check is pull a plug and see if its orange. Here is a pic of some WRX plugs which ran Torco...



Here are the threads.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=420798

http://www.wrxfanatics.com/index.php...&hl=torco&st=0

http://www.msprotege.com/forum/showthread.php?t=53082

I started one on the Turbo Buick site to see what some of my fellow GN owners are doing.

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/sho...495#post927495



If Torco is using MMT, then all you folks in Cali have bigger issues, as MMT is not really good on your plugs, o2's, and cats...


The general consensus seems to be that it works. It does boost octane. I'm just one of those folks who would prefer to boost octane by adding some aromatic hydrocarbons if I had to.

If you want a small boost in octane 91-93 Toluene/Xylene is cheaper. For a bigger boost, Torco is cheaper.

The price is depends on what target octane you want, if my above plot is correct. When a whole can of Torco is used, and octane is boosted from 91 to 98, then Torco is cheaper:

Torco: $14.00
Xylene: $17.12

If you just want to go from 91 to 93, and my extraopolation from the mixing instructions on the can are correct then the Xylene is cheaper:

Torco: $9.68
Xylene: $4.89

All this assumes Xylene at $4/gal (which can be had at that price from Sherwin Williams in 55 gal drums), and torco costs $14/can.

In 5 gal containers, Xylene costs $6/gal from Sherwin Williams. If this is the case, the cost to boost to 98 is $25.68, and to boost to 93 is $7.34. So even buying 5 gal at a time, Xylene is still cheaper than Torco for boosting the octane a little.

So the cost conclusion is (if extrapolating the mixing instructions works):

For raising the octane a little: Xylene
For raising the octane a lot: Torco

 

Great post!

My plugs look just like those!!

You might want to rework your math as TORCO can be had thru Joel at $125 for 5 galons!!!!!

 

Without lab analysis I can't say for sure, but based on past experience I would suspect that Torco is using MMT based on what folks find when swapping plugs. Those same deposits end up in the combustion chamber, plugs 02 sensors and cats...

I can't give a quantatative statement as to how much MMT it takes to trash a cat or ruin an o2. But I do think its important for folks to understand that this stuff while cheaper in its initial costs could end up costing a bit more in the long term depending on usage, etc... I guess we can wait to hear if no one has any long term issues, then I guess its all good. If we hear to the contrary, I guess this might get discussed again.

Toluene/Xylene while not as cost effective as an octane boost once you reach a certain point has three advantages.


1. Toluene is a pure hydrocarbon (C7H8). i.e. it contains only hydrogen and carbon atoms. It belongs to a particular category of hydrocarbons called aromatic hydrocarbons. Complete combustion of toluene yields CO2 and H2O. This fact ensures that the entire emission control system such as the catalyst and oxygen sensor of your car is unaffected. There are no metallic compounds (lead, magnesium etc), no nitro compounds and no oxygen atoms in toluene. It is made up of exactly the same ingredients as ordinary gasoline. In fact it is one of the main ingredients of gasoline.

2. Toluene has a RON octane rating of 121 and a MON rating of 107, leading to a (R+M)/2 rating of 114. (R+M)/2 is how ordinary fuels are rated in the US. Note that toluene has a sensitivity rating of 121-107=14. This compares favorably with alcohols which have sensitivities in the 20-30 range. The more sensitive a fuel is the more its performance degrades under load. Toluene's low sensitivity means that it is an excellent fuel for a heavily loaded engine.

3. Toluene is denser than ordinary gasoline (0.87 g/mL vs. 0.72-0.74) and contains more energy per unit volume. Thus combustion of toluene leads to more energy being liberated and thus more power generated. This is in contrast to oxygenated octane boosters like ethanol or MTBE which contain less energy per unit volume compared to gasoline. The higher heating value of toluene also means that the exhaust gases contain more kinetic energy, which in turn means that there is more energy to drive turbocharger vanes. In practical terms this is experienced as a faster onset of turbo boost.


Again, its a cost benefit analysis. I mentioned race gas @ the pump. Super 104 is sold at my local drag strip @ the pump for $4.75/gallon. I can order a drum of fuel for myself even cheaper. Of course, I can mix up boosters of various sorts to. I prefer race gas followed by Toluene/Xylene. But, thats just me. Use what works for you, and what you are happy with. I just like for folks to have all the information they need to make decisions.