Sunoco Racing Fuel
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 354
Likes: 193
Sunoco Racing Fuel
There is a place about an hour from my house that sells Sunoco Racing Fuel. Supposedly a choice of 95/99/110 octane.
Is there any reason(s) to put some in my base 2014 Stingray?
more importantly,
is there any reason(s) NOT to put it in?
thx
Is there any reason(s) to put some in my base 2014 Stingray?
more importantly,
is there any reason(s) NOT to put it in?
thx
Pro
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 566
Likes: 277
From: Amarillo TX
There's no reason to use race fuel. Your Stingray doesn't need the extra octane (some debate using 87 rather than 91!)..Save the money for something else. Generally, the outlets selling race fuel also sell ethanol-free 91. That's what I choose to use. A tad better mileage and easier on your fuel lines and internals.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 581
Likes: 166
Short answer. There is no benefit to running fuel with an octane rating higher than what the owners manual calls for.
Longer answer. The octane rating in fuel is just telling you how stable the fuel is. By this I mean how resistant it is to premature ignition. When you increase cylinder pressure through higher boost, more compression, or more timing advance the fuel needs to be stable enough to not self ignite. When this happens we call this knock.
Luckily our cars are smart enough to hear this through knock sensors and can pull power to safely run lower octane fuel. Though I obviously don't suggest running regular in your corvette especially not a boosted one. Unfortunately this only goes one way with the factory ecu and tune.
So unless you're suffering from knock running race fuel will not benefit you in anyway over a quality premium fuel from the pump.
Now you can have your car tuned for race fuel and it will make more power. Especially if it's modified.
This is also why people have their cars tuned for Ethanol fuel like E85. As the Ethanol is effectively an octane booster and also burns cooler compared to normal gas.
Longer answer. The octane rating in fuel is just telling you how stable the fuel is. By this I mean how resistant it is to premature ignition. When you increase cylinder pressure through higher boost, more compression, or more timing advance the fuel needs to be stable enough to not self ignite. When this happens we call this knock.
Luckily our cars are smart enough to hear this through knock sensors and can pull power to safely run lower octane fuel. Though I obviously don't suggest running regular in your corvette especially not a boosted one. Unfortunately this only goes one way with the factory ecu and tune.
So unless you're suffering from knock running race fuel will not benefit you in anyway over a quality premium fuel from the pump.
Now you can have your car tuned for race fuel and it will make more power. Especially if it's modified.
This is also why people have their cars tuned for Ethanol fuel like E85. As the Ethanol is effectively an octane booster and also burns cooler compared to normal gas.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2019
Posts: 5,542
Likes: 2,219
From: Loveland
If you use higher octane fuel than your car "needs", it will actually deliver less power. Higher octane fuel has less power in it. The reason you need high octane fuel is to stop detonation, high octane fuel is less volatile so it doesn't explode in the cylinder rather than burn.
The gas company want you to purchase the highest octane fuel they have,,,,,,, super dooper fuel. SUPER expensive fuel.
The gas company want you to purchase the highest octane fuel they have,,,,,,, super dooper fuel. SUPER expensive fuel.
Last edited by kodpkd; Jan 8, 2024 at 09:13 AM.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 954
Likes: 377
From: Louisiana
I run 110 on track for the knock protection. It's relatively cheap insurance.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,521
Likes: 3,312
From: Hartford WI
If you use higher octane fuel than your car "needs", it will actually deliver less power. Higher octane fuel has less power in it. The reason you need high octane fuel is to stop detonation, high octane fuel is less volatile so it doesn't explode in the cylinder rather than burn.
The gas company want you to purchase the highest octane fuel they have,,,,,,, super dooper fuel. SUPER expensive fuel.
The gas company want you to purchase the highest octane fuel they have,,,,,,, super dooper fuel. SUPER expensive fuel.
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Corvette & Porsche 911: How Two Icons Conquered the Last 25 Years
Joe Kucinski
2027 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 First Look: Everything You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
5 Best & 5 Worst Corvette Daily Drivers
Joe Kucinski
The Headlights of Every Corvette Generation Explained
Joe Kucinski
5 Best & 5 Most Overrated Corvette Track Packages of All Time!
Joe Kucinski
Every 2027 Corvette Engine Explained
Joe Kucinski
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Verdad Gallardo
10 Ugly Corvettes That We Still Kinda Love
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,521
Likes: 3,312
From: Hartford WI
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,762
Likes: 24,892
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
No need to run gas that is a higher octane rating than that recommended in the owner’s manual. Just more expensive.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,521
Likes: 3,312
From: Hartford WI
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2022
Posts: 1,221
Likes: 735
From: Phoenix, Arizona
Money and/or catalytic converter. The 110 is usually leaded, so it can cause issues with your cats if they are still installed. 95 and 100 are non-leaded, but just cost more money. You'll have more knock protection using higher octane, but if you don't race the car on track you probably would be wasting money.
I run 110 on track for the knock protection. It's relatively cheap insurance.
I run 110 on track for the knock protection. It's relatively cheap insurance.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 954
Likes: 377
From: Louisiana
All depends on heat, tune and mods. Like you mentioned someone would have to do some analysis to determine octane. Even then you cannot account for all scenarios that could lead to detonation.
TLDR; Detonation is a non-zero risk.
Price wise. The jump from unleaded 100 to leaded 110 is the same. My car is happy on leaded, so that's what I run.
TLDR; Detonation is a non-zero risk.
Price wise. The jump from unleaded 100 to leaded 110 is the same. My car is happy on leaded, so that's what I run.
Last edited by CPB; Jan 9, 2024 at 11:41 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 28,521
Likes: 3,312
From: Hartford WI
All depends on heat, tune and mods. Like you mentioned someone would have to do some analysis to determine octane. Even then you cannot account for all scenarios that could lead to detonation.
TLDR; Detonation is a non-zero risk.
Price wise. The jump from unleaded 100 to leaded 110 is the same. My car is happy on leaded, so that's what I run.
TLDR; Detonation is a non-zero risk.
Price wise. The jump from unleaded 100 to leaded 110 is the same. My car is happy on leaded, so that's what I run.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 954
Likes: 377
From: Louisiana
I would THINK that you do a few WOT runs and read the datalog. If it knocks, it would be only the start of knocking before the ECM pulls timing away. At least that's what I saw rhe tuner do on my C4 when it was on the dyno. Timing and fuel, I believe. Obviously, he was a pro so he should know how far he can push it and give the appropriate cushion.
tldr: more octane = more protection
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2019
Posts: 1,817
Likes: 616
From: Blacksburg Va
Forgetting ethanol or not, simply a higher octane could benefit a Stingray I think. Several posts above mention the ecu pulling timing to prevent detonation. OK great no detonation, but how about power loss from less timing? Think about how we drive these cars generally in an rpm range that back in the day would have been considered 'lugging' the engine. What happens when you're driving around in 6th at 1500 and need to go up a hill. Put your foot down, or the cruise does it for you, think maybe it knocks a bit and the ecu pulls timing? I am old enough to have messed around w/ cars w/ distributers and no ecus. Spent plenty of time trying a little extra timing to see if I could get more power and used 1500-2500 rpm full accel to see if I got any knocking. So basically, if I could get a gas identical to my normal 91 that had all the same qualities but was also higher octane, I'd love to try it.
Instructor
Joined: Nov 2023
Posts: 209
Likes: 150
All depends on heat, tune and mods. Like you mentioned someone would have to do some analysis to determine octane. Even then you cannot account for all scenarios that could lead to detonation.
TLDR; Detonation is a non-zero risk.
Price wise. The jump from unleaded 100 to leaded 110 is the same. My car is happy on leaded, so that's what I run.
TLDR; Detonation is a non-zero risk.
Price wise. The jump from unleaded 100 to leaded 110 is the same. My car is happy on leaded, so that's what I run.