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My car had a ton of knock on 91 with just a ported throttle body and afe intake. I wouldn't be surprised if it knocks from the factory on 91 octane a good bit. Elevation will help your case a bit though.
Hello
New to Z06 and forum. Ours is a 2017 coupe auto 7,000 miles on the clock at purchase. I searched without success for my subject so here goes.
Our manual wants us to use 93 octane. There's none of that anywhere near us 200 miles from the nearest freeway. It also says do NOT use MMT additives and a few other chemicals, taking what seems the best of them out of consideration. Never mind the purveyors of MMT additives all say they'll work fine without damage in any gas engine.
Well what's a Z06 driver to do? Is there some experiential consensus here on what to use - if anything - that works and won't damage the Z06?
We're upgraders from a 2006 Z51 Procharged car. Next yr I'll be an octogenarian, plus nowhere near a track, so track days are in the past. Nothing now but fun opportunistic street throttle usage and a good radar detector.
Thanks for any advice and regards
Art & Moe
I want to thank everyone who contributed here. After listening to y'all and spreadsheeting the various octane boosters I chose Rislone 4747. When we travel I'll have some in the "trunk". Its cost effective and more important each bottle is just the right amount for the size of the tank, promising 2 full AKI points per tank. And with an EZ to pour neck. We'll be in good shape no matter where travel finds us. I remember Rislone ads from my early days back when the Indy 500 featured Offy 4 bangers.
I want to thank everyone who contributed here. After listening to y'all and spreadsheeting the various octane boosters I chose Rislone 4747. When we travel I'll have some in the "trunk". Its cost effective and more important each bottle is just the right amount for the size of the tank, promising 2 full AKI points per tank. And with an EZ to pour neck. We'll be in good shape no matter where travel finds us. I remember Rislone ads from my early days back when the Indy 500 featured Offy 4 bangers.
Before you go I would like to suggest you do your own "Pepsi Challenge" test. I would recommend you get a can of Torco Accelerator and one of Rislone and try them out for yourself. Accelerator is available in 8 and 32 ounce cans. You only need to be aware that you need to use Accelerator within a year. Judge for yourself after you try them. Packaging design and simplicity of use should never be a consideration. Judge based on performance.
If you are ever near Colorado Springs and you are curious, I'd be glad to hook my HPTuners up to your car and we can see if you are getting any knock retard.
Originally Posted by K6XT
I want to thank everyone who contributed here. After listening to y'all and spreadsheeting the various octane boosters I chose Rislone 4747. When we travel I'll have some in the "trunk". Its cost effective and more important each bottle is just the right amount for the size of the tank, promising 2 full AKI points per tank. And with an EZ to pour neck. We'll be in good shape no matter where travel finds us. I remember Rislone ads from my early days back when the Indy 500 featured Offy 4 bangers.
If you are ever near Colorado Springs and you are curious, I'd be glad to hook my HPTuners up to your car and we can see if you are getting any knock retard.
thanks! I have an older scantool that includes PID 0x0E timing advance. I wonder if that's enough.
Where I live, we don't have any 93 either. I have always used 91 and have had no issues. Stay away from fuel additives!
Since you don't have 93, I'm assuming you live somewhere where the DA (elevation) is high? If so, we can get away with more timing and 91 up here........good luck!
Last edited by GeorgeR_Zed06; Oct 25, 2020 at 03:30 AM.
Where I live, we don't have any 93 either. I have always used 91 and have had no issues. Stay away from fuel additives!
Since you don't have 93, I'm assuming you live somewhere where the DA (elevation) is high? If so, we can get away with more timing and 91 up here........good luck!
Yes, 6,500 ft ASL at home in southwest CO. There must be some reason you say stay away from fuel additives, what might that be?
Where I live, we don't have any 93 either. I have always used 91 and have had no issues. Stay away from fuel additives!
Since you don't have 93, I'm assuming you live somewhere where the DA (elevation) is high? If so, we can get away with more timing and 91 up here........good luck!
Although not considered an octane enhancer, most Corvette owners will use a pint of Techron at the same time they change their oil.
Yes, 6,500 ft ASL at home in southwest CO. There must be some reason you say stay away from fuel additives, what might that be?
Fuel additives don't really harm your engine, but after my head and cam package install, I did not like how my pistons, valves, etc were all stained with a bright orange color. For race days, I used MS 109 from VP.
Fuel additives don't really harm your engine, but after my head and cam package install, I did not like how my pistons, valves, etc were all stained with a bright orange color. For race days, I used MS 109 from VP.
The C7 owners manual specifically calls out not to use any additive that contains MMT (methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl). Many octane boosters contain that ingredient. MMT use will eventually cause oxygen sensors and the catalytic converter to fail. It will also leave the insides of cylinders and plugs colored orange that you mention.
My research into octane boosters was revealing to me. All the boosters on the sheet below promise to convert 91 octane to at least 93 by either pouring in a bottle or mixing as shown. I was somewhat surprised to find such wide price variations to achieve my result. Thank you to all who suggested the various brands. Quantities are for filling up with 16 gallons. "Ease of use" is my subjective rating.
NB: My tax rate for column F is 4.49%.
NB2: Only additives promising full AKI number increases listed. Some products not listed raise octane a few "points", one tenth an AKI number. The advertising is most confusing, sometimes producing zero useful octane increase output when run thru my BS filter. Thanks to companies' tech support, and one company president, who answered my queries.
NB3: We've only used one of the listed products so far, Lucas. My purpose is to uncover cost and how much to use for 2-3 AKI points amongst products all promising a similar result. We're into winter here as of yesterday's snow so likely no more testing til spring.
...but what they don't show you, are the orange valves, plugs and pistons!!!! Lol
I'm not sure that that is a bad thing per-se. I usually don't do additives, but back when I was racing turbo Buick's, late 1980's, a bottle of STP Super fuel injector cleaner could save an otherwise toasted o2 sensor. I used leaded race gas in those cars, no problem with cat conv as I got rid of it almost immediately. And they still had to be replaced at one point in time or another, but it would extend those times. I got o2's for free back then I worked at a dealership. But it could still help.
Maybe some of the aforementioned products could help.
I run almost 100% MS 109 in my Z06, but I guess it still needs to have carbon and varnish cleaned every once in a while.
Last edited by Thomasmoto; Oct 28, 2020 at 05:20 PM.
