Octane Booster Longterm Effect..

[giacb6usp]

I'm using STP Octane Booster for everytime I fill up the tank..
Some said using octane booster can damage emission system.
Is it for real?? The engine response a lot smoother and quicker with 93 + Octane Booster but I'm just worrying that I might damage these things...
any opinions??

[UltraA4]

I read somewhere that they do have negative effects on spark plugs, injectors o2 sensors etc...in high concentrations so i dont know if i would use it every time. Why not just fill and mix with real race gas higher octane?

[A4TL]

that stuff is overpriced junk.

go get some toluene from sherwin williams or some xylene (google the effects) if you octane boost for less cost.

you can do 20% toluene and/or 10% xylene (100% pure only!)

toluene is about 114 effective octane and xylene is about 118 effective octane

both are great paint strippers i'd use a hose-pump device to pump it out of the can since it will bubble paint on contact.

keep in mind most octane boosters also burn hotter giving higher EGT's and your plugs usually will show a tinge of (yellow?) color on the ceramic.

stuff works though man. xylene is pretty bad for rubber lines.

both quickly lose their properties when exposed to the air (aromatics). If you must pour this in on a very low tank then fill up and do some crazy driving (no donuts!) to slosh it around.

gasolines and such just dont mix like you'd think they would.

or buy 100 octane it will probably just cost the same if you can source it unleaded and its FRESH. never buy gas out of a big ole tank its usually old stale gas. Why all C/VP-16 leaded is always sold in 5 gallon tanks (or larger).

remember buying large quantities of toluene like a 50 gallon tub may lead to the DEA watching you. you seen the movie SPUN?

[chrislane31]

Do the math octane boosters are garbage.

lest say you put 16 oz of 104 octane booster in with 13 gallons of 93

1 oz = 0.0078125 gal
16oz=.125 gal
93x13=1209
.125x104=13
1209+13=1222
1222/13.125=93.105

So that 1 16oz bottle raised your octane .105 points

Even 1 gal of 100 only raises your octane .5 points

[buschman]

Do the math octane boosters are garbage.

lest say you put 16 oz of 104 octane booster in with 13 gallons of 93

1 oz = 0.0078125 gal
16oz=.125 gal
93x13=1209
.125x104=13
1209+13=1222
1222/13.125=93.105

So that 1 16oz bottle raised your octane .105 points

Even 1 gal of 100 only raises your octane .5 points

This is pretty much what I've herad. Those small bottles of octane booster add just a fraction of octane to a tank. It's a waste of money.

Is there a reason you need more than 93 octane? The stock 1.8T is setup to run on 91 and that's what I use with no problems. Now with mods that could change. But why waste all that money? Just tune your car for 93 if it's not already.

Have you heard any pinging when you're on just 93?

Mike

[initiala4]

I heard Torco is the way to go when it comes to octane booster.

[A4ringedONE8T]

I used to run octane booster (BTW the STP booster is crap and does nothing) Prestone 0-60 (orange bottle) or Champion (black bottle) are the only ones that drop CF's. I used to run 0-60 on every fill up, it would drop CF's 3-5 points depending on conditions so yes it does make a difference, I dont care what any of your guys mathematical bullshit shows. Run it and log, there IS a difference!!!!

Why I dont run it anymore, I got lazy and dont feel like running to autoparts or Walmart to grab a bottle everytime I need gas, got to be a pain in the ass!!!

[A4ringedONE8T]

FYI, quite a few that are sold at Autoparts stores (I go to Adavnced Auto) which say "NOT FOR STREET USE, OFF ROAD ONLY" or something of that sort, these are the ones that work best and show the most drastic drops in CF's however some of them get up to the $8-10 range for a bottle

[exorcet]

I heard Torco is the way to go when it comes to octane booster.

yeah Torco and Lucas are the only 2 that actually raise octane "noticeably". "3 points" is equivalent to .3 in Octane rating. So additives that say "raises by 10 points!" mean 1 octane number. or from 91 to 92. Lucas raises 30 points (or 3 octane) per 16 gal of gas and has lubricant additives.

[EBG 18T]

yeah Torco and Lucas are the only 2 that actually raise octane "noticeably". "3 points" is equivalent to .3 in Octane rating. So additives that say "raises by 10 points!" mean 1 octane number. or from 91 to 92. Lucas raises 30 points (or 3 octane) per 16 gal of gas and has lubricant additives.

You are refering to this one? Lucas Octane Booster

I have never actually seen this in the store? Where have you purchased it? thanks.

[A4ringedONE8T]

You are refering to this one? Lucas Octane Booster

I have never actually seen this in the store? Where have you purchased it? thanks.

Yup thats one of the ones I was talking about that says offroad use only on the bottle. Ive gotten it from Advanced Autoparts several times, not sure if you have those by you. It is also 8-9 bucks a bottle IIRC

[Daddy MO]

The only octane booster/cleaner that works and that I have proven to myself and others on paper is CLEAN POWER!!! Otherwise you might as well be running race gas.

[A4ringedONE8T]

The only octane booster/cleaner that works and that I have proven to myself and others on paper is CLEAN POWER!!! Otherwise you might as well be running race gas.

octane booster for a 3.0 and for a 1.8T are going to be totally different. I see no reason why you would ever use octane booster on a NA car

[chrislane31]

yeah Torco and Lucas are the only 2 that actually raise octane "noticeably". "3 points" is equivalent to .3 in Octane rating. So additives that say "raises by 10 points!" mean 1 octane number. or from 91 to 92. Lucas raises 30 points (or 3 octane) per 16 gal of gas and has lubricant additives.

So 15ozs of this can do what 1 gal of 100 cant? 30 points is a alot in a 15 gal tank.

I used to use this stuff in my old car and never saw any real difference, but when I would put 1/2 a tank of 100 in I could def feel it.

[Daddy MO]

octane booster for a 3.0 and for a 1.8T are going to be totally different. I see no reason why you would ever use octane booster on a NA car

I havent used it on my 3.0 and compared results. I guess I should have mentioned that this was on an MR2 turbo, 13B and 13BT rotary, and Audi inline 5T motors. The results gained were .030 dropped on et's.

BTW, the same results were on one N/A motors as well. Not only rotaries but some 1.8 to 2.0 Honda and Nissan motors. All this was done back as freakin 1992 if some of you youngins need to know

**edit** the 3/10 dropped was at best but I would say the avg was at least .015 dropped depending on the motor.

[3ohAvant]

the STP stuff really isn't worth much.

You want the torco mach stuff, or the amsoil stuff.

Just beward of running anything with lots of MMT ( i think thats the acronym). Basically, if you start seeing your tips orange, and your plugs orange up, then stop using that brad, its got too much of that MMT stuff in it.

The torco stuff, we run in the car at races/autox, not daily.

There are a bunch of subbie guys that have run the torco stuff for like 5-10K miles daily, every tank, w/ no probs.