Octane booster or the E85

[Montoya fan]

Which is the better way to go. I have access to both, but am curious which you guys think is better.

[spindlewood]

People have indicated that octane booster on a regular basis could foul plugs. E85 should be a better choice. I don't have direct experience with E85 and only use octane booster when I accidentally put in lower octane than my tune.

Here's a link to a discussion.

[DreamTFK]

I use Boostane but I have access to 93 so I only use a small amount to bump it up to 95 or 96 octane.

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People have indicated that octane booster on a regular basis could foul plugs. E85 should be a better choice. I don't have direct experience with E85 and only use octane booster when I accidentally put in lower octane than my tune.

Here's a link to a discussion.

Depends on which booster you use as well. Some are cheap in price for a reason. If plugs go bad I just buy new ones, gotta pay to play.

[Montoya fan]

Boostane would be the way I would go. It’s pretty amazing how many gallons 1 can can boost.

[Chris@EPL]

E85 will probably do more, is safer and much cheaper.

[Nora2004]

As Chris has said, if E85 is an option then that's your best bet! The problem with octane boosters is the ones that actually work contain a decent amount of MMT, it does its job great at upping the octane but at the same time it coats everything in a weird orange film, almost looks like rust, I've ran a few cans in the past and recently pulled my downpipe off, the inside is covered in this orange film, as is the turbo

[Montoya fan]

As Chris has said, if E85 is an option then that's your best bet! The problem with octane boosters is the ones that actually work contain a decent amount of MMT, it does its job great at upping the octane but at the same time it coats everything in a weird orange film, almost looks like rust, I've ran a few cans in the past and recently pulled my downpipe off, the inside is covered in this orange film, as is the turbo

I have seen that. I thought it would eventually wear off. Guess not. What is the correct mixture to achieve e30 to e40 with 93 octane?

[Chris@EPL]

You would need an ethanol analyzer or a test tube kit and would have to test the E85 to see what the actual ethanol content is. that will determine how many gals of E85 you would have to add. E85 can vary at the pump from E50 to E85 and that will greatly affect the mix. You want to consider the gas to have 0% ethanol even if the pump says that the gas can contain up to 10% ethanol as it i snot always 10% and this is normally low quality ethanol.

For E40 with 85% ethanol E85 you would need 7 gals of E85 and 8 gals of gas, if the E85 tests out at E70 you would need 8.5 gals of E85 and the rest gas.

[Montoya fan]

Thanks for the response. I did not think you would need that much. I was thinking like 4 gallons to make e30 if it was actually e85. Your customer service and contributions to this forum are greatly appreciated.

[DreamTFK]

As Chris has said, if E85 is an option then that's your best bet! The problem with octane boosters is the ones that actually work contain a decent amount of MMT, it does its job great at upping the octane but at the same time it coats everything in a weird orange film, almost looks like rust, I've ran a few cans in the past and recently pulled my downpipe off, the inside is covered in this orange film, as is the turbo

According to this video he got MMT buildup on pump fuel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVKrcmW2zfY

[HurrayFive]

I've posted this a half dozen times now, haha, but there's nothing wrong with legitimate boosters like Torco, Boostane, or Lucas Oil Racing Formula, they all add significant full octane points per tank (2-4, depending on how much gas it's diluted with) As I've also said, the MMT coating looks bad, but isn't performance inhibitive, and only serves to foul plugs on a more regular basis than anything on modern high pressure direct injected applications.

I would prefer (and do) use E85 for a long-term booster, but I ran Lucas Oil off and on for 6 months in my SQ5 w/ the JB4 w/o issue, and got performance comparable to an E30 blend. It gave me an extra 3 degrees of timing, killed all knock, and let me run a higher map (3PSI more boost), than just regular 92 alone. I've regularly used a bottle of booster for track days for a decade w/o any trouble, I can log before and after and always pick up the same octane advantage, similar to blending E85.

Engine Labs did a solid comparison of racing fuels, E85 (blended at E40), meth injection, and octane booster, and they were surprised at how effective octane booster was, picking up a few degrees of timing (actually 5 degrees and 7% more power, but their rules on the faintest knock signals made them reduce power) and about 5% more power when tuned for it. This compared to about 7% more power when tuned for an E40 blend. You can see their results here and read for yourself. Again, I wouldn't run anything other than the three brands I mentioned, and I'd only run it if I didn't have access to E85 or just wanted a boost for a track day (or needed it because if bad gas), but it's not as detrimental as folks make it out to be, and it's definitely effective.

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-te...inner-crowned/

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-te...-adds-24-rwhp/

[Montoya fan]

Thanks. Good information. Glad to know it does actually do pretty good.

[bk3318]

I've posted this a half dozen times now, haha, but there's nothing wrong with legitimate boosters like Torco, Boostane, or Lucas Oil Racing Formula, they all add significant full octane points per tank (2-4, depending on how much gas it's diluted with) As I've also said, the MMT coating looks bad, but isn't performance inhibitive, and only serves to foul plugs on a more regular basis than anything on modern high pressure direct injected applications.

I would prefer (and do) use E85 for a long-term booster, but I ran Lucas Oil off and on for 6 months in my SQ5 w/ the JB4 w/o issue, and got performance comparable to an E30 blend. It gave me an extra 3 degrees of timing, killed all knock, and let me run a higher map (3PSI more boost), than just regular 92 alone. I've regularly used a bottle of booster for track days for a decade w/o any trouble, I can log before and after and always pick up the same octane advantage, similar to blending E85.

Engine Labs did a solid comparison of racing fuels, E85 (blended at E40), meth injection, and octane booster, and they were surprised at how effective octane booster was, picking up a few degrees of timing (actually 5 degrees and 7% more power, but their rules on the faintest knock signals made them reduce power) and about 5% more power when tuned for it. This compared to about 7% more power when tuned for an E40 blend. You can see their results here and read for yourself. Again, I wouldn't run anything other than the three brands I mentioned, and I'd only run it if I didn't have access to E85 or just wanted a boost for a track day (or needed it because if bad gas), but it's not as detrimental as folks make it out to be, and it's definitely effective.

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-te...inner-crowned/

https://www.enginelabs.com/engine-te...-adds-24-rwhp/

It sucks that the only place nearby is in Snoqualmie. I live in Bellevue so it isn't that far but I wish we had more options. Are you running a 93 map?

[HurrayFive]

It sucks that the only place nearby is in Snoqualmie. I live in Bellevue so it isn't that far but I wish we had more options. Are you running a 93 map?

Yeah, I'm in Ballard so it's a trek up there, but always a fun drive back at least, haha. Right now with my APR IC and the cold weather, I'm running the 93 map on our 92 premium, only get Shell V-Power. My logs look good on just 92, I lose a couple degrees of timing but otherwise it still pulls hard and no knock. When I blend E I add 3 gallons to a full tank of 92 and gain about 3 degrees of timing on the 93 map. I fill up in Snoqualmie and take my 6 gallon jug w/ me and fill that up so that I get two more tanks w/ 3 gallons each, I don't drive much so it lasts me a while. It pulls so hard just on the 93 map that I don't see a point of even messing w/ E40 until track season opens up again and I can do some test and tune rips, around town the power it makes on 93 is already silly.

[bk3318]

Yeah, I'm in Ballard so it's a trek up there, but always a fun drive back at least, haha. Right now with my APR IC and the cold weather, I'm running the 93 map on our 92 premium, only get Shell V-Power. My logs look good on just 92, I lose a couple degrees of timing but otherwise it still pulls hard and no knock. When I blend E I add 3 gallons to a full tank of 92 and gain about 3 degrees of timing on the 93 map. I fill up in Snoqualmie and take my 6 gallon jug w/ me and fill that up so that I get two more tanks w/ 3 gallons each, I don't drive much so it lasts me a while. It pulls so hard just on the 93 map that I don't see a point of even messing w/ E40 until track season opens up again and I can do some test and tune rips, around town the power it makes on 93 is already silly.

Good to know that I can run the 93 with 92 octane. Your response helped me to decide on EPL. Thanks!!