Can our cars adapt to race gas/higher octane fuels and take advantage of them?
10-21-08, 05:53 AM
#1
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Can our cars adapt to race gas/higher octane fuels and take advantage of them?
Can our ecu (gs430) advance the timming etc and utilize a higher octane fuel? FYI- I ran a 1/5 mixture of toluene to 93pump gas and didnt feel much difference, octane was approx. 96.5.
10-21-08, 01:17 PM
#3
You have to be boosted to utilize the higher octane. Stock engine you will actually lose some performance with a really high octane race fuel because it is harder to ignite.
Also, don't run leaded race fuel in your car. It will destroy the factory O2 sensors in a very short amount of time.
Also, don't run leaded race fuel in your car. It will destroy the factory O2 sensors in a very short amount of time.
10-21-08, 01:31 PM
#4
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what about 95 octane, pure gas no ethanol? i was thinking about running 100octane just to see hoe my car would feel like..
is there such thing as unleaded race gas?
is there such thing as unleaded race gas?
Last edited by Deception; 10-21-08 at 01:35 PM.
10-21-08, 02:04 PM
#5
Yes there are unleaded race fuels.
Running higher octane does not mean more power in any way on a stock-form engine. You only need higher octane to resist detonation/knocking. Highly boosted or cars running crazy compression are subject to detonation if higher octane is not used. If all you have are basic NA mods, you wont ever need race gas. Like jeff said, higher octane is more resistant to igniting. Lots of people who live in a very cold climate use lower octane just so it's easier to fire up their car.
Running higher octane does not mean more power in any way on a stock-form engine. You only need higher octane to resist detonation/knocking. Highly boosted or cars running crazy compression are subject to detonation if higher octane is not used. If all you have are basic NA mods, you wont ever need race gas. Like jeff said, higher octane is more resistant to igniting. Lots of people who live in a very cold climate use lower octane just so it's easier to fire up their car.
10-21-08, 08:29 PM
#6
Last time I bought gas is when we had the shortage here in Atlanta so the best thing I could get was mid grade. I did that and then bought an octane booster that I emptied into the tank so it was a bit more than necessary.
For some reason, my car got exceptional mileage with the higher octane gas I mixed up. The directions on the bottle said add the whole bottle to ~20 gallons of regular gas to get the effect of premium. I add the whole bottle to mid grade so it must have been pretty potent stuff.
I had like 490 miles on the car today when I filled up and the needle was just below 1/4 tank.
For some reason, my car got exceptional mileage with the higher octane gas I mixed up. The directions on the bottle said add the whole bottle to ~20 gallons of regular gas to get the effect of premium. I add the whole bottle to mid grade so it must have been pretty potent stuff.
I had like 490 miles on the car today when I filled up and the needle was just below 1/4 tank.
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10-22-08, 04:54 PM
#8
I read some where that we can run up to 96 octane on our cars for optimal performance. I will try to source that stament.
Be careful not to get some with lead.
Can you let us know how you know this? Test prof, etc...
It would be intersting to know how you came to this conclusion.
It would be intersting to know how you came to this conclusion.
10-22-08, 05:15 PM
#9
Most of those octane boosters just have MMT...that stuff is not so good for sensors and injectors. Not just that, the octane increase is just pathetic for what you pay. Some of my friends use a homebrew race fuel by mixing a gallon of Toulene in with the tank. I think that raises the octane to around 96-98 range or so. For me I use E85 which is 106-108 octane right out of the pump for $2/gal 
10-22-08, 05:26 PM
#10
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Octane boosters offer little help in the quest for higher octane. Most popular street-legal octane boosters claim increases in octane ratings up to five points, and those boosters intended for off-road use only claim up to seven points. That's a lot of octane to hope for simply by pouring an additive in a tank. Sunoco told us that before they launched their GT-100 Unleaded retail pilot program, they wanted to be sure that a 100 (R+M) / 2 octane street legal fuel would be of value, and that enthusiasts would not be able to get the same (or better) results using an octane booster. Nine of the most popular retail octane boosters were put through a series of tests to determine where the consumer could get the most bang for the buck. The test results were verified by an independent testing facility, using several brands of regular unleaded and premium gasolines, just to make sure everything was legit.
According to Mark Borosky, Vehicle Test Engineer for Sunoco,"Of the nine octane boosters tested, none showed a significant increase, and one actually lowered the octane number of the test gasolines."Testing repeatedly showed a maximum increase in octane of 3.5 points by only two of the six street legal octane boosters when the recommended treatment rate was blended with lower base 87 octane gasoline. The best the remaining four products could muster was less than a one point increase. "While clearly no one would actually use an octane booster in a low base octane fuel, we wanted to give the manufacturers the benefit of the doubt relative to their claims of five-to-seven point increases," explained Borosky.
When tests were performed using 93 and 94 octane fuel, even the two best products from the previous tests produced a disappointing 1.5 to 2 point maximum increase. The remaining four street-legal octane boosters showed less than a .5 point increase. Those products designated for offroad use only didn't fare any better than the street-legal products. Subsequent tests where the dosage of octane booster was doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled produced only minimal improvements in octane, regardless of the base octane number of the test gas. In fact, quadrupling the treatment rate of the most powerful additive produced only a 3.5 point increase in octane when added to 93 premium, resulting in a cost of $3.25 a gallon.
According to Mark Borosky, Vehicle Test Engineer for Sunoco,"Of the nine octane boosters tested, none showed a significant increase, and one actually lowered the octane number of the test gasolines."Testing repeatedly showed a maximum increase in octane of 3.5 points by only two of the six street legal octane boosters when the recommended treatment rate was blended with lower base 87 octane gasoline. The best the remaining four products could muster was less than a one point increase. "While clearly no one would actually use an octane booster in a low base octane fuel, we wanted to give the manufacturers the benefit of the doubt relative to their claims of five-to-seven point increases," explained Borosky.
When tests were performed using 93 and 94 octane fuel, even the two best products from the previous tests produced a disappointing 1.5 to 2 point maximum increase. The remaining four street-legal octane boosters showed less than a .5 point increase. Those products designated for offroad use only didn't fare any better than the street-legal products. Subsequent tests where the dosage of octane booster was doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled produced only minimal improvements in octane, regardless of the base octane number of the test gas. In fact, quadrupling the treatment rate of the most powerful additive produced only a 3.5 point increase in octane when added to 93 premium, resulting in a cost of $3.25 a gallon.
Full article here
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Miscella...lAdditives.htm
10-22-08, 07:06 PM
#11
I recalled reading this here in the past back when my wife had her NSX
Full article here
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Miscella...lAdditives.htm
Full article here
http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Miscella...lAdditives.htm
I knew they would not produce claimed octane. We see it all the time on vertually every car performance product, whether is HP, torque, better fuel economy, etc. but did not expect it to be as low as .5. However; I am surprise they could even get 3.5 increase.
10-22-08, 07:16 PM
#12
NSX, Woman
I knew they would not produce claimed octane. We see it all the time on vertually every car performance product, whether is HP, torque, better fuel economy, etc. but did not expect it to be as low as .5. However; I am surprise they could even get 3.5 increase.
I knew they would not produce claimed octane. We see it all the time on vertually every car performance product, whether is HP, torque, better fuel economy, etc. but did not expect it to be as low as .5. However; I am surprise they could even get 3.5 increase.
ditto, NSX + Female Owner = keeper
10-22-08, 08:58 PM
#13
While we are on the subject of fuel additives. I remember Mith Busters testing several products that said would increase prefomance or MPG, can't really remember. The product that surprisingly worked were mothballs 
I don't know if anyone here is willing to give it a shot, since there is probably no knowledge on side effects
I don't know if anyone here is willing to give it a shot, since there is probably no knowledge on side effects
Last edited by GS FONZy; 10-23-08 at 05:32 PM.
10-22-08, 09:05 PM
#14
Last time I bought gas is when we had the shortage here in Atlanta so the best thing I could get was mid grade. I did that and then bought an octane booster that I emptied into the tank so it was a bit more than necessary.
For some reason, my car got exceptional mileage with the higher octane gas I mixed up. The directions on the bottle said add the whole bottle to ~20 gallons of regular gas to get the effect of premium. I add the whole bottle to mid grade so it must have been pretty potent stuff.
I had like 490 miles on the car today when I filled up and the needle was just below 1/4 tank.
For some reason, my car got exceptional mileage with the higher octane gas I mixed up. The directions on the bottle said add the whole bottle to ~20 gallons of regular gas to get the effect of premium. I add the whole bottle to mid grade so it must have been pretty potent stuff.
I had like 490 miles on the car today when I filled up and the needle was just below 1/4 tank.
What was it called? IMO if it even gets me even a 1 - 2 mpg increase in the city it's a miracle product
10-23-08, 06:58 AM
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Read the back of the booster bottles, they state in fine print how little it will "boost" your octane rating, its pathetic.
FYI- Toluene has an octane rating of 114. I used to run it in my bi-turbo Audi S4 all the time. Most you want is about 33% Toluene per tank and do add a little marvel mystery oil so theToluene wont dry out rubber lines or gaskets.
FYI- Toluene has an octane rating of 114. I used to run it in my bi-turbo Audi S4 all the time. Most you want is about 33% Toluene per tank and do add a little marvel mystery oil so theToluene wont dry out rubber lines or gaskets.
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