octane boost

[ZINC GT 2K]

just moved to Tucson a couple weeks ago, still waiting for car to arrive, but have noticed lower octane numbers for premium fuel here. 91 vs. 93 in N.Y. with much higher temps., even though intercooled, is there ANYTHING sold in auto parts stores, that actually work to bump the octane a little? thanks.

 

[MT1083]

You can get NOS octane booster. I think its about $15 a bottle and you have to use it every time you fill up if you want the octane "effect" to be there constantly. I'm not sure on the price though.

 

[Prometheus]

I am moving near Tucson next year and I was afraid that their premium was going to be lower since I plan on putting in a s/c before I get there. I'm not too familiar with octane boosters, but have you considered having your car retuned to run safely on 91?

 

[bdcardinal]

most of those products contain toluene or xylene. you can buy the pure forms at paint stores for ~$2.50-$3.50 a gallon. i believe their octane ratings are 117 and 118 respectively. there is a writeup here http://www.elektro.com/~audi/toluene/ about it.

 

[CTGrey02]

Most octane boosters will only raise the level by a small percentage. You should seriously consider getting it retuned for 91 octane gas. Get a couple degrees of timing pulled. Another option is a timing adjuster. I have one on mine. I can run 91 octane when I have it bumped down to 8. At 9 it's kinda touchy, even with 93

 

[Shane98GT]

My car was tuned back East as well. As previously stated, your best bet is to get re-tuned, take out some timing, or add more fuel. I have an FMU so I can increase my fuel pressure for the summer months, but I still don't dog it when it's super hot.

I've heard about adding toluene, but I've also heard that any spills will ruin your paint job. Another option is to add race gas into the mix. There's a 76 on the South side of Speedway Blvd. (near Tucson Blvd.) that sells 100 octane race gas at the pump. It used to be ~$4.50/gal. I don't know what it runs these days... Check out www.azmustangs.com and go to "links" for the Race Gas page for other places to get high octane.

Finally, since you're new to Tucson, here's a good resource for your local performance needs. Chuck is a procharger dealer and a nice guy on top of it. He can probably help you figure something out if you get stuck.

Chuck Hawk Automotive 222 East Farr St, Tucson, AZ 85705 (520) 292-0880

 

[TexasGT]

Get a Snow Performance Boost Cooler it will solve your problem.

 

[Rio96]

Toluene. Up to 30 percent.
...
The stuff in little bottles, is a fraud.

 

[1fastTbird]

I copied this from another site:
"Most of the fuel additives like Octane Boosters have no effect. They really don't add much octane to your fuel. If you read the label it talks about raising octane by points. After researching 3 different companies, the result was that they are playing a marketing gimmick. A point is 0.1 not 1.0. So most octane boosters will add about 1 octane point to your gas. If you don't believe me, call them.

This also passes the "reality test". Tolulene is 112 octane. (you can't just add toluene) So if you put 1 gallon of pure tolulene in a 20 gallon tank of 93 octane gas, you have 112*1/20+93*19/20 or a total octane of 93.95, or 1 real octane point.

How can a quart give you more? Xyelene is 119 octane, so 1 gallon of this to a 20 gallon tank is 94.3 octane. Even if the tank size was 1/2 or 10 gallons, tolulene gives a 2 point increase and xyelene gives a 2.5 point increase. Now you can see why people make their own octane booster. Tolulene and Xyelene and petro based products.

Well the whole point is that you can make your own octane booster a lot cheaper.
- Jerry W"

 

[Rio96]

>(you can't just add toluene)<
Why not?
Use cans, funnels, etc, as needed.
3 gal toluene, 7 gal pump93, yields --->
10 gal 98 octane.

...
Start wih lower mixture.
Test.
at higher percentages, a
strong ignition is recommended.

 

[1fastTbird]

"...You can use straight toluene but the a/f ratio on the car needs to be changed to compensate since the chemically correct A/F ratio is no longer 14.64:1. By adding about a half pint of acetone to 1 gallon of tolulene, it helps keep the stoich around 15:1...."

 

[WOT]

I first used Toluene in my blown stang up until I had to fill the tank. I finished using the can I bought. Way too much to carry around. I took a gallon of the stuff to raise only a couple of points ie 91-93.

I started using Torco Accelerator, 4 oz per tank full raises octain a full 2 points, 91-93. It works awesome, plus you can carry it around anywhere.