Octane Boosters
Discussion
In my experience, many are just snake oil. If you have an older car (as do I) which requires higher octance fuel, there is a good reason for it, as it will prevent pinking etc. Obviously old cars don't have knock sensors to retard the timing to compensate.
I completely agree with Danny VTS, with a modern car, don't worry about it. Although if you are, make sure you don't get a lead additive/octance booster combined, as many are.
I completely agree with Danny VTS, with a modern car, don't worry about it. Although if you are, make sure you don't get a lead additive/octance booster combined, as many are.
Even on newer cars it's important to run the octane level the car was designed for. A high compression engine needs higher octane to prevent spontaneous combustion of fuel at the wrong point in the stroke. Yes your knock sensor will detect this misfire but it still puts strain on the components and causes the engine to run hotter so best not to do it often.
Apparently you should find that because the engine runs smoother on the higher octane stuff it doesn't work out that much more expensive because its more economical.
Apparently you should find that because the engine runs smoother on the higher octane stuff it doesn't work out that much more expensive because its more economical.
james_gt3rs said:
Didn't they do a test on Fifth Gear that showed they reduced power?
Yup.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbcCr2ll3c
Don't bother.
craig7584 said:
Apparently you should find that because the engine runs smoother on the higher octane stuff it doesn't work out that much more expensive because its more economical.
So they say. I tested a few tanks of 99 in my turbo car and while it did increase MPG, it wasn't by enough to offset the higher cost.Which was a shame because it did seem faster
king pointless.When I was racing (bikes not cars so we're talking engines that rev to 13,000) we tried a day on the dyno with these on our tuned R1 (lumpy cams, hi comp pistons etc) and they all made F all difference.
We did get good gains from proper 101 octane race fuel from Elf though, but it was quite dear at £100 for 25 litres...and that was back in '05, I dread to think how much it costs now!
We did get good gains from proper 101 octane race fuel from Elf though, but it was quite dear at £100 for 25 litres...and that was back in '05, I dread to think how much it costs now!
Certain cars need high octane, others don't. Unless you've got a knock sensor (or a distributor) the car won't perform any better with high octane fuel.
Most performance cars which need high octane fuel will run on standard if driven gently. There will likely be a section in the manual about driving when no high octane fuel is available.
Most performance cars which need high octane fuel will run on standard if driven gently. There will likely be a section in the manual about driving when no high octane fuel is available.
Under light running and keeping the revs down, it is very unlikely there will be any ill effect at all.
Back in the 80's I used to run a MKII Escort, with an 11.5:1 CR.
You could sometimes hear that detonating at high engine speeds (fuel quality was a bit variable where I lived), and all I had to do was back off a bit and it was fine.
I ran it for 5 years and didn't manage to burn any holes in pistons, or incur any other problems.
All that's needed is a little mechanical sympathy, that's all.
Back in the 80's I used to run a MKII Escort, with an 11.5:1 CR.
You could sometimes hear that detonating at high engine speeds (fuel quality was a bit variable where I lived), and all I had to do was back off a bit and it was fine.
I ran it for 5 years and didn't manage to burn any holes in pistons, or incur any other problems.
All that's needed is a little mechanical sympathy, that's all.
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