Do the octane boosters work?

[9camaro9]

Does the high octane booster stuff (that you put in with your gas.) really work? I was going on a run with a bunch of people tonight and was wondering if the 3$ or so was worth it??

[LD]

the best you are going to get is a mixed opinion

via hotrod.com

Knowing that density is at the core of power potential in gasoline, it is hard to imagine that the addition of 16 ounces of chemical additive could have any significant impact on the density of 20 gallons of gas. But that’s not how octane boosters work. Rather, they bolster the host gasoline’s ability to resist abnormal combustion through the inclusion of manganese. Like tetra-ethyl lead, manganese releases vapors when combusted that surround and protect the end gases in the combustion chamber (those farthest from the spark plug) from being ignited by hot spots or pressure spikes. This suppression of uncontrolled ignition is responsible for any observed power increases. As our testing revealed, power drops off quickly when abnormal combustion begins. By improving the quality of the base gasoline, octane boosters don’t actually make power in and of themselves. Rather they allow the full utilization of what is already in place by helping to maintain controlled combustion.

and
dynobike.com

Some people believe that putting in an octane booster will magically increase the octane rating and boost power output, cheating the petrol supplier out of making another sale on high octane fuel. Well flocks, this is a myth. Fuel suppliers spend billions of dollars working out which additives to mix in the fuel to give us the best all round results, keeping within the guide lines of Government regulations. If it really was that simple everyone would be doing it. The amount that these additives increases the octane rating is so insignificant its not worth bothering with, and any fuel consumption improvements are negated by the cost of the additive. For my money keep it simple and save yourself the dollars.

[kinetic]

the former claim is correct, as it explains proven chemical mechanics, the latter is just a rant with no explanation; methanol boosts the octane number significantly, rendering that second to last statement false.

[Guardiannknight]

Yeap, I agree with kinetic. The 2nd post from dynobike.com sounds like they are just giving what they think, with no proof. hotrod.com however gave a great explanation, and I have read a lot of Hot Rod mags. these guys know what there talking about. Well, at least they seem to, to me. :D

[9camaro9]

By reading the first paragraph it sounds like it might not be a bad idea to get one.But then again it doesnt really do any thing. also our autozone has them for sale any 3 for $3.

[kinetic]

octane boosters, from my understanding, raise the combustion temp of gasoline, to prevent premature combustion, what is called "knocking", or "pinging"; knocking is also known as detonation, and can lead to all kinds of bad ****.
Higher octane fuel is pretty much a necessity in vehicles which rely on performance.

but with the high prices of premium fuel, I'd suggest getting cheaper fuel, and if you have access to it, methanol by the gallon. there are web pages (and forums) which give the optimum concentration ratio.

[vanbibber]

octane boosters raise the octane rating by about .5 it really is not worth it. i also have read that it will eventually put a orange colored film on everything

from ls1tech:
-------------------------------------------------
anyone ever seen what that Octane booster does to your plugs, valves and pistons?
i used to have a picture(i'll try and find it) of an engine taken apart.. the owner used 1 bottle of octane booster a month for 6 months for racing..

pistons and plugs(valves too) had this orangey,brown crap residue all over them.

just so you know.. you can mix octanes to produce a different octane level. What makes you always use 93? are you turbo or supercharged? PCM upgrade? i would think 93 would be overkill on a stock engine with a few bolt ons..

[j10stuckinmud]

octane boosters are also not meant to be used in cars with catalyactic converters, since they will become clogged up with the residue that vanbibber described.

[j10stuckinmud]

-and no they dont make a big enough difference, if any, to be worth the $3.

[kinetic]

yeah, you know what the residue is from? distilled petroleum distillates in the form of aromatic benzene-ring compounds (toluene and xylene); methanol is actually pretty clean (as alkyl alcohols are), yields no byproducts that leave residue, and boosts octane rating to over 100, depending on volume added.

http://www.turbofast.com.au/racefuel13.html

*edit* but yeah, to add methanol in 10% concentrations wouldn't be very cost effective, unless you have easy access to methanol (i.e. a lab), so the last statement in my last post is moot. [img]tongue.gif[/img] in smaller concentrations (like a cup), it may raise it a couple of points

[ July 23, 2005, 11:17 PM: Message edited by: kinetic ]

[terminaldegree]

kinetic, I remember reading something about a max amount of 10% of either methanol or ethanol being allowable for most cars. Obviously, there must be some sort of downside to it, right? Is it something about attacking rubber parts?

BTW, I live in San Marcos too; what's your car look like?

[kinetic]

you're thinking of acetone; rubber isn't affected as much by ethanol and methanol. The downside would be actually using methanol as a primary fuel, as it may dissolve lubricants on the upper ends of cylinder walls.

acetone has a nasty reputation for swelling rubber; but the fuel lines in our cars are metal and fluorinated polymers, which are pretty resistant to acetone swelling.

my car is a black '94 camaro, with a "sport" spoiler from RK sport, and Eagle Alloy 77-series rims (polished aluminum), and flowmaster exhaust

[ July 24, 2005, 05:03 PM: Message edited by: kinetic ]

[ZeroGuage]

Ok, I have read all the opinions on octane boosters and such. My question is. why not buy some cam 2 110 octane fuel? there is a place down the road from me who sells it. Other then the price ($4.00/gallon) what are the pro's and cons of running a tank of that?

[kinetic]

pros? no knocking, even running boosted @ >12 psi.
cons? the price, mainly.

but it doesn't make much sense to get such high octane fuel, unless you have really high performance applications, i.e. racing. (see my post in the nitrous forum for an explanation)

[ July 25, 2005, 10:35 AM: Message edited by: kinetic ]

[Timothy Luttrell]

Try this link, some chemist figured this one out.... Considering this is also found in Aviation Gas. -Tim
http://pesn.com/2005/03/17/6900069_Acetone/