Now I am clear on the benifits and perks of higher octane fuel and the last tiem I ran a tank of 108 I just loved it. Everything was smooth, clean and just all around better than your standard 91 from teh pump. However 75 bucks a tank is not something I can do on a regular basis. I see assloads of off the shelf octane boosters you just dump in your tank but I have yet to get a solid answer from someone on how or IF they really do anything. I've had people say "Oh YEAH!! It's so much better when I put in X brand" but they can never say WHAT is better.....and then I've people say that it's all bullshit and they don't really do anything noticeable, that it's all a placebo effect. (you THINKING it's doing something just because you put somethingin the tank but it's really not)

So I figured I'd pitch it here. Anybody use a certain brand with some noticable improvements? I'm also seeing certain type labled "off-road use only", whats the differance there?

Thanks all.

 

Sport Compact Car did a writeup discussing the advantages of off-the-shelf octane boosters (July 2005, Vol. 10, No.07). There were octane increases demonstrated in their testing (they had the testing done by the same lab that tests the octane of fuel for gas stations), and the largest gains were demonstrated by the NOS Racing Formula, which gained 2.5 octane points when added to 15 gallons of Shell 91 Octane fuel . They got more gains from a home-brew mixture of toluene though.

The chart goes as follows (anorexic version)...

Shell 91 Octane - 91.2 octane
+ NOS Racing Formula - 93.7 octane - $9.99 per tank - $0.27 per octane point, non-street legal
+ The Outlaw - 92.4 octane - $3.99 per tank - $0.22 per octane point, street legal
+ 30% toluene (home brew) - 95.5 octane - $11.25 per 15 gallon tank, $0.22 per octane point

If anyone wants scans of the article, let me know and I'll scan it. But I'm too lazy to scan it if no one actually wants it.

 

do a search, there were some threads on this a while ago.

 

Cool, thats enough info for me. The NOS brand is what I was looking at and I'm gonna check some consumer reports as well later on.

Thanks.

 

Hey i have tried alot of OCT booters and i will tell u by far the NOZ off road OCT booster is by far the best ive used in my 280zxt yes it did work well i was down to 1-/16 a tank of gas went down to auto zone spent 19 dollars for it and whent to chevron and put in 90- grade gas with the NOZ OCt booster and all i can say was WOW what a F&&^% rush any body else ?

 

50 gallon drum of Toluene! That shtuff is pure!

 

Just buy a drum of race gas and be done with it.

 

I wish I had your disposable income

 

Hmmm. Got me thinking, now. We only have 91 octane max in Cali. So, buying my own drum may be the only option to hold off pre-ignition when I raise my boost. I definately have room in my garage. Where can I get a drum of 98 octane, anyway? Oh, and to comment on the disposable income statement... You ain't drivin' a Civic. It is going to cost some cash to keep a 15 yr old car tip-top. That is just the way it is. I have two of them, so I feel the monetary hit every couple of months (the maintanence schedules are staggered right now). Any Performance Vehicle will be an "investment". That is just the name of the game.

 

... I had two 300ZX Twin Turbos at once (in addition to an SUV), so don't look at me as if my expenses weren't at least equal to yours... I simply have the option of running 93 octane, which costs the same as your 91 octane. I couldn't imagine paying for a drum of race fuel just to prevent detonation when my 93 octane holds it off just fine for the same price you're paying for your 91 octane..

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bitching. I am just saying there is cost involved with sports cars. And it is something to be expected. As for the gas, I am just worried that ignition may be a problem in the future. I have a friend that has an Evo VIII. He had to get a boost controller to lower his stock boost. The stock boost on an Evo is like 19-20psi. So, he had many problems with pre-ignition. Plus, the Evo is supposed to take 98 Octane. So, I guess I am just thinking out loud.