Hey everyone-

In Chicago, the difference between 87 & 93 can be upwards of $.75-$.80 per gallon; in suburban Chicago, it's about $.40-$.50 per gallon.

I found 104 octane booster for about $6; in those cases where the price discrepancy is $.75, when filling up your tank, there can be a difference of about $12-$13. When the pricing is $.40-$.50, there's not much of a savings, but I'm wondering if you get any performance boost.

Does it make sense to use 87 & and use the 104 octane boost?

Reading reviews on the Internet, some people swear by it. But others have said you need a high compression engine to see any results, which the TL has.

Caveats:

1. I'm not a chemical/mechanical engineer, so please no flaming
2. I always put 93 in my car, so please no flaming

Just trying to learn something,

Nick

 

Cheap gas is just that, cheap. Save time and energy by filling it with 92+

Boosters are great if you have messed up and need to bring the level up for optimal operating.

 

most likely snake oil.
it doesnt even give you the ingredients.....
How is it raising octane?

 

Are you saying that it will raise it to 104 octane total or that you can get a gallon of 104 for $6?

 

It's about $6 for a 15oz bottle. Depending on the original octane it'll boost it up, to what amount, I'm unsure of; I'm assuming it'll get you close to 104.

 

No clue, I couldn't even find how many gallons the 15oz bottle is good for.

 

there's only a few ways of raising octane.
adding toluene

or mixing 100 octane with 93 to make some where in the middle

 

I'm going to assume that it is just 104 octane packaged fuel. There's no way that you would be able to get something that would change any quantity of fuel to 104 octane.

Based on my napkin math if you were going to fill your car with 15 gallons of total gas and you wanted to use 87 for as much as possible, but still stay above 93, you'd need 9 gallons of 87 and 6 gallons of 104.

There are 128 oz in a gallon, so to get 6 gallons of 104, you would have to buy 51 packages for a total of $307. Stick with buying 93.

 

^i dont even think its "packaged 104 octane"

100 octane is like $10 dollars per gallon.

 

Get a bottle & see what the contents are. As justnspace said you want to up the octane mix in toluene or 100 octane gas. I use 100 octane mixed 60% 93 - 40% 100 for 97 octane in the tank. Cost is about $24 extra per tankful.

 

From their website:

Q: Can I use a lower grade of fuel than is recommended by the manufacturer and add 104+® Octane Boost products to make it a higher grade?
A: No, we recommend that you follow the fuel grade suggestion in your vehicle’s owner’s manual.

I couldn't find any information regarding their product's specific ability to raise the octane level per can/per gallon, etc.

 

what this tells us is that the product in question DOES NOT EFFECTIVELY RAISE OCTANE

 

That answers my question!

Thanks to everyone for their answers, it's greatly appreciated.

Nick

 

Winner:

 

I used to use octane boost on my motocross bike, back in the 80's when I was racing. Pretty much everyone I was racing with did back then. Seemed that the prevailing train of thought was that it worked. I was just following the crowd (in the races as well).

 

Most of those things say that they can raise the octane up a point or two. Meaning 93 octane is now 93.1.... so if you fill up with 87 you've got a ways to go... I've heard of people mixing toulene which probably the best way to go if you need to boost it and can't get race gas.

 

With many of my vehicles I was in the habit of occasionally using additives like Turbo or 104 or whatever they're named mostly as a "feel good" placebo thing. I figured they wouldn't hurt and also that the additives would help to clean the fuel injectors, etc.

I think you would have to add many bottles of the stuff to actually significantly increase the octane in your tank. The only time I have really felt a difference from putting something different in the tank was years ago when the local 76 station offered 100+ octane fuel for something like $5 a gallon (these were back in the days when the gas prices were more like $2 or $2.50 a gallon--pre-Obama). Anyway the highest normal octane in California at the time was maybe 93 so when I added a few gallons of the 100+ as an experiment I really did notice a difference. But I never noticed anything from adding a can of the typical additives.

 

I have to chime in here..as I have a LOT of experience playing with octane boosters...

My prior car was a 2004 Volvo S60R. I had it heavily modded, with an EVOLVE ECU, downpipe, exhaust, and a pile of other stuff... it was a sweet car.

my car had the boost increased, and it was very picky about what fuel it ran. If I ran the car on 91 octane, which is the highest you can get in CA at most gas stations, the car seemed to run fine.. it never hiccuped or sputtered or anytign like that.... BUT...

if you put in higher octane fuel... WOW. the car came alive. I found a gas station near my home that sold 100 octane race fuel / unleaded, at the PUMP. it was about $6/gallon. If I filled up on that stuff... my car was a rocket ship. a buddy who had the same car with similar mods dyno teste3d his car on 91 vs 100 and found something like a 30 whp difference... it was not subjective...it was not in our heads..the car picked up massive power... not only was it faster but it was smoother, more responsive..the car just loved it.

in my quest to find something that would boost octane for when I coudl not get to that gas station - I tried all those over the co unter things. they all are crap with the exception of NOS Race brand. It has some chemical in it called MMT.. that stuff is NOT as good as just running 100 octane race fuel, but it was better than all the other over the counter brands.

what I ultimately ended up determing was the best bang for the buck was to buy a few 5 gallon gas cans... I grabbed some nice plastic ones. I would go to the gas statio that sold 100 octane and put about 3-5 gallons into my empty gas tank. then I would fill up a couple 5 gallon containers. THEN, I'd top off my car with 91. if you look online, you can find blend charts that will tell you about how much 100 to mix with 91 to make 93-95 octane fuel.

I found that running between 93-95 gave me just as much perofrmance as running pure 100... so there was no point in spending $6/gallon to have 100 when I could get just as much gain in power iwht say.. 95.. so I blended it myself. when My gas tank went low.. i would just add some of my 100 that I had at home in my garage..and then fill up with 91. i t was kind of a PITA... but when you felt how much more power it made with 95+ it was addictive.

i tried adding toluene too. that is a big fat nasty PITA. it comes in big paint thinner cans...and it stinks.. if you get it on your hands it's hard to get off. and it's hard to buy. i found it at local paint stores...and IIRC you had to sign some form when you bought it - it is a chemical druggies can use for meth production..so they track who buys and how much... and I don't know if it worked as well as just doing 100 octane...

buying 100 octane at the pump is by far the best way to do it. you have to google to see if you can find a place in your area that sells it at the pump.

I usually carried a can of that NOS race stuff in my trunk for trips, or times when I knew I may need to fill up but would not have access to my 100 fuel....

I do'nt miss all that hassl with the gas / octane booster...but at time I miss that insane torque that S60R had... at about 2500-3000 rpm the turbo would come alive and BAM. that sucker took off!

i have to say though, my TL has better top end...when VTEC is engaged.. the TL has more top end..the turbo woudl poop out and not be able to flow enough and once I hit about 5500-6000 rpm on the R, it needed to shift gears and get back into lower rpm where it made fat torque...

handling wise.. the TL outhandles it for sure. SH-AWD beats out whatever Volvo had for AWD on the R...

as for our TL cars..bottom line - I would NOT try to save money by buying 87 and then adding octane booster. just buy 91 or 93.

what I woudl be curious to know is whether there is any perofrmance advantage to run 93 vs 91? can the car advance timing or run a bit faster if it had slightly better octane?

i haven't tried putting high octane in the TL... there is a place near me that sells it, but it's not THAT close anymore.. I"ve moved... it's maybe 30-40 min away and in an area I am seldom around.. so i'd have to make a "special" trip....

anyone try race fuel in the TL???

 

^we've found in the 3G TL's that if you make 96 octane( exactly how you described) by mixing 100 and 93, it completely stops knock!!!

this means there is power to be had with higher octane, but like you said, its a little pain in the ass to mix when gas stations sell 93.

 

$6 a gallon? No thank you, I'll settle for being outrun by the dude in the G37 with a company gas card in his wallet.

 

The way things are going, in a couple of years you will look back and try and figure out that at $6 a gallon how the heck was gas so cheap

The real funny thing is when you are watching a movie or repeats of a television show that is not really all that old and you happen to see a gas station in a scene and prices are in the $2 or even sub-$2 range.

 

I am an Ex motocrosser. In my 2 stroke days I used to run Trick racing fuel that was 100-103 octane. I can't remember the exact octane rating but running actual high octane racing fuel was a completely different experience then using that 104 octane additive crap. So my 2 cents is to not waste your money on the stuff.

 

Torco Accelerator seems to be the only worthwhile octane booster from what I can find, it's loaded with MMT but that's not in gas in the US anymore, and supposedly Honda says not to use it as it can leave engine deposits.