Torco Fuel additive

[2012REDSS]

Does/has anyone used this stuff? I usually put STP octane booster before I head out to the track but I dont notice anydifference over normal 93 octane. Opinions?

[Brianskeet]

Jannetty suggested to keep a couple bottles around for long trips into those places where 93 octane is unavailable. Also suggested that most other brands are a waste of money.

[nighttowl]

I use it all the time. I wouldnt waste your money on other stuff. You will not see a real improvement unless you tune has the ignition advanced for the increased octane level of the fuel.

[Birm]

Only other brand I use is Lucas

[Cody6.2]

I thought that Torco went under a few years ago?

Well in any case don't waste money on store bought octane boosters. Most of the ones with the biggest claims do little to nothing anyway. The only ones that do use MMT and or blends of Toluene & Xylene. With that being said large amonts of MMT is bad but Toluene & Xylene is what's added to base fuels from the get go.

Here in Nebraska fuel can be good one week but complete shit the next due to random grade/quality selection of gas stations. My C6 would run like crap on one tank and great on another so I started adding my own blend of octane booster. I started out using a mix of Toluene & Xylene but ended up using just Toluene later on as it was all I needed.

If you research it a little you can find tables for mix ratios that people have used. Most of my info came from corvette forums but I didn't need much more than a few points imporvement so I cut it back a little. With my discount a gallon of Toluene ran me $8 and it lasted me a month.

[axis]

Bottom line is, shitty gas aside, you don't need it unless you're tuned for it. Your car is tuned for 91-93 octane, so running more won't give you any added performance.

[376LS3]

I have run it in all my performance cars for the last couple years. It makes a world of difference in supercharged cars. I used to live in AZ where they had 91 octane pisswater, and even my wife who is completely nieve to changes in cars, could feel the difference. I use it in this Camaro even though I now live in TX with 93 octane. It is a smaller effect, but you can still sense its in there. The engine sounds healthier, and runs smoother. On my supercharged car, I got 5 more degrees timing up top just by using Torco. Its good stuff. Buy it on eBay. Last time I got it it, it was $106 for 6 cans. I typically use 8oz per fill up.

[2012REDSS]

Yea my car is dyno tuned for 93 but I figured better safe then sorry when racing. I'm military so I usually get my gas on post cause its cheaper. So some guys are sayin no benifit but some say it runs smoother.

[Birm]

Originally Posted by 2012REDSS

Yea my car is dyno tuned for 93 but I figured better safe then sorry when racing. I'm military so I usually get my gas on post cause its cheaper. So some guys are sayin no benifit but some say it runs smoother.

$3 peace of mind imop

[Higgs Boson]

they are saying no benefit unless you have a tune that is made for torco in the tank.....basically more timing. if you don't have a more aggressive timing map, it's a waste.

[Cody6.2]

Bit what people seem to be forgetting is that just because the pump says 91 or 93 octane doesn't mean it isn't piss gas. In which case your car isn't gonna run to it's potential no matter what it's tuned for.

[Higgs Boson]

Originally Posted by Cody6.2

Bit what people seem to be forgetting is that just because the pump says 91 or 93 octane doesn't mean it isn't piss gas. In which case your car isn't gonna run to it's potential no matter what it's tuned for.

Your car runs to its potential for the fuel it is tuned on. like I said, if it is tuned on race gas or even with torco,you can run more timing.

pump gas begins to ping long before mbt is reached. race gas can allow you to get there.

[Brianskeet]

I have a question for somebody LS3 smarter than me. We all know our cars lose quite a bit of power to heat in the summer. I look forward to those days when I jump in the car and the temp outside says 65. Would the Torco fuel additive help to keep the ECM from pulling so much timing in the heat?

[IndeedSS1]

Originally Posted by Brianskeet

I have a question for somebody LS3 smarter than me. We all know our cars lose quite a bit of power to heat in the summer. I look forward to those days when I jump in the car and the temp outside says 65. Would the Torco fuel additive help to keep the ECM from pulling so much timing in the heat?

It's not ging to change what the ECM pulls based on IATs.

[Fiftydriver]

I have two tunes for my Maggie powered L99 from JRE Racing. One for standard 91 octane and the other for +93 octane. I say +93 because I run one quart of Torco with a tank full of 91 pump gas which brings me up to 97 octane.

At the crank the two tunes produce a bit over 600 hp with the 91 tune and mid 600s with the +93 tune. Does not seem like much but its VERY noticable when you get on the throttle.

If I take my camaro for a long trip I would likely load the 91 tune and still keep a couple quarts of Torco with me just in case. For local driving, I always run the +93 tune with a quart of torco with each tank full. Have been very happy with Torco as I have been with all of Teds recommendations for my camaro.

He also said it was the only octane booster he recommended and even recommended it over the water/meth injection systems for my project.

[CamaroSpike23]

I had to go looking for some old info of mine regarding octane boosters. enjoy...

another thing to keep in mind is that a 3 pt octane booster will not bump 89 up to 92 octane. Under the North American octane system AKI (Anti-Knock Index) pump fuel is graded as (RON+MON)/2. Meaning if a fuel has a RON (Research Octane Number) of 96, and a MON ( Motor Octane Number) of 90 its AKI would be 93.

basically, you add the octane rating to the MON. so for our 89 octane the MON is roughly 90 and the MON is 88. add 3 to 88= 91

91+90=181
181/2=90.5 octane.

so in effect you are getting 1.5 points even tho the bottle says 3 pts.

and a good review of different octane boosters
http://volvospeed.com/Review/misc_pe...s_general.html

overall, to see any significant increase, you would need to add 2 bottles to the tank. and ideally, have the engine tuned for the higher octane.

[Brianskeet]

Originally Posted by IndeedSS1

It's not ging to change what the ECM pulls based on IATs.

So help me figure this out. With high intake temps we get a less dense air charge, corespondingly lower compression and less power per stroke. I can't wrap my brain around what in that picture requires less timing advance. Higher compression makes detonation more likely not less. I'm tired this morning and have to be missing something obvious.

[IndeedSS1]

Originally Posted by Brianskeet

So help me figure this out. With high intake temps we get a less dense air charge, corespondingly lower compression and less power per stroke. I can't wrap my brain around what in that picture requires less timing advance. Higher compression makes detonation more likely not less. I'm tired this morning and have to be missing something obvious.

You ask about adding the torco changing what timing is pulled by high intake temps. There is a timing table that adds or subtracts based on IAT's. The torco isn't going to change the IATs so whatever is pulled at 140 degrees is still going to be pulled. I was taking your question as literal. Sorry about that.

[Higgs Boson]

yes it is a safety table in the tune, not a performance table. it is simply a timing subtractor based on iat. there is one for ect as well. they can be edited. for instance mine does not pull timing until iat are at like 122 degrees. since I drive around with 110 degree iat around here all day, I tune my car accordingly.

[Cody6.2]

Originally Posted by Higgs Boson

Your car runs to its potential for the fuel it is tuned on. like I said, if it is tuned on race gas or even with torco,you can run more timing.

pump gas begins to ping long before mbt is reached. race gas can allow you to get there.

Which means nothing when the factory settings are based on using premium (91+) and the 91 in your area is crap.

[HufferSS]

Knock sensors pull timing based on knock.

Higher octane gas helps reduce or prevent knock.

Engines may knock on pump gas regardless of tune.

One could then conclude that octane boost COULD help any given car, regardless of whether it is tuned for torch or not, IF it is experiencing knock retard due to low quality gas.

Some of you guys would try to argue whether the sky is blue, light blue or magenta for crying out loud.

[Higgs Boson]

Originally Posted by Cody6.2

Which means nothing when the factory settings are based on using premium (91+) and the 91 in your area is crap.

guess you better move then.

[Brianskeet]

Originally Posted by IndeedSS1

You ask about adding the torco changing what timing is pulled by high intake temps. There is a timing table that adds or subtracts based on IAT's. The torco isn't going to change the IATs so whatever is pulled at 140 degrees is still going to be pulled. I was taking your question as literal. Sorry about that.

No sweat, it is all good info! Any time I can learn more about this fantastic motor it is a plus. I am a pretty handy fella with a wrench, but this computer ECM stuff is still pretty new to me. Just amazes me what they can do now to maximize power while still keeping the motor safe.