Anyone else using octane booster in their SS?

[Banshee]

Octane boost in these cars equals a total waste of money.

Octane increases a definate if an iron block/headed engine over 9.5 CR, but with these cars/engines, I wouldn't even bother.

You think those Corvette guys are blowing their money for percieved gains with BS octane boosts?

Doubt it.

And there is a difference with using 93/94 octane or 87 octane with 108 "octane boost" You will see negligible or no difference if using 93/94 and "boost".

If you doubt me...Fill up your tank with 93 and run on dyno for say 3 pulls..then throw in some octane boost and run again.

I doubt you will see a difference.

[tjbusa]

1+

[MLL67RSSS]

Well on the L69's the PCM/ECM would advance the timing until the knock sensors would detect knock and back off the timing a degree or two. So the higher the octane the more it could advance the timing and make a few more HP. I believe in the L69 you'd get about 4 (5?) HP more burning premium 91 octane as opposed to regular 89 octane. Also higher timing improves engine efficiency so you'd somewhat offset the additional cost of the premium fuel. I thought the LS3/L99 engines in the Camaro did this as well.

[Banshee]

Originally Posted by MLL67RSSS

Well on the L69's the PCM/ECM would advance the timing until the knock sensors would detect knock and back off the timing a degree or two. So the higher the octane the more it could advance the timing and make a few more HP. I believe in the L69 you'd get about 4 (5?) HP more burning premium 91 octane as opposed to regular 89 octane. Also higher timing improves engine efficiency so you'd somewhat offset the additional cost of the premium fuel. I thought the LS3/L99 engines in the Camaro did this as well.

So if I put in a straight tank of 110 octane unleaded I will have 478 horsepower?

89-91 octane difference equals 5hp, 89-110 octane is 21/2 is 10.5 X 5 equals 52.5

Just to theorize...in fun.

Cost of 18 gallons of 110 octane $125 to get 50 HP times say 5000 miles, that is $2083 in fuel.

Or get a CAI, catback and headers for $3000 and it will last you 200,000 miles or more.

The HP gain by using octane boost to where it would make a difference outweighs the cost and inconvenience. Then add the inconvenience of having to buy and tote the boost around.

Better off spending that money on a tune, CAI or MAF.

And on a personal note, I think a person with a new 2SS Camaro would look real stupid in an auto store parking lot putting that stuff in. It is unnecessary and a waste of money!

Hey! Look! I have a new 2010 Camaro and I am putting 108 octane boost in!

PALEEZE!

[Bbrock25]

Out of curiosity, for all of you that drive your SS V8 as a daily driver, does everyone use 91/93 octane? Or anyone using the 87?

[Banshee]

Been using BP 93. Have 2400 miles on her. First tank pretty sure 87 octane from dealer. Since then, only BP and only 93. Daily driver. And she is running excellent.

[MLL67RSSS]

Originally Posted by Banshee

So if I put in a straight tank of 110 octane unleaded I will have 478 horsepower?

89-91 octane difference equals 5hp, 89-110 octane is 21/2 is 10.5 X 5 equals 52.5

Just to theorize...in fun.

Well I was refering to pump gas, when it comes to octane booster I do agree with you.

Very informational site:

http://www.ecutek.com/tuning/ignition/

Here's what I'm refering to:

"In other words, the more timing advance that can be run, the higher the engine power output produced,,,,, This is where the active ignition timing excels - it allows the ECU to run the highest timing possible without engine knock. This results in high power output, good fuel consumption and low exhaust gas temperatures."

From what I've read on a Corvette forum, running 87 octane as opposed to 91/92 octane in a LS3, the retard in ignition timing will be at a loss of 10 to 15 HP.
I do agree with you on the 100+ octane, not much to gain there to speak of. There is a limit to how far ECU mapping will advance, or could advance the timing for that matter before it reaches its mechanical limit. You don't want to advance so far as to have the piston still moving up when the power wave from ignition hits it, that would hurt performance and cause engine damage.

Refer to this article:

http://popularhotrodding.automotive....gas/index.html

"Conclusion
Filling your tank with high-octane fuel, when your engine runs fine with 91 octane, is a waste of money. In this engine's case, minimal gains were achieved after a dozen dyno tests were made, and would be too small to notice at the track. The higher 118-octane fuel made less power than both the 110 and 91 octane. It would be interesting next time to see what effects the fuel has on a boosted engine. We would expect to see more impressive changes there."

[MLL67RSSS]

To the OP, see my post #13. If you have been using the same brand of gas you may try a different brand and see if that helps.

[Doc]

Octane rating is a highly misunderstood value. Most people think it means more powerful gas so if they put "higher octane" in their car they'll gain power. There is no difference in the gas between 87 and 93 other than whatever detergent additives might be added in the higher octane rated fuel. Any performance gains are the result of the engine timing being adjusted by the computer, not the gas itself.

Octane is a retardant; it slows down the burn rate of the fuel by raising the heat point required to ignite the gas. In the past before computers could actively control the timing, high compression engines required higher octane to prevent pre-ignition and detonation issues. Those are when the fuel ignites before it's supposed to due to the heat inside the combustion chamber being high enough to ignite it before the spark plug does. This can happen because of something simple like a glowing carbon deposit in the chamber acting like a glow plug. It also messes with how the burn happens; engine designers specifically design where the plug is in the chamber to control the ignition point and how the burn takes place inside the chamber. Pre-ignition and detonation not only rob power, but can destroy an engine; bend valves, destroy piston rings and pistons; in extreme cases literally cause an engine to blow up. Octane rating was created to increase the ignition temperature of the gas in high compression, high performance engines to prevent those issues.

Along come computers in cars and now high performance engines can actually run 87 regular because the computer can adjust the timing to compensate instead of just letting octane adjust the timing of the burn. This is a good thing because it means in an emergency you can run any octane without destroying your engine. You will lose some power with the lower octane ratings though.

Camaros have high performance engines; run premium octane but it's a waste of money to go above that with 108 or something higher. It will actually cause problems down the road because there's only so much time for the fuel to burn before the exhaust valves open. If you retard the burn too much then there will be unburnt fuel residue left that didn't burn completely and you'll start to get fuel deposits in the cylinders, heads, valves and it can use up your catalytic converter sooner than it should. This is why gas companies put detergent additives in their higher octane fuels for this specific reason, to help clean these deposits out but even then it still has to go somewhere. Your emission control systems take the hit.

Unless you're going with a turbo or supercharger, or doing internal engine mods, just use 91 or 93 octane gas but get a good brand; don't use the cheapo junk you get at discount places. Cheap gas is cheap because it typically has less of the additives, or might not have any detergent additives. It's probably not as refined (which costs money to do which is why it's cheaper) so it's going to clog up your fuel filter faster, gum up your fuel injectors, burn "dirtier" and generally cost performance in every way. It's not worth crapping up a great car and engine just to save a few cents a gallon.

West coast the highest we have that I know of is 91 octane; I guess you guys in the east get 93 octane but just run the premium grade whatever is available from a good brand gas; Shell, Chevron/Standard, Texaco, etc.

[Arioch]

I've been having occasional knock/pinging (mild, and short duration maybe 30-60 secs, 2 times a week) from engine compartment. Double checked the oil and it was at full. Believe the problem is related to bad gas.

As previous poster mentioned in Arizona, at least as so far, I have only been able to find 91 gas not 93. :( I've been filling up a lot at Cheveron, so I'm going to change to a different chain and see if the problem goes away. If not I'm almost through the breakin period and due for oil change. Will tell dealership at that time.

[SoloSK71]

The local station offers 94 octane gas here, and with a S/C and higher compression that is a good thing.

As stated above, octane booster does not do that much for already 'good' gasoline, but I do carry 12 bottles of 108 with me when I travel in case I run into a situation where the station only has 89 or worse, in which case I toss in two bottles just to help the engine out.

- SK

[Rogue Leader]

The short answer Octane Booster's claim of boosting performance is snake oil, it raises by fractions of a point. Yes it cleans your injectors, adds some detergents, and can help (in some cases) clear sediments and water from fuels. Does it do that well? Yes, but is it worth $5+ every fill up, NO. You don't need it every fill up. You should use 1 bottle once every like 3-6 months, or if you accidentally put really cheap gas in and you want to make sure your injectors are clean.

[UsedTaHaveA68]

Originally Posted by Russ Hunsaker

I used 2- 16oz Turbo 108 Octane Booster at every fill up. Are you guys telling me that is only increasing the octane by 1 point? I have only used BP premium 93 in the car.

Perhaps it's my imagination but there certainly seems like a difference to me in the idle and the gas pedal seems a lot more sensitive.

2x16oz = 32 oz = 1/4 gallon.

1/4 gallon / 19 gallons = 1.3158% of your total gas tank's volume

1.3158 x 108 octane = 1.4211 octane.

So using those two bottles of 108 octane booster raises your octane by 1.4 points. If all you can get is 87 octane, which these engines will run on, you'd need 8.4 bottles of octane booster to raise your tank to 93 octane. Which means you'd have to buy 9 bottles, at $5 a piece, that's 45 bucks to your tank. Long story short? Not worth it.

[OHIOSS]

Wow you guys are really educating me, thanks!

Banshee- thanks for your concern put I was driving my Dodge Charger when I bought the octane booster @ Auto Zone so hopefully no one thought I was stupid.

I didn't buy the booster to boost HP I did it because of the occasional miss and vibration at idle. I thought maybe there was something in my fuel system the octane booster would clean out. I will try it without octane booster again and see if there is any difference.

At least my post led to some very interesting conversation!

Russ