Higher octane in gas means better performance ?

[lavapearl]

The highest octane we can buy here in Canada is Sunoco ultra 94. If I decide to add a bottle of STP octane fuel additive will that produce more HP ?

[Trash man]

no, octane booster is a joke, its just alcohol

[Jay 02 TA ws6]

Higher octane allows for safer, higher compression and aggressive timing. Increasing octane, by itself, will not equate to more horsepower.

[fastTa]

no, octane booster is a joke, its just alcohol

Not true at all. Octane boosters largely contain one or more of the following: methanol, isopropyl alcohol, toluene, xylene, and naptha. All of which are commonly known to otherwise raise the octane rating of a tank of pump gas. Toluene, xylene, and naptha are also commonly used to make "home-brew" octane boosters. Some of the better and more expensive octane booster products even contain MMT, ferosene, and aniline, which is a more effective octane booster and is also found to some extent in race gas.

Make no mistake about it, octane boosters are no joke.... they do work. The question is however, does your engine need it or can it take advantage of it.

A stock 10.4 SCR LT1 motor will run sufficiently off of 93 octane. 94 would obviously be more than sufficient.

Just remember, the ability of a tank of fuel to resist detonation is a function of more than just octane.

[sneitzel]

Higher octane in gas means better performance ?

This is a very common misconception supported by the oil companies who would like to sell you premium fuel at a higher profit margin, additive manufacturers who would like to sell you octane booster and by evidence that does seem to support the statement. Closer examination shows that evidence to be somewhat flawed.

Take for example an engine that when new runs fine on 87 octane fuel. As that engine ages and deposits form inside the combustion chamber the compression ratio of the enigine will actually increase over time. (more deposits mean a smaller chamber thus higher compression). In this case the engine needs a higer octane fuel to run as efficiently as is did when it was new. So, a switch to 89 octane fuel and the engine runs much better supporting the thought that higher octane = more power. So if I switch to 93 or 94 octane I'll get even more power right? Wrong!!! The engine is now running efficiently so increasing octane will make no improvements. You only need high enough octane to make the engine run efficiently. Anything above that is wasted.

If your vehicle runs fine on 87 or 89 fuel with no pre-detonation (pinging) you're wasting money on octane booster.

Scott

[Dragkid1917]

snietzel that was beautifly put, ive been tryin to explain that to my frend for months