Octane booster additives?
Thread Starter
|
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 200
Likes: 0
From: Hanover, Maryland
Octane booster additives?
OK, let me ask a question about this...
If I add a bottle of octane booster to a tankful of regular (87 octane) gasoline, will it work with my Superchip?
-Kindest regards
------------------
1999 F150 4x4, wedgewood blue, 5.4l auto, Manick brush guard, Duraliner, KC Hilites, surf rod holders, tinted windows, K&N air filter without airbox, Velocity air intake tube, Midas Performance muffler with dual pipes, toolbox, Uniden CB with whip, and a Superchip.
If I add a bottle of octane booster to a tankful of regular (87 octane) gasoline, will it work with my Superchip?
-Kindest regards
------------------
1999 F150 4x4, wedgewood blue, 5.4l auto, Manick brush guard, Duraliner, KC Hilites, surf rod holders, tinted windows, K&N air filter without airbox, Velocity air intake tube, Midas Performance muffler with dual pipes, toolbox, Uniden CB with whip, and a Superchip.
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
Hi wjt,
No, it won't, and you wouldn't want to do that anyway, as it's *much* more expensive that just using the proper fuel to raise your gas 5 points. Octane boosters shorten the life of your O2 sensors, spark plugs, and most things they come into contact with, turning them pink & purple, etc.
Most octane boosters contian little more than ethyl alcohol, which is why most don't even list their ingredients anymore, but even the few that do work shorten the lifespan of those components I mentioned above, and are much more expensive than using premium, once you calculate just how much is actually required to really raise the octane by 5 full points.
Sorry!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
No, it won't, and you wouldn't want to do that anyway, as it's *much* more expensive that just using the proper fuel to raise your gas 5 points. Octane boosters shorten the life of your O2 sensors, spark plugs, and most things they come into contact with, turning them pink & purple, etc.
Most octane boosters contian little more than ethyl alcohol, which is why most don't even list their ingredients anymore, but even the few that do work shorten the lifespan of those components I mentioned above, and are much more expensive than using premium, once you calculate just how much is actually required to really raise the octane by 5 full points.
Sorry!
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
Former Sponsor
Joined: Mar 1998
Posts: 13,385
Likes: 4
From: Virginia
You're kidding, right?
No, those 2 scenarios wouldn't have anything close to the same results.
Using the Superchip requries premium gas, or you can get detonation if your knock sensor system does not have enough total effective compensation range, and they (the knock sensor systems) were not designed to make up for 5-6 full points of octane! That being said, we've seen that the newer vehicles tend to have more range in those systems, especially the 2000's & newer.
Using premium gas with the factory programming cannot cause "detonation".
Using premium gas with the factory programming, that depends to a small extent on just how long you do this. But worse gas mileage, "soggy" throttle response (motor laying down) and less power due to the fuel curves being programmed for the burn rate of regular gasoline are possible results. Use it long enough, and the fuel trim curves may adapt enough so that you don't get any obvious driveability symptoms, but that can certainly vary. Some people have been doing this and don't notice anything different, simply because they have always run them on premium.
Either way, the results will *not* be the same in both situations.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 08-28-2000).]
No, those 2 scenarios wouldn't have anything close to the same results.
Using the Superchip requries premium gas, or you can get detonation if your knock sensor system does not have enough total effective compensation range, and they (the knock sensor systems) were not designed to make up for 5-6 full points of octane! That being said, we've seen that the newer vehicles tend to have more range in those systems, especially the 2000's & newer.
Using premium gas with the factory programming cannot cause "detonation".
Using premium gas with the factory programming, that depends to a small extent on just how long you do this. But worse gas mileage, "soggy" throttle response (motor laying down) and less power due to the fuel curves being programmed for the burn rate of regular gasoline are possible results. Use it long enough, and the fuel trim curves may adapt enough so that you don't get any obvious driveability symptoms, but that can certainly vary. Some people have been doing this and don't notice anything different, simply because they have always run them on premium.
Either way, the results will *not* be the same in both situations.
------------------
Mike Troyer
Performance Products, Inc.
National Distributor of Superchips
(540) 862-9515
Email: mtroyer@compuserve.com
Performance Products F150Online Superchip ordering system: F150Online Superchip Ordering System
First National F-150 Online Rally Event Organizer
[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 08-28-2000).]