I've ordered a superchip that hopefully will arrive shortly. My question is....Can you add a can of octane booster to the regular unleaded to boost the octane level??? Thanks for your reply.

 

This has not been recommended for use with the Superchip. Just use Premium fuel with your new Superchip. By the time you buy a bottle and fill your tank with 87 Octane, you are paying about the same price (or more) depending on which brand of Booster you use.

Members have posted in the past that Octane Booster has caused problems with their F-150s (plugs, etc).

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Superchip, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55 rear, class III towing package with super engine cooling/Auxilary transmission cooling HD package, Heavy duty shocks, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, factory leather wrapped steering wheel, FORD bedliner, FORD black tubular cab steps, K&N air filter, mar-hyde rubberized undercoating, Modine climate filtration system, Bugflector II, Mobil 1 oil, build 7/2000

 

HI!... LAURENSDAD : What ever you do, DO NOT put octane booster in your gas!!!! It will foul up your spark plugs and destroy your 02 sensors. TRUST ME! I know! I put in two bottles of "104 OCTANE BOOSTER" in two full tanks of gas and noticed no performance increase at ALL! Ever since then I have been having prblems with my idle and throttle surges. I keep getting a trouble code of "5284" every once and a while. It comes and goes. When I did my last tune up my spark plugs electrodes were all dark red and almost looked rusted but wer'nt. In my personal experience I would suggest you don't use any octane boosters.

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NEAL [ the horsepower freak ] NEWMAN
'99' F-150 XLT SPORT, oxford white, reg cab shortbox stepside,5.4, auto, 4.10L.S, captain's chairs, bedliner, GTS carbon fiber headlight covers, ***** CEPECK clear halogen driving lights, GTS slotted tailight covers (painted oxford white), fiberglass smooth wiper cowl (painted OXFORD WHITE), FORD locking lug nuts, tinted windows,true duel exhaust with 2.5 inch mandrel bent pipes and FLOWMASTER 3 chamber mufflers with 3' tailpipes exiting before the rear wheel like the LIGHTNING, HELLWIG rear stabalizer bar, 3 AUTOMETER guage pods, filled with tranny temp, engine temp, and oil preasure AUTOMETER "PHANTOM" guages,custom fabricated air intake trac and huge K/N filter, TPS mod, BELLTECH 2-inch rear drop, custom programed SUPERCHIP, modified POWERAID spacer, BAUMANN ENGINEERING shift kit (on stage 5 setting)BYPASS CLUTCH CONTROL VALVE/PREASURE REGULATOR VALVE, ASP POWER PULLEYS, custom tig welded and ported JBA "JET BLACK coated headers, twin DERALE 16 INCH ELECTRIC FANS, PERMA COOL 14"/10" tranny cooler with 10" electric fan.

FUTURE MODS : FORD SVT 24LB INJECTORS, BBK 75MM THROTTLE BODY, AADI F1 RAM AIR HOOD, traction bars, and a KENNE BELL BLOWZILLA supercharger.

ESTIMATED H.P TO DATE : 345H.P / 425ft/lbs of torque.

OTHER TOYS : "83" PRO STREET FORD RANGER : 351-w stroked to 408c.i 625H.P (natural), 875H.P with 250H.P "BIG SHOT" N.O.S kit, tubbed (crome moly tubing), 12 point chrome moly roll cage, 4-link with coil overs, MUSTANG II front suspension, c-4 tranny (race prepped), 4000rpm stall converter(8 INCH), 3" chrome moly driveshaft,AUTOMETER guages, 15.50 MICKEY THOMPSON rear tires, 4" M/T front tires, CENTERLINE CON-VO PRO rims, fiberglass hood - bumper - prostock hood scoop, wishbone trac-link, two chrome moly driveshaft loops, 16 gallon RCI fuel cell,etc

 

Hey Neal, what does that Ranger do in the 1/4 mile?

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1999 F-150 Lariat SC 2 WD, White/Silver, 5.4L, 3.55LS, K & N FIPK, Superchip, underdrive pulley set, Dynomax Super Turbo Series Exhaust, six disc CD changer, towing package and captain chairs

 

Hi Laurensdad,

No, you do not want to just add octane booster to regular or even mid-grade gas, to get the required octane to use with the Superchip.

You need to use premium gasoline at the pump, due to it's formulation and much lower cost than the octane booster it would take to raise the octane up enough to be used with the Superchip. You'll come out cheaper just using the required premium gasoline.

Also, octane boosters do shorten the life of spark plugs & O2 sensors, regardless of the claims they make on the outside of the bottles, and this is a sort of pet peeve of mine. If you ever take a look at your spark plugs after using octane booster just one time, you will see they are coated with a pink to purple colored film of residue left behind.

For any number of reasons, you'll be much better off just using the premium gasoline the Superchip is designed for.

If you have been tracking your gas mileage accurately & consistently, you should see some small improvement there with the Superchip as well. Most people report back here with gains of about 1.5 mpg to as much as 2.0 more mpg when not using a lot of heavy throttle. Your results will depend on how you drive the vehicle, and the load it's under (towing, etc.), as usual. It won't be enough to pay for all of the cost differential between regular and premium of course, but it usually puts you close enough so that your added fuels costs are maybe $150-$200 a year ($3-$4 a week) if you're not driving more than about 15K-20K miles per year, just to give you a rough idea of what others have been reporting back here over the past couple of years.

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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
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[This message has been edited by Superchips_Distributor (edited 10-18-2000).]