Bottles of Octane Boost.

[Dogtown]

THis discussion was originally brought on by talking about gas prices, and someone I work with mentioned that he sometimes buys these

http://www.oil-tech.com/octane.htm

and uses them as an additive to upgrade his fuel's octane rating. I've heard the talk about mixing 100 with 91 to make 93 so I'm just curious would this stuff actually work? I mean could I mix this with a tank of 91 on a stock evo and get that extra horse that Vishnu mentions here?

http://www.vishnutuning.com/lancer_stage_zero_2.htm

Look just under the horse power/turbo stage chart.

[EvolvedDSM]

AMSOIL Series 2000 Octane Boost increases the octane number of gasoline up to 7 points.

Translation: You might be able to get 91.7 octance from this little bottle.

1 point = 0.1 octane number.

You would be much better off spending that $9 on two gallons of 100 unleaded: [(2*91)+(10*91)]/12=92.5 (considering a full tank of 91). The 100 would increase the octane number even more w/ a lower level of 91 in the tank. The octane boost will never get you above 92.

[vtluu]

I posted this in an earlier thread, but again here are the mixing tables for 91 + 100 octane gas:

http://www.norcalevo.net/gallery/albums/album06/octane2.gif

http://www.norcalevo.net/gallery/albums/album06/octane.gif

[Evo442]

A gallon of xylene per fillup will get you past 94 octane...

[vtluu]

Nope, xylene is 117 octane. (13 x 91 + 1 x 117) / 14 = 92.86

[wilson1]

who has tried the xylene?

[vtluu]

who has tried the xylene?
I did, but it was fairly early on... So I wasn't really used to the Evo and how it felt. Truth be told I'm not sure I really feel all that much of a difference with 93 octane (from mixing 100 UnoCal/Trick gas); results from the "butt dyno" are inconclusive.

But anyway, at the very least, the car didn't blow up or anything. :lol:

[wilson1]

Tam,

Did you notice whether the engine runs smoother at all?

[vtluu]

Nah, didn't really notice any difference. Don't forget I'm all stock though, so it may make more of a difference with higher boost levels and other mods...

[wilson1]

When i was running 100 , the engine ran really smooth!

[Evo442]

Wilson - I have run both toluene and xylene in my stock evo. I liked it a lot. I have no dyno numbers (except for the butt dyno) but the motor sure seemed to run smoother and pull harder in the higher rpm range. Talked with someone at Vishnu a few weeks back and they said that the car was designed to run on higher octane gas (94) and does definitely benefit from the octane boost. I've seen estimates of 5-10 hp. I like the added safety level for the engine.

Tam clearly can do his math. Adding a gallon of xylene to each tank easily gets you above 93 octane. 10 gallons of 91 + 1 gallon of 117 (xylene) = 93.36 octane. I usually fill up with a few gallons left in my tank. As you keep doing this , the numbers keep going up (a little)... ie 3 gallons of 93.36 + 10 gallons of 91 + 1 gallon of 117.

I chose xylene over toluene for several reasons. first it has a higher octane (117 vs 114), Also, I'm pretty sure that drug dealers use Toluene to make crystal meth, not xylene. Xylene seemed to be easier to find and get. Sherman williams sells both but wants me to open an account to buy in quantity. (The feds start looking at people who buy in quantity)

Ultimately, although I loved running the stuff, I have stopped. Its pretty carcinogenic and I dont like handling it on a regular basis. Somehow I manage to splash a little every time I fill up... and the vapors are pretty strong. I also had concerns about storing large quantities of materials with such a low flash point in someplace that gets as hot as sacramento!

right now I'm really interested in the Works water injection system. I'm waiting for the cost to come down. Seems really overpriced since I've seen aquamist systems for well below $500.

Good luck!

[vtluu]

Adding a gallon of xylene to each tank easily gets you above 93 octane. 10 gallons of 91 + 1 gallon of 117 (xylene) = 93.36 octane.
Ah, I didn't know you gassed up with 3 gallons left. Total tank capacity is 14 gallons and my calculations assume that whatever gas you currently have left in the tank is 91 octane. You make a good point about the net octane number creeping up a bit if you leave a bit of higher-octane content in the tank when you gas up again. In my case, I use plain ole' 91 unless I'm fueling up before an auto-x event so things pretty much get diluted back down to 91.

As it stands, paying $10 for a gallon of xylene is more expensive than paying for 100-octane race fuel. Suppose gas is $2.30 a gallon (heck, it is :roll:). Then using a gallon of xylene is a 10 - 2.30 = $7.70 added cost (remember the gallon of xylene displaces a gallon of gas, which is why you subtract 2.30). Now you can use 3 gallons of 100 for the same effect, and 100 goes for $4.30 a gallon (at the 76 station on Almaden). So it's a 3 x (4.30 - 2.30) = $6.00 added cost. Cheaper and safer. Of course if you can buy xylene cheaper (and you can, in larger quantities) that's a whole different story.

[wilson1]

When can you find 100 oct gas in the east bay?

[vtluu]

I don't know of any 76 stations in the East Bay where you can get it at the pump. Some performance shops (for example, Frey Racing in Fremont) have it in jugs but it costs much more I think...

[chrisw]

www.76.com you can find race gas dealers here.

[GReddy_917]

www.76.com you can find race gas dealers here.

That is the most unorganized list of locations I have ever seen... :blam:

[vtluu]

Couldn't have said it better myself. :D That list is next to useless. The best way I've found to determine which 76 stations sell 100 is through word-of-mouth. Such as on this board for example. :)

[nebolic]

so does anyone wanna post addresses of locations they found 100 octane fuel at the pump. I want to try to put some of that stuff in my car. muhaaaa.

Nebo

[vtluu]

Sure; the two I know of are:
- 3010 Almaden Expressway (corner of Almaden and Foxworthy, one block north of Capitol Expressway) in San Jose
- 975 Woodside Road (I think), Redwood City

[Evo442]

www.76.com you can find race gas dealers here.

cool site! thanks