NOS OCTANE BOOSTER... Who uses it?

[costanZo]

In the past when I dyno'd my car, my engine was pinging. So I was recommended buying some Octane Booster because it was possible I just put bad gas in my car that day. When I did buy it, I didn't buy the NOS, I had bought the LUCAS Octane Booster, 15 Oz bottle shown below.

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However, was told the NOS was the best stuff to use for your car. It cost me $13 for the bottle at AutoZone, but was wondering if anyone else does use this stuff too. If so, how often do you use it? Picture shown below:

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Is it a good idea to buy this stuff and use a bottle every time you fill up your car with gas? Or would that be overkill and not a good idea?

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

I use it, but only at the track/Autocross or if I can't get 93 octane at the pump. I don't think it is good to use it ALL the time as would wonder about deposits from it long term.

 

[EllowViper]

You do realize that your octane increase is only from say 91 to 91.7 or 93 to maybe 93.7 if using premium.... Get a quart of TORCO if you really want to increase your actual octane.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

The data sheet of the NOS says increase of 60 pts or 6 full octane number potential. I used it in my turbo cars and it was the only one that let me have full timing advance under boost so I stuck with it. Torco has a good rep, but I like the NOS better just an opinion.

Here is a link to the data sheet.
http://www.permatex.com/documents/tds/automotive/12010.pdf

 

[kyleblix]

I've used Torco on tubro cars in the past with great results. Never used NOS though. I was always told Torco is the way to go for an Octane booster.

 

[EllowViper]

Well color me purple...60/6 points for the NOS brand? Heck I'll have to give that a shot if that is true. For what...a 10 gallon mix??

 

[EllowViper]

OK I actually read the data sheet...use with a minimum of 16 gallons of fuel. Hummm...12 fluid oz. I would like to believe it but have my reservations. Oh well, can't hurt to try I suppose.

 

[Mopar Steve]

Octane is simply a resistance to detonation, If you are not running forced induction or a computer flash that changes the ignition timing, and there is no spark knock there is no advantage... right?

 

[KenH]

Correct, no benefit unless you are experiencing knock or spark retard due to knock.

I have used Torco Accelerator and can attest that it works very well. The NOS brand uses the same MMT compound for octane increase so should work similarly well I would guess.

MMT will leave orange manganese deposits on plugs and such which is why I no longer run it all the time though I never noticed any adverse affect from the deposits. I notice that NOS claims to remove deposits and I find that a little hard to believe since it contains MMT.

 

[costanZo]

Correct, no benefit unless you are experiencing knock or spark retard due to knock.

I have used Torco Accelerator and can attest that it works very well. The NOS brand uses the same MMT compound for octane increase so should work similarly well I would guess.

MMT will leave orange manganese deposits on plugs and such which is why I no longer run it all the time though I never noticed any adverse affect from the deposits. I notice that NOS claims to remove deposits and I find that a little hard to believe since it contains MMT.

So you're saying to buy a bottle of one of these? should you use it all the time? If not, when should you? I don't track my car at all, but was just looking for something to always keep my car running as best as I possibly can. Figured, something along these lines couldn't hurt, or could it?

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[rw99]

So you're saying to buy a bottle of one of these? should you use it all the time? If not, when should you? I don't track my car at all, but was just looking for something to always keep my car running as best as I possibly can. Figured, something along these lines couldn't hurt, or could it?

There's no need for it in your case. You have a (mostly) stock car and you're not pushing it. Use the recommended octane from the pump (insert argument over "best gas" vendor here). One thing you can do, if you're storing the car for more than a month or so, is add some Stabil to your gas. And purchase a Battery Tender.

 

[EllowViper]

Stuff gets expensive to just burn through the engine if its not needed...ergo why I like my Water-Methanol injection for octane and boost induced detonation.

 

[plumcrazy]

it might have been bad wires you heard instead of low octane ?

 

[costanZo]

There's no need for it in your case. You have a (mostly) stock car and you're not pushing it. Use the recommended octane from the pump (insert argument over "best gas" vendor here). One thing you can do, if you're storing the car for more than a month or so, is add some Stabil to your gas. And purchase a Battery Tender.

I do have a battery tender which is an absolute must for my car. However, the car dies way too quickly.. Within 5 days of not being on a tender, in the colder months usually within 3-4 days. When I take it this summer to have mods done to it, I'm also going to have this issue looked into. I do have a custom stereo in my car. Not sure if the wiring for all the stereo equipment tinkered with the wiring of the car making my battery drain quicker, but I'm hoping to figure this issue out this summer for sure. 3 years of dealing with this is enough!

 

[costanZo]

it might have been bad wires you heard instead of low octane ?

I will be replacing all my wires this summer along with buying a SCT Handheld Tuner, so I should be all set. I just wasn't sure if buying an Octane Booster or anything along the lines of it would be beneficial to maintain the car even better then just putting in 93 Octane Gas at the pump.

 

[costanZo]

There's no need for it in your case. You have a (mostly) stock car and you're not pushing it. Use the recommended octane from the pump (insert argument over "best gas" vendor here). One thing you can do, if you're storing the car for more than a month or so, is add some Stabil to your gas. And purchase a Battery Tender.

I've never heard of this STA-BIL stuff before. So basically this would be perfect to put in my car after I fill it up with gas one last time before storing for the winter? I was told it's not good to have old gas sitting in the tank during the whole winter anyway, but how much gas would you normally keep in the car for the winter or long periods without using it? Like a quarter tank? Either way, I'll definitely make sure to buy some of this stuff and pour it in after I put gas in the car if I'm going to be leaving it on the battery tender for awhile

 

[rw99]

I've never heard of this STA-BIL stuff before. So basically this would be perfect to put in my car after I fill it up with gas one last time before storing for the winter? I was told it's not good to have old gas sitting in the tank during the whole winter anyway, but how much gas would you normally keep in the car for the winter or long periods without using it? Like a quarter tank? Either way, I'll definitely make sure to buy some of this stuff and pour it in after I put gas in the car if I'm going to be leaving it on the battery tender for awhile

Exactly. It's widely (near universally) used for watercraft, as many are summer-only and have to suffer long storage periods. I use StaBil in my boat and my WaveRunners... conventional wisdom is to treat and keep a full tank when you're storing the vehicle, to minimize condensation from dead air.

 

[PAvenomRT/10]

If you are not tracking your car, the above advice would be correct. However, at the track, under hard acceleration (gforces) oil from the PCV system can get into the intake and lower the octane of the mixture. This could be problematic as noted in a previous post. Therefore, in that case the octane booster seems like a worthwhile addition.
PAVenomRT/10

 

[Dom426h]

If you are not tracking your car, the above advice would be correct. However, at the track, under hard acceleration (gforces) oil from the PCV system can get into the intake and lower the octane of the mixture. This could be problematic as noted in a previous post. Therefore, in that case the octane booster seems like a worthwhile addition.
PAVenomRT/10

I prefer to use a catchcan to trap the oil before entering the intake manifold. Nip the problem at the bud, Dont bandaid it. Also, running a conservative tune(ignition wise) is a smart thing to do incase you fillup and the labled oct is actually .5 or 1 point lower.

 

[Dom426h]

Octane is simply a resistance to detonation, If you are not running forced induction or a computer flash that changes the ignition timing, and there is no spark knock there is no advantage... right?

+1

costanZo, You should have no need for an Octanebooster product for your stockish bolt-on motor.

More details please:
What Octane fuel were you running on the Dyno day?
What Octane fuel to you regularly have acess to ?
If 93 you should never have a problem, If only 91 i could see it being a slight problem if you get crappy gas that is actualy 90 or 90.5...

 

[costanZo]

+1

costanZo, You should have no need for an Octanebooster product for your stockish bolt-on motor.

More details please:
What Octane fuel were you running on the Dyno day?
What Octane fuel to you regularly have acess to ?
If 93 you should never have a problem, If only 91 i could see it being a slight problem if you get crappy gas that is actualy 90 or 90.5...

Dom,

I always use 93, however, I wouldn't doubt there might have been some times in the past 3 years where I might have put 91 in because it was the highest octane at the gas station. I regularly have access to 93 which I use all the time. On dyno day I'm almost posisitve I was using 93, I'll have to check that gas station out sometime and confirm that. Although it was an exxon mobil, so I would imagine it was 93.

I was just told at the dyno shop, that I could have possibly gotten bad gas. Even if it was 93 octane if the gas station doesn't get as much business as others, their gas might not be changed frequently. However, the gas station I went to was right off the highway, with a minimart/dunkin donuts.... So I don't see how that gas station wouldn't be getting a ton of business, which it most certainly does since I went there quite a lot and always saw a good amount of people.

Eitherway, I would imagine once I get my SCT Tuner, that should solve any pinging problems my engine had or might still have. I haven't tested my car out on a dyno since May of last year so I won't know until I go again.

 

[alpha85]

Torco suggest 1.6oz per gallon mixed with 91 oct will get you 95 oct. I have a 08 with the Mopar PCM. Runs great.

 

[dipapa]

I use the NOS allot...I like it especially since CA pump gas is only 91. Felt slight bit more throttle response but likely dyno #'s aint different. My tuner also recommended it.

Something in the NOS formula during combustion causes the ceramic portion of spark plugs to be speckled red/orange and 02 sensors. I believe the MMT does that. Havent noticed any adverse long term affects. I dont have cats.

According to testing below, NOS raises the Research Octane Number(RON) by 1.8 points and it tied for 4 of 11 in product comparisons testing.

Octane Boosters | Fuel Tech Experts

 

[Tom F&L GoR]

Folks, the terminology is such that "60 points" is 0.6 octane numbers, so if there is advertising making it sound like 6 points, then something is technically inconsistent. Furthermore, any product containing nitromethane is then using the wrong test (an octane evaluation) to predict a performance increase. Nitro carries its own oxygen so does not need air to burn - this doesn't allow for an apples to apples octane comparison. Lastly, an additive that raises fuel octane by 6 numbers at anything close to an economical price would be snapped up by oil companies.

The octane at a US pump is the average of Research (RON) and Motor (MON) methods. The RON is usually 8-10 numbers higher than MON. The difference between RON and MON is called "sensitivity."

The stuff you buy labeled as 93 R+M/2 at the pump is therefore ~98 RON and ~88 MON. {(98+88) / 2 = 93} In Europe, they sell fuel based only on RON, so don't think they get higher octane, they just look at a measurement that results in a larger number.

A product claim that raises RON by some amount is only telling half the story - what was the benefit in MON? If RON was up by 2 and MON increase was zero, then the pump octane was +1.

Other than tetra ethyl lead and MMT, there aren't magic additives that increases octane by large amounts. If you need a large increase, the only way to get it is to purchase a race gasoline where the entire blend produces a higher octane.

 

[plumcrazy]

no tom, youre wrong....its magic

 

[EllowViper]

Stuck a can of the NOS octane booster in today. I have to say it eliminated the knock going from closed to open loop on my set-up. I felt a lot "safer" running it hard today through the gears since I usually get some audible knock as I transition into boost from vacuum. I'll use the SCT to pull the required timing, but until I get around to doing that, I thought it interesting that this seemed to work too. So basically I need to be running around 95 octane for my current VEC tune.