Hi there i currently own a STI 5 Type R which i have had from new and have constantly run it on optimax and octane booster (pro boost).

Now the other day i ran out of OB and there wasn't a shell station in sight but luckly found a BP and filled up with SUL.

To my shock the car seemed more smoother and pulled very well.

So my question is why do we pay good money for OB (and expense at that, well pro boost is) when eitheir optimax or SUL is fine?

And if OB is necessary which one is better as if i didn't notice any difference between putting some in and not then just how good is pro boost and would i notice a difference if i changed to a different brand?


One very confused owner.

 

Hi Mel,
Dont fall into the trap of thinking that SUL or Optimax will prevent detonation. Trust me it wont and i now know for a fact. The Scoobs (JDM cars anyway) are mapped for 100RON and even then they may even detonate a little. SUL burna a little better than Optimax so you get slightly better performance. When Optimax is used it doesnt detonate nearly as much BUT it degrades over a period of time. So the best thing to do is to put a little Optimax at a time.
Reagrding Octane Boosters i swear by NF. Its proven to actually raise the RON Rating to 100 and when i hooked Deltadsh on my car and gave it stick it showed NO Knock Correction. Other Octane boosters do a good job as well but still let a bit of det through. Trust me and go for NF. You can get it at SCC Performance in St Albans @ £13 a bottle. A bit pricey but the best.

Gez

 

Is it a bottle per tank or will a bottle do more than one tank.


Mel.

 

Confused,

I work for an oil company and they have test engines that they do ratings on fuel, I ask the chemist to do some ratings on ProBoost and also Wynns Octane improver, suprisingly the Wynns come out better than ProBoost, he mixed ProBoost + Optimax @ 3% and it came out at 99.2RON and Wynns + Optimax @ 1% came out 99.6RON, so if you have been puting 1/2 a can in per fill up as I had been doing its a complete waste of time(Optimax rated @ 98.5RON)

I am going to use my stock of booster up then try Nitrous Formula which has got probabaly the best reviews on this forum.

 

Mel!
I use to put in 1/2 a bottle per tank and it did the job wonderfully.

Gez

 

I will order some NF and try it out.


Mel.

 

Mel,the best thing to do is to invest in a Knocklink.The most important thing is to make sure you are det free rather than release a couple(maybe) of extra BHP.Anectodal evidence(including from some friends of mine) is that some cars appear to run a little better on SUL but det far less on Optimax.OB adds a little more confidence.

 

save some money and put some alcohol. same effect, 1/10th of the cost

 

Formula #1 - Toluene
R+M/2.........114
Cost...........$2.50/gal
Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.2 Octane
20%...........96.4 Octane
30%...........98.6 Octane
Notes: Common ingredient in Octane Boosters in a can. 12-16 ounces will only raise octane 2-3 *points*, i.e. from 92 to 92.3. Often costs $3-5 for 12-16 ounces, when it can be purchased for less than $3/gal at chemical supply houses or paint stores.

Formula #2 - Xylene
R+M/2.........117
Cost...........$2.75/gal
Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.5 Octane
20%...........97.0 Octane
30%...........99.5 Octane
Notes: Similar to Toluene. 12-16 ounces will only raise octane 2-3 *points*, i.e. from 92 to 92.3. Usually mixed with Toluene and advertised as *race formula*.

Formula #3 - Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether (MTBE)
R+M/2.........118
Cost...........$3.50/gal
Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.6 Octane
20%...........97.2 Octane
30%...........99.8 Octane
Notes: Oxygenate. Very common in octane booster products. Has lower BTU content than toluene or xylene, but oxygenate effect makes the gasoline burn better and produce more energy.

Formula #4 - Methanol or Ethanol
R+M/2.........101
Cost...........$0.60 - $1.75/gal
Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.3 Octane (Methanol)
10%...........94.7 Octane (Ethanol)
20%...........Not Recommended
Notes: Methanol is wood alcohol. Ethanol is grain alcohol and found in Gasohol in 10% ratios. Both alcohols are mildly corrosive and will eat gas tank linings, rubber and aluminum if used in excessive ratios. Main ingredient in "Gas Dryers", combine with water.

Formula #5 - Isopropyl Alcohol and Tertiary Butyl Alcohol
R+M/2.........101
Cost...........$0.60-$1.50/gal
Mixtures with 92 Octane Premium
10%...........94.5 Octane
20%...........Not Recommended
30%...........Not Recommended

Notes: Similar to Methanol/Ethanol. Isopropyl Alcohol is simply rubbing alcohol.

Sample Mixture
To make your own octane booster, it is easiest to make up a large batch, and then bottle it up in "dosage-size" uses.
Below is the basic formula of one of the popular octane booster products. To make eight 16 ounce bottles (128 oz = 1 gal):

100 oz of toluene for octane boost
25 oz of mineral spirits (cleaning agent)
3 oz of transmission fluid (lubricating agent)
This product is advertised as "octane booster with cleaning agent *and* lubricating agent!". Diesel fuel or kerosene can be substituted for mineral spirits and light turbine oil can be substituted for transmission fluid. Color can be added with petroleum dyes.

 

How much are looking for a Knocklink and how easy is it to fit?


Mel.

 

Mel,costs about £100,easy to fit(1-2 hrs for an amateur such as myself).Makes life much easier

 

A KnockLink can be fitted in under an hour is you know your way around your car.

My experience with fuel and OB:

MY99 UK car, with front mount intercooler, bigger turbo and Link ECU (mapped by BR Developments on Optimax)

I got stuck for a Shell garage and had to use BP SUL and the knocklink was lighting up like a christmas on part throttle (no lights when running Optimax!!)

A (60ml) cap full of NF OB and the lights stopped!!!

 

I have so far (8 weeks or so) been running my bog standard STi5 RA on Optimax, I have also been logging with Deltadash and only see very rare and very small readings of -ve knock correction.

I also wonder if this joy juice is an expensive rip off...

 

MelTypeR, if you have time this thread on the GR-R board is quite interesting.

 

In my experience, the knock link is pants, had one and det can's the knocklink picks up more noise than it should and lights up even if there isn't any det.

NF is the best one on the market.

We are running a standard pinto and a 13.1 C/R and NF is the only OB that it doesn't DET on.

Proboost det'd @ 12.1 C/R, the others were lower.

 

I sent you an email a few weeks back asking for purchase details for NF....did you ever get it?

 

Do NF have a website?


Mel.

 

http://www.nitrousformula.co.uk/

 

Not Sure mega_stream, i do reply to all my emails, but i think its been a bit dodge of the last couple of months.

Email me at
steve@nitrousformula.co.uk

http://www.nitrousformula.co.uk

 

dingy YHM.


Mel.

 

Got a mail from mega_stream, no one else.

 

I have an STi5 Type RA, and use Shell SUL and Millers Octane Booster.
Been advised that its a good one to use.
Use whole bottle (250ml I think) in a tank of fuel (or nearer 40litres as I never let it run down too far!)
Dont have a Knocklink device or anything...

Is it possible to use too much OB??

Cheers
Mark...

 

Thats something i have worried about in the past esp since optimax is normal unleaded with OB in it.



Mel.

 

Do NF do a one-shot bottle??

If so, does anyone stock it? I'd like to order some NF mail-order. Anyone have a link, please?

 

Prev page Burr

 

markpm, I don't think you can use too much off the shelf OB's. As the fuel octane increases the impact of the OB decreases. The risk comes in if you start adding too much of a home grown concoction or raw materials, say raw Tuolene.

 

NF do a one shot bottle yes.

You can order straight from me.

07779 330 970 steve@nitrousformula.co.uk

 

Thanks Steve, 50 bottle case of NF on its way to me

John

 

I run a TurboXS stage1 on my USDM 02 WRX I run only Sunoco 94(RON+MON/2). Yesterday the temp outside was below 0C. I had a few knock events in gear 5 WOT. When I got home I added 1 gallon each of Methanol and Toluene and filled the tank with Sunoco 94. The knock has totaly disapeared. For anyone with the occasional knock because of the outside temp

 

Knock????
Think people are maybe being a bit over-cautious adding OB to SUL or optimax, I have run on optimax alone for 1 year with an sti4 type R and am running optimax alone on my sti5....whats the fuss, the car runs great.....(clonk,clonk,boom!)
I find the price of optimax expensive enough without adding another fivers worth of OB into the tank, Im sure im not the only person to think that??

If the engine lets go, well it will be bad luck, but I dont drive it flat out round a racetrack all afternoon, so I cant see it happening. (Im gonna regret this post!)

Anyway best regards always...and happy motoring.
Kev.