After reading Ruperts thread: 'STi V owners - don't panic' re: fuel / ignition problems. Can anyone recommend an Octane Booster suitable for an STi V?

My thinking is that even though I don't drive the car to the red line, it sounds like a wise precaution until PE solve the problem with an engine remap.

Many thanks,

Dave

David,

I don`t have a STi but a MY93 WRX.I use Silkoline Pro boost which helps very much. 8^)
I buy mine from a local motorcycle shop @£6 per ltr. RRP is £7.99.

I use a 1.5% mix. = 700-800ml per fill up.
Hope this helps.

Dave

Dave,
I use an octane booster by Aldon 1 litre treats 22 gallons and cost about £8 .
I have found that it gives much smoother acceleration and improved fuel consumption by 1-2 mpg driving steady.
Hope this helps Dave

I read somewhere that ethanol is an octane booster and can be safely used in up to 1:10 mix with petrol (as in gasohol in USA). This is much cheaper when bought in the form of methylated spirit (denatured with small amount of methanol, also used as racing fuel) than commercial octane booster. Used it every now and then in my other car to remove moisture from the fuel tank with no apparent harmful effect, other than a rather "sweet" smelling exhaust.

Hmmm..
Not sure about these comments either. I'd just like to point out that meths is NOT ethanol. Ethanol CH3-CH2OH is 'drinking alcohol' and methanol CH3OH is for cleaning paintbrushes (or drinking if you're very poor and don't mind going blind !).

Mick

Lokokkee, are you saying that we can just put meths in the tank as an Octane Booster?

If so this sounds like the cheapest option yet!

No way I'll try it untill we get some chemical engineer to convince me that this is safe.



[This message has been edited by Tim W (edited 19-06-99).]

With the different octane boosters being discussed here - are you talking about boosting 95 or 98 RON fuel?

Ricky T.

Actually, methylated spirit is mostly ethanol, with just a small amount of methanol added to denature it, i.e. make it not drinkable, and hence not subject to the heavy excise duty that it would otherwise attract.(It would also be a waste to feed it to the car instead of consuming it yourself) As I have mentioned, 1:9 alcohol/gasoline mixture (gasohol) is actually encouraged in US as a renewable energy source with various tax incentives, and can be safely used in cars without modifications. In Brazil, they run cars on pure ethanol, but have to modify the engine and the hoses for it. The octane boosting effect I read is due to the oxygen content, i.e. it supplies part of the oxygen required for combustion. Pure ethanol has a Ron rating of 129. Methanol is an even better fuel, being used in dragsters and Indy cars, but is more corrosive. I think it is safe in the small amounts discussed here because I have been using STP fuel injector cleaner (added to the fuel tank) and it carries a prominent warning that it contains methanol - harmful if swallowed. If nothing else, this is effective in removing moisture from fuel system, water can mix with alcohol, but not petrol.

My usual "dosage" is 1 bottle of the stuff per tank full, at a cost of around 25p. The car I used it on (Audi 90 Quarttro MY88)has 150K Km on the clock and has not shown any harmful effect.

It would be nice to be able to tell the police: "officer, I have not been drinking, but I think my car did, run the breath analyser test on it if you don't believe me".

[This message has been edited by lokokkee (edited 19-06-99).]

[This message has been edited by lokokkee (edited 19-06-99).]

I have been advised that the addition of 5 litres of, Methyl-Benzene to each tank will result in a genuine performance gain.
Any members know where you can purchase the stuff from?

For those who can lay their hands on cheap pure ethanol (industrial grade), a 1:10 mixture with 97 Ron petrol will give a theoretical 100.2 Ron (.1x129 + .9x97). With 95 Ron petrol, the mixture will give 98.4 Ron. All cars manufactured for the US market since 1980s' will be able to run it safely as the manufacturers' warranty are not affected when run on gasohol. (Reference: http:/anonymous.chevron.com/chevron_root/prodserv/bulletin/motorgas/ch4.html) Using pure ethanol will take care of the methanol problem in methylated spirit.

[This message has been edited by lokokkee (edited 21-06-99).]

I don't want to sound like a kill-joy but I think Benzene in one form or another is a known carcinogen?

Handle with care!

I,ve heard of Ether and Acetone being used with petrol in two-stroke engines by the bike racing fraternity.

[This message has been edited by WESTFIELD (edited 20-06-99).]

Dave, I've tried the BG 44k octane boaster and BG moa oil additive: the combination gave me about 5% on performance and 10% on economy. Has anyone tried the BG or similar?
what are your figures ?? Allan.

Just thought of something. There is something called 'Water' that I've been reading about. Its made up of Hydrogen (some great bang for your buck) and oxygen (apparently good for aiding combustion). Its news to me but much of the planet is covered in the stuff - it even falls from the sky in places like Manchester. Anyway, I'm gonna try it - should be about 180RON I'd of thought. I'm surprised know one has thought of this before 'cause garages give it away for free along with air too.

Apparently the stuff is so cheap that people wash with it, personally I'll carry on using metholayted spirits - great for those grubby spots.

Regards
James

James, It has just occurred to me that there is no minimum prerequisite to enroll SIDC. This is unlucky since unfortunately everyone with the intelligence of a banana and the sophistication of a melon can participate.
I'd recommend fruit salad instead.

As a post script to my previous message,I have been advised by BP Australia that PULP here has a minimum RON of 95.
The suggestion of introducing Methyl-benzene to increase the RON is recommended at the benefit rate of 1 octane increase/5% Methyl-Benzene @A$1/litre.
So for A$10/tank a guaranteed 97 RON can be
assured.For STi owners I would double the dosage.
Apparently Methyl-Benzene is available at all BP outlets.
As far as the safety issue is concerned-no worse than standard raw petrol fumes.

Does anyone know how much Methyl Benzene is in the UK and if it is readily available and if so where?

Darren

[This message has been edited by drew (edited 22-06-99).]

Methyl Benzene is also known as Toulene. It is still quite toxic but it is now where near as dangerous as benzene. Just as an intresting aside toulene is one of the precursors used in the manufacter of 2,3,4 - trinitrotoulene or TNT!

Cheers

Andy

Be careful when considering using Ethanol or Methanol as an additive. Ethanol has a 42% lower calorific value by volume compared to octane (petrol).Methanol is even worse. Also the Air/Fuel ratio required for burning ethanol is about 23% lower (richer) than for octane. Methanol fuelled racing cars use much more fuel than octane fuelled cars and have to be set up accordingly. If you put a significant amount of ethanol in an engine intended for octane it will develop less power and run weak. The exception is in cruise mode when the closed-loop system will adjust fuelling to minimize oxygen in the exhaust gases. Acceleration and warm-up are governed by the fuel map which is expecting to be using octane, not ethanol.
By adding ethanol you could be making detonation/pinking matters much worse.

Alan

p.s. Much of the reason behind the use of alcohol and other oxygenates (like MTBE in USA) is aimed at improved combustion, not increased octane rating. I believe Brazil uses a lot of alcohol based fuel so they don't have to import petroleum.