anaya83 Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 I've been doing some search with no luck, but what I would like to know is if octane boosters helps with fuel economy?? anyone uses them?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrdkustoms Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 I use one, can't really tell any differance in fuel economy. However I can tell a diff when I I run pure gas, instead of the ethonal corn wiskey mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misterp Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 (edited) The only way octane will increase your gas mileage is if you are getting knock retard now - the PCM has a high octane (aggressive/optimum) and low octane (tame) ignition timing table, by default it will run on the high spark table until it "hears" detonation via the knock sensors; when this happens long enough, the PCM will deduce that you have inferior octane, and it will switch to the low octane spark table, the result being less combustion efficiency but at least it won't rattle itself apart on crap gas. So some suggestions/thoughts - First of all, "octane booster" is a TOTAL rip-off; you pour a bottle of "104 octane boost" into the tank and it'll only raise octane like 0.2 or 0.3, that's all. So you'll go from 87 to 87.2 octane rating. To get real octane boost, you have to use a different fuel. The cheapest DIY way to increase octane is to add toluene to your fuel (no more than 20%), THAT will raise octane, adding a couple gallons of toluene to 3/8-tank of 93-octane will make 97-octane (going by memory?) but a couple gallons of Toluene is like $9 (expensive!) and now impossible to find because it is a major ingredient in manufacturing illegal drugs (meth). My point is, the over-the-counter octane boosters are worthless IMO. Fuel and timing are *everything* to efficiency/mileage. You've got to run consistent gasoline - pick a brand/octane, and stay with it, THEN have your truck tuned for that fuel. I run Chevron-93 in my truck, and I have been dialing in my tune on that fuel. It's perfectly OK to use crap 87-octane with 10% ethanol (cheapest gas you can find) and as long as you dial in your tune/timing on that very fuel then what you will find is that the running cost of the two trucks will be very, very close if not the same; the difference is that you will use more volume of fuel, because it's watered-down with 10% ethanol, your injector duty cycle will read a little higher than my truck running supreme. But your fuel is less expensive, so the fact that you use more of it is offset by the lower cost, in the end the running costs will be the same provided both vehicles are dialed-in correctly for the fuel used, and are otherwise identical (motor, converter, trans, gearing, tires, weight, aerodynamics). Tuning correctly here does not mean getting an over-the-phone tune; a PCM tuner can only do so much without having your truck on a dyno. A tuner CAN get the air/fuel ratio right (not too rich or too lean) but without a dyno you will just be guessing as to the perfect spark timing table for YOUR truck on YOUR chosen fuel. To get maximum efficiency, you put the truck on a load-testing dyno which can 'hold' the truck at a specific speed & throttle position, and you fiddle with the timing (up and down) until you read the maximum delivered torque - that is the correct timing for that vehicle on that fuel, at that speed and load (throttle position). And you have to repeat this many, many times to map out the timing table, at least the part you will use under typical driving. So the big question is, is it worth the effort and cost to "supertune" your truck? Dyno time is anywhere from $75-100 per hour, not including the labor for the guy tuning! It is easy to sink a grand into a full-on professional tune. Well, you can buy a lot of gas for $1000 LOL. The difference between a good over-the-phone tune and a supertuned truck might be maybe 5%-10% more efficiency - you are money ahead to get a PROVEN tune from a reputable vendor for your truck, skip the dyno time, and not waste money on octane boosters!! OTOH, if you want that extra 5%-10% efficiency because you need it (racing) or for peace of mind (!) then know it's there with enough quality time on a load-bearing dyno. Mr. P. Edited September 16, 2010 by Mr. P. (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zrdkustoms Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Yea what he said, .... on a side note I think I will stick to painting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anaya83 Posted September 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Mr. P. Your answer makes it more than clear. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anaya83 Posted September 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Yea what he said, .... on a side note I think I will stick to painting LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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