octane booster

[mac mac]

so i thought id open up the topic here for discussion , rather than cloging up the wats app thread for events .


so octane booster , is it worth it ? personally im not bothered with using the stuff as imo its too much hassle , having to buy , measure and put it in while topping up with petrol . my preference was to simply get her mapped to suit the fuel that she would be drinking (maxol e5 99ron lol) . but can you convince me it is worth the bother ?


so FINNOULA has imported a JDM impreza sti , she has had it mapped for her local readily available fuel . the following week she brings it to a "dyno dynamics" rolling road where upon she makes 300bhp . IF she had of used .3 of a bottle of NF how much extra power would she of made ?



she has also heard of these PELLETS (roughly€200) that are put in the fuel tank ,supposedly increase ron and will last 200,000km without having to do anything . in the past 6 months she has heard 2 different stories from 2 users of the pellets , both stories were at opposite ends of the scale ,where one lad says they are the reason he made such high numbers , while MR B said " not worth a wank " . any input to this discussion is also welcomed .




now the fact i was missing roughly 30 ponies at recent RR has nothing to do with above (cough cough) , more so a talking point when these occosaians do arise. .so lets hear what you think ?


personally i couldnt be bothered with booster .

 

[Fozzy]

I’m using NF race but only because I can’t get my ECU mapped, my FD is mapped for Irish fuel.

Preference:
1) map it
2) octane boost
3) run Irish fuel

With regards to pellets - I’ve heard that it’s snake oil - not heard any positives but not gone looking for much info eitger

 

[scoobysub]

First off tell finnoula she's going to get bent over in the Vrt offfice so booster is the least of her worries

to be honest There's too many Varying factors when comparing similar cars , condition of plugs, maf, fuel pump, Miles covered etc etc .so can't compare really .

adding 1/3 of a bottle of booster To the same car you had mapped on normal 95 petrol would only get you 5-15 bhp at most I'd say .


I map for standard 95 petrol as it's an every day car and at a track day I add half a bottle of booster to keep it safe , if your mapped for booster then there's nothing extra you can put in if your pushing it on , or get a tank of bad fuel . It won't get you more bhp if your car is not mapped for it but it will bring up the Ron rating of your fuel and that's always a good thing .

Regarding the pellets i have them in the car and while there no harm I don't think they make much of a differance to the fuel or performance of the car but it's impossible to say for sure what there doing .


Is booster worth it . In my case no . It's and everyday car and at 20 Euro a bottle it adds 7 euros to a tank of fuel .
if only a weekend car then it's not a cost issue so could be done . But for the benefits or bhp gain I'm not sure .

 

[dontommy]

Well Keith put a pellets into his spec C and got some impressive result when he was mapping

 

[CARLO]

I got mine mapped for 95 + half bottle of booster.

Was as told at the time of mapping (got mapped for fast road use/drag )booster wasent required for normal day to day driving and not a major problem if it’s not added. Usually only add it if going on long or sprinted journeys. If I’m just toddling around town wouldn’t bother with it.

Might have ave just been lucky but never had a problem so far.

But as above every car would be different

 

[Zheiko]

I agree with MAC on most of them things here.

The gains are minimal, map is better value for your money, and once you map for shitty petrol, its hassle free. I have never put any booster in the tank in my life.

Now all modern engines have smart ECU's and knock sensors, so as soon as the knock sensor detects detonations, the ECU will push back on power to prevent damage to the engine itself - or at least thats how I understand it.

This is why you can see on certain cars running on 95 they are running lower numbers than cars running on 98. How big of a difference there is? Up to 10hp? Probably.

At the end of the day - it isnt only about those few ponies on top of your current power, its about ensuring the car is running healthy and has no issues, less knock means healthier and longer lasting engine.

With that in mind - I believe that adding a bit of booster to the tank should do no harm, but it should be expected that no power increase(not significant at least) will be apparent.

 

[Keadeen]

Cannot comment on the pellets as know not enough about them.

As for good RON booster (adding 3-6 RON numbers per bottle/treatment):

* Daily driver I would not bother and better to map for what comes out of the pump (too much hassle, too dear, for too little gain which on daily you'd not tap into). Like Joe said though, a 1/3 or 1/2 bottle for "safety" when taking a daily on track, or very hard drive, makes total sense. Won't see you any extra power, but might well save you from terminal knock event when things get hot (or fuel on the day that was just that little bit off).

* If tracking / rallying it is a different story. Every bit of power counts. In that case would be mapping for a full bottle per tank, which should see you gain about 20-30Bhp/20-40Nm peak if mapped for it on a Scooby. Not only would you get the additional peak power, but much more importantly it will gain more power all along "under" the graph (gains along the graph below peak values, "raising" the overall graph lines below peak numbers). It is the gain under that graph where the real performance increase is, so don't over focus on the headline numbers. The response would feel much better overall. This is related not just to the power gained through out the range, but also to the timing you can use in the map if higher RON available. The additional timing makes the engine more responsive and feel "alive". Also, it will give more margin higher in the rev range, so can map in more power there instead of tapering off (fuel, boost, timing cuts usually implemented in that range). For a Daily that's not as important as seldom in the 5-7k rpm range, but obviously on track, or other competition use, would see you mostly in the 4-7k range and hence power and responsiveness there makes a huge difference in performance and hence times achieved.

 

[Eoinmack]

Rather than starting a new thread I'll just post here...

Was only thinking the last few days, my car is a UK import, so 98 Ron mapping. I have no knowledge or proof that it was mapped for 95, would that be an issue compared to most queries about mapping from 105 to 95?
I haven't really any issues, more a safety thing as mentioned above.
She's getting mapped alright but I'm a bit away from that yet

Should I be using octane booster in the meantime or is 98 to 95 not really something to worry about?

 

[Zheiko]

This might be very inaccurate and if it is, I will be glad if someone corrects me so I learn something:

The way I understand it, newer vehicles have Knock sensor - it sends signal to ECU that there was premature detonation in cylinder and ECU based on that will adjust timing in order not to produce more knock.

It is designed so that way you do not damage your engine. I believe that the issue was mainly with older cars, that didnt have this kind of feature.

The result of that will however be lower performance of the engine.

Mapping is still recommended, because your mapper will adjust the timing and the map generally the way, so you never get to the pressure in cylinder that would cause knock, while still using the maximum amount of power available - safely.

That being said, I have red on NASIOC forums, that with standard manufacturer's map you should be able to take lower grade of petrol without any damage being caused - what does cause damage however are frequent changes in fuel quality - that way the ECU needs to re-learn constantly and the knock will inevitably be happening(especially while going from higher grade to lower grade)

Remember, I am no tuner, nor mechanic or engineer, just bits and pieces of information I found on the interwebs, if you can, get your map as soon as possible and avoid dodgy unbranded petrol stations

 

[Eoinmack]

That's basically my understanding too.
Thanks man. I think your right about the whole mapping sooner rather than later.

The reason I ask is... AFAIK (open to correction here) but 95 is available in UK too yeah?
I reckon this car was reverted to stock before I bought it, has couple of signs, most obvious being the holes where winglets were installed before.
Now, pure assumptions here.

The undertray was missing when buying it, could mean that there was an STI scoop and STI TMIC too previously.
The air intake snorkel was missing.
The exhaust is a replacement STI exhaust which I think is from a classic.
Turbo heat shield is missing also (possibly, even tho admittedly doubtful) means turbo upgrade at some stage, but stock TD04 in it now.

So the reason I was thinking that, is cause if the above was installed, or something similar, means it could have been mapped for the higher octane..

I dono, just thinking out loud here lol

 

[Zheiko]

Assumptions are bad for you man get it mapped for ease of your mind and dont dig too much in the past of the car, you will save yourself some headaches.