Octane Booster

[88cu]

I had a aquaintenance of mine mention to me this morning that adding octane booster to your fuel at fill up is a good idea. So what better place to ask this question. All input is appreciated.

[frisco-rigid]

Hey 88

Like steel asked--- is there a reason you think you might need Octane.?

Octane helps prevent detonation and pre-ignition..
It slows the rate of burn of the gas/air mixture..

Octane does not give your motor more power,, in fact, depending on the ingredients it could rob power..
It does allow the use of high-compression and aggressive ignition advance timing.. Those are things that actually do give more power..
If the motor does not have those things you don't need it.. Throwing money away..
Some Octane boosters have Octane enhancers that have Less BTU's (energy) than the gasoline you're using--thus less power-- like adding 80 proof whisky to 101 proof whisky.. Ah, you know,, less power..

Also like steel mentioned-- If you're experiencing symptoms that make you think you need Octane-- it's better to remedy those probs.. You got probs Daddio..???

[Shed]

How ever some times more often than people imagine oour engines do experience knock we just can not hear it.

Octane is Octave index it does not mean more power in all petrol /gas blends. Some have high octane like Ethanol but low btu

In hot weather or under adverse conditions it is cheap insurance for your engine

[JCourneyaP]

I dunno Shed....You tellin me that some engines knock and we just can't hear it. A knock is a knock. Pretty audible.


If your motor is tuned too a "T" you should have no problems riding in any condition. If I was worried about heat I would first make sure the bike was running good as it can then I would invest in a Oil Cooler of some kind before turning to a can of boost for cheap insurance.

I have only seen a very "Really" very few road bikes that would benefit from running A high Octane or using the can. The myth has been going around for years over 20 that I am aware of is to use a can of Octane Booster and you will gain massive Horse Power. They promoted it "Big Time" when they started taking the lead out of gas.

I know a few guys and still shake my head when they roll up to the pump put in 93 Octane and then Pull a can from their saddle bags and put in the boost and think they are going to be going alot faster. You just don't need it in majority of the motorsicles out there.

To me its kinda like those big multi vitamin pills. You usally end up pissin more out than your body can absorb. Sometimes a Flintstone Chewable is all you need.

[evoKENevo]

Fuels with higher octane-ratings explode LESS easily, yet are popularly thought of as MORE powerful. This misunderstanding is caused by confusing the ability of fuel to resist detonation..as opposed to the ability of the fuel to burn = combustion.

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The power output of an engine depends on the energy content of its fuel, and this bears no simple relationship to the octane rating. A common understanding that may apply in ONLY limited circumstances amongst petrol consumers is that adding a higher octane fuel to a vehicle's engine will increase its performance and/or lessen its fuel consumption; this may be FALSE under MOST conditions — while engines perform best when using fuel with the octane rating for which they were designed and any increase in performance by using a fuel with a different octane rating is MINIMAL or even IMAGINARY, unless there are carbon hotspots, fuel injector clogging or other conditions that may cause a lean situation that can cause knocking that are more common in high mileage vehicles, which would cause modern cars to retard timing thus leading to a loss of both responsiveness and fuel economy.

[Fenderplayer]

Now nitrous Oxide - that's a different story.

[JCourneyaP]

Nitrous can be Fun...........and pretty safe. I like it better than Turbo. Cheaper also. Turbo belongs under a hood.

[street bob]

Wow..... I just learned a lesson...Thanks folks!!

[StevieP]

MOST cars/trucks can run on 87 octane, yet my Harley requires 91 (min), and usually GETS 93. I do keep a can of octane booster handy for when 87 is all that's available.

What would it take to get Harleys to run right on 87? Reduce the compression ratio? What else? And what would we lose because of it?

[frisco-rigid]

One of the things that is built "into" our motors that makes power is Compression..
One of the things that is "adjusted" into our motors that assists in making power is Aggressive Ignition advance..
Both those things need Octane.. The Octane itself does Not give or make power it only allows the use of those things that do make power such as Comp and Ign..

If a motor does not have high Compression and/or aggressive Ign. advance to make more power then it usually doesn't need the extra Octane either..

Sooo, for example, if your motor does not have high Comp and/or aggressive Ign. it does not need the 93 or 91 and will run well on 87..
If it does have High Comp and/or aggessive Ign. it will still run fairly good on 87 but will need to be babied a wee bit more to prevent detonation.. Motors that are hooked up to Ign.'s with a Knock Sensor will just instantly retard when they sense Detonation with whatever fuel/octane is being used.. I've hit the Knock sensor on my car and it's like a miss,, very much like hitting the Rev limiter..
Another example--- All my motors are 10-1,, 10.2-1 , 10.5-1 and 11.5-1 Comp.. I do not run aggressive Ignition timings but with those Compressions and running in the AZ 116* summers I do run the highest 91 available..

Soo, if a motor has high Comp and aggressive Ign. and needs High Octane then you're correct just dialing back the Ign. and re-building the top-end with less Comp will enable it to run on 87 with No probs,,, you would lose the power that was once available..