Octane booster for 87-89 pump gas

[laffstang]

My small town has six gas stations, three of which had 91 octane premium. Over the years, one by one, those three have been sold to other companies that have decided that they didn't need to offer it anymore.
My options are driving 18 miles to the nearest town that has premium, or add octane booster to bring the rating up a little. Does anyone have experience adding octane booster to gas with a lower rating? Is it a realistic alternative?

[DSG2003Mach1]

36 miles is a good chunk to go to fill up on 91.

With Octane booster you need to make sure what you're getting, frequently they'll say something "raises octane 3 points" which would make 89 89.3, not 92.

Torco used to be the main one everyone ran but it seems there are some others out there now that are good as well but I'm not terribly familiar with them. Some of the octane boosters are a little rough on plugs and if you're running it every tank might need to swap em out a couple times per year...not a big deal with some cheap TR6s or something though.

[bristol16]

Originally Posted by laffstang

My small town has six gas stations, three of which had 91 octane premium. Over the years, one by one, those three have been sold to other companies that have decided that they didn't need to offer it anymore.
My options are driving 18 miles to the nearest town that has premium, or add octane booster to bring the rating up a little. Does anyone have experience adding octane booster to gas with a lower rating? Is it a realistic alternative?

Do our cars require premium fuel?

I had a full service station (no choice at the time) fill my modded/tuned Evo with 87 one day. I dumped a bottle of octane booster in it (I believe it was STP brand) and never had a problem. I didn't drive it as hard as I normally did for that tank, but I definitely got on it hard a few times and never noticed any adverse effects like detonation so it was obviously working.

I wouldn't want to do it as a regular fill up on a boosted car, but it works in an emergency if you get the wrong fuel. Maybe it's fine to do every fill up, just seems weird to me. Cars now that "recommend" premium are programmed to run just fine on 87, cars back then that were designed to run on premium don't do as well on regular. Vehicles recommending premium are becoming more and more popular, surprised to see not a single gas station out of 6 carrying it. Also, what "small" town has 6 gas stations lol!

[DSG2003Mach1]

Originally Posted by bristol16

Do our cars require premium fuel?

I had a full service station (no choice at the time) fill my modded/tuned Evo with 87 one day. I dumped a bottle of octane booster in it (I believe it was STP brand) and never had a problem. I didn't drive it as hard as I normally did for that tank, but I definitely got on it hard a few times and never noticed any adverse effects like detonation so it was obviously working.

I wouldn't want to do it as a regular fill up on a boosted car, but it works in an emergency if you get the wrong fuel. Maybe it's fine to do every fill up, just seems weird to me. Cars now that "recommend" premium are programmed to run just fine on 87, cars back then that were designed to run on premium don't do as well on regular. Vehicles recommending premium are becoming more and more popular, surprised to see not a single gas station out of 6 carrying it. Also, what "small" town has 6 gas stations lol!

our cars say right on the dash premium fuel recommended, meaning at least 91. With an aftermarket tune I would want to make sure I wasn't under 91.

[FastEddie09]

Is this your daily driver?

[laffstang]

No, put on about 2-3000 miles a year. I daily my 1990 5.0 in warmer months, and it also requires 91. From the sound of it, I think I'll just resign myself to the fact that I'm going to have to drive a 36 mile round trip just to get gas.

[DSG2003Mach1]

Originally Posted by laffstang

No, put on about 2-3000 miles a year. I daily my 1990 5.0 in warmer months, and it also requires 91. From the sound of it, I think I'll just resign myself to the fact that I'm going to have to drive a 36 mile round trip just to get gas.

can you safely store a barrel of 91 with a pump somewhere? It would need to be grounded

[laffstang]

Interesting suggestion, but no. I don't think my Homeowner's Association would like that.

[DSG2003Mach1]

Originally Posted by laffstang

Interesting suggestion, but no. I don't think my Homeowner's Association would like that.

I kinda doubt they ever thought about that one to make a rule


that being said I dont think Id be crazy about a drum of gas in the garage either. Hell, my 5 gallon cans for my generator started putting fuel vapor smell through the AC and I put em out on the back patio

[JDraper]

I would advise against using most octane boosters. Many use MMT to increase the effective octane of your fuel. MMT WILL foul your plugs.

Even though the Machs recommended fuel is 91 octane, you can run on lower octane fuel safely. The downside is that you will have less power because the knock sensors in the engine will slightly retard the timing to ensure that there is no detonation due to the lower octane.

[FastEddie09]

For me 36 miles in the Mach is a good day! Time to find a scenic route to the gas station.

[311-420]

Originally Posted by FastEddie09

For me 36 miles in the Mach is a good day! Time to find a scenic route to the gas station.

Make lemonade, right?!

[DSG2003Mach1]

Originally Posted by JDraper

I would advise against using most octane boosters. Many use MMT to increase the effective octane of your fuel. MMT WILL foul your plugs.

Even though the Machs recommended fuel is 91 octane, you can run on lower octane fuel safely. The downside is that you will have less power because the knock sensors in the engine will slightly retard the timing to ensure that there is no detonation due to the lower octane.

I would be VERY concerned about a tune, ESPECIALLY a Bama tune, dealing with lower octane. It seems a lot of tuners just turn the knock sensors off or way, way down

[JDraper]

Originally Posted by DSG2003Mach1

I would be VERY concerned about a tune, ESPECIALLY a Bama tune, dealing with lower octane. It seems a lot of tuners just turn the knock sensors off or way, way down

Thanks for mentioning that.

Agree 100%. I was talking based on the factory tune. I know in the factory tune that the knock sensors are oversensitive. My car had a custom tune on it that turned them down 50%.