Boosted octane...can it take it?

[Tim Gedney]

It's not street rod, but I was wondering if I can use special fuel in my relatively stock 2002. There is a race shop nearby that sells pretty sophisticated fuels and I'm curious to see how the car might react with something more than 91 octane in the tank. Thoughts? Here is the link if you want to check it out.

VP Racing Fuels

[02ap1]

hi,
i live in las vegas where 100-octane is available at the pump.
in my experience with filling up the tank in my completely stock '02 with the stuff, it was a waste of $5/gal. and that was in the summertime 100+ degree heat. there was no discernible difference in power or any other aspect of operation.
my advice is dont even bother with the stuff. the only possible advantage could be the capability to run high boost pressure on the street with a heavily modified (obviously turbo or supercharged) engine.
hope that might clear anything up.

[Tim Gedney]

Great feedback...thanks. I'll save the $$, stick with the 91 and continue to enjoy zipping around with the extra cash in my pocket instead of wasting it in the tank. It's great to have all these owners with so much experience, and the willingness to let others benefit from same....thanks again, guys.

[JdMs2k]

if you are gonna start runnin a higher octane in it you might wanna consider getting your ecu programmed cause a diff octane fuel could cause it to trip out n causing the engine not to run right..

[s2000isu]

disregard the above post. lol

[HELL_ON_WHEELS]

Originally Posted by s2000isu

disregard the above post. lol

[JdMs2k]

Originally Posted by s2000isu

disregard the above post. lol

yeah go ahead....youll see who was right :-/

[spa01s2k]

Originally Posted by JdMs2k

if you are gonna start runnin a higher octane in it you might wanna consider getting your ecu programmed cause a diff octane fuel could cause it to trip out n causing the engine not to run right..

The ECU will conform to whatever is in the tank. It doesn't matter what your using (85 or 100 octane), the car will change fuel delivery, spark timing, etc. to make the car run correctly.

[HELL_ON_WHEELS]

this was just sent to me

quote: JDMS2K
crash n burn
yeah you would have the manuel...those are for ppl who dont have a clue wut there doin'...yeah let me know when you can work on them from experience

real nice

[s2000isu]

lol I already know whos right cause I am cool like that.

[Java Junky]

Okay, comin' in late (what else is new?). Don't know what's been deleted n' don't know who's right r' who's wrong, but you know me . . given the opportunity to put my opinion into the ring, I'm helpless.
As for higher octane fuels what I've learned over the years is that if you're pushin' it to the wall you will notice a definite difference. If you're drivin' between the points where you filled it up n' where you're finally gonna be able to make use of it, you can hear cash register bells as you piss it away on mere transportation.
We used'ta run what was lovin'ly called "AvGas", or, aviation fuel. 'Spensive'z hell, but if it was available n' one competitor ran it, we all hadda run it. 'Wasn't the scientist then that I am now (that's a joke Bub) n' if memory serves me, I wanna say that it was about 114 octane.
'Didn't take long for an unspoken agreement between all involved that we jus' ran pump. But back then we still had Sunoco 260 available to us with it's 96 octane. 'Sad day when they retired that stuff.
So, after all that . . do I think it's worth it? Nope. You'll get more for your hard earned denaro n' more for that sense of accomplishment that we all crave by jus' runnin' pump n' takin' it as close to the edge as you can on a more practiced n' regular basis.
More expensive, higher octane fuel (if it's not used exclusively) is only another variable that doesn't allow us the ability to truly dial-in the limits of ourselves n' Stewie.
So sayeth the king of the run-on sentence.
Be well.
Java

[S2000dude]

Ditto to all that's said - you're just wasting the money but making the oil companies happy.

Here's my 2 cents - I've found my '05 runs best on Shell V-power. And it ain't in my head either. Car runs better on Shell and this was after trying 6 or 7 brands in my area. All 91 octane.

You might want to experiment.

[Vezna31]

Tim, unless you're running that 100 or 110 octane on the track, you probably won't feel the difference. You may feel a little, but not enough to justify the $5-6 per gallon

[Tim Gedney]

Yeah, seems like a consensus. Just a thought a lil' while back.
Hey Vinny, I'm still looking to get on a track but just can't see fit to heading so far north. Keep me posted if you head to BW! And, what shall I do with my gift certificate?

[Scott]

There are much cheaper additives to increase octane rating in fuel than the off-the-shelf "boosters".

Also, race fuel is, like already mentioned, relatively pointless in a near stock street car. Unless you are running high boost and the engine has a true demand for a higher octane, then 91 or 93 should be more than adequate. Running a higher octane won't damage your engine (unless you run C16 for too long, because it is leaded), but you will burn up your wallet significantly faster.

As far as S2000 specific experience, I tried running a 96 octane/10% Xylene mixture, and didn't run any faster times than when running 93 octane by itself.