Cheap BHP

I was wondering around a local motor shop, and came across a product called 'Nos Octane Booster', which supposedly increased the octane rating of your petrol by 3 e.g 97 to 100.

Thought I would give it a go as I was planning a trip to Heathrow.

Wow, what a difference, not sure how much BHP or Torque increased by, but you could definately feel the difference, especially on part throttle. The acceleration between 80-100 in sixth was on a par with the missus' Megane 225, and that's one swift bottom !

I think it cost me £10, which I feel is excellent value, considering I only use on average one tank a month.

They also do one that is supposed to increase the octane rating by 7 points, might give that a go next.

Are you sure it was any different or maybe it just 'felt' differnet after youve been releived of £10?

Your car is mapped to run on 95 RON unleaded petrol.
I seriously doubt you will get any more power from a £10 bottle of stuff from the motor shop unless you re-map your car.

You could however damage the CAT as you dont know whats in the stuff..... be careful!

Lastly - one tank a month you lucky bastard!!!! jesus! I do 2 tanks a week!!!

Me too, thought the same, but it did feel like had more oomph.

I remember when I had a 330d, and switched from Shell to BP Ultimate diesel, you could not only feel the difference, but hear it also.

I thought modern cars were able to sense the octane rating of the fuel used and advanced the timing thingy ?

My GTA manual states "no less than 95".

However it is my understanding that most modern high performance car ECUs automatically can take advantage of higher octane by advancing the ignition timing up to a certain point.
As to how much bhp this buys you for a GTA, I don't know for sure - I had planned to attempt to measure the effect on power at the wheels with my timing gear at the last track day - (but that didn't go to plan ).
I certainly thought my car ran better at the track on 97 octane than 95, it appeared much sweeter at the upper end IMHO.

If anybody has details of dyno runs showing bhp differences relating to different octane ratings for for N/A cars (even if not Alfas) I am interested to hear, I'm not that interested in the effect on turbo cars where the octane rating plays a huge part.

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by ukoldschool

Your car is mapped to run on 95 RON unleaded petrol.

Yes I have used it in the past, and had a rolling road test that did show an increase in performace. The product I used was by a company called Rock and it was CAT safe. Can remember the difference in BHP I can remember it was lots but it did make a difference on the road.

Don't fall for the increase in 7 points scam -
7 "points increase in octane" equals only 0.7 of an octane!

The octane boosters claim to enhance combustion in other clever facilitatory ways..
..but there is an incredibly detailed thread that I'll try and track down later that highlights potential dangers from using octane boosters.
Basically the author, an academic and scientist that tests fuel efficiency as well as a keen car enthusiast asserted that this clever way is actually a con achieved by "fooling" the engine knock detectors to not notice harmful detonation by having an effect on the frquency that these detonations take place at.
In other words you engine may still be getting damaged - but it will be going faster for a while if the ECU can take advantage of the "perceived higher octane".
Apparently all knock detectors "listen" on a standard frquency for explosions and basically miss the damage that is going on.

I have no personal experience of these products and I know pople who think they are great but after reading this article I became very wary of using them.

Cheers,
TB

Originally Posted by al147gta

I was wondering around a local motor shop, and came across a product called 'Nos Octane Booster', which supposedly increased the octane rating of your petrol by 3 e.g 97 to 100.

Thought I would give it a go as I was planning a trip to Heathrow.

Wow, what a difference, not sure how much BHP or Torque increased by, but you could definately feel the difference, especially on part throttle. The acceleration between 80-100 in sixth was on a par with the missus' Megane 225, and that's one swift bottom !

I think it cost me £10, which I feel is excellent value, considering I only use on average one tank a month.

They also do one that is supposed to increase the octane rating by 7 points, might give that a go next.

Here goes:

Warning not for the faint of heart, but quite compelling reading in its own right!

BTW "MyCroft" is the scientist.
some crazy people also posted to that thread but they are easily identifiable!


TB

http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/upload/sh...tan e+booster

Originally Posted by Trailbraker

Don't fall for the increase in 7 points scam -
7 "points increase in octane" equals only 0.7 of an octane!

The octane boosters claim to enhance combustion in other clever facilitatory ways..
..but there is an incredibly detailed thread that I'll try and track down later that highlights potential dangers from using octane boosters.
Basically the author, an academic and scientist that tests fuel efficiency as well as a keen car enthusiast asserted that this clever way is actually a con achieved by "fooling" the engine knock detectors to not notice harmful detonation by having an effect on the frquency that these detonations take place at.
In other words you engine may still be getting damaged - but it will be going faster for a while if the ECU can take advantage of the "perceived higher octane".
Apparently all knock detectors "listen" on a standard frquency for explosions and basically miss the damage that is going on.

I have no personal experience of these products and I know pople who think they are great but after reading this article I became very wary of using them.

Cheers,
TB

By strange coincidence I came across this stuff just today,whilst browsing the shelves Ff Makro,and was just about to post on its relative merits/claims!

Originally Posted by al147gta

I was wondering around a local motor shop, and came across a product called 'Nos Octane Booster', which supposedly increased the octane rating of your petrol by 3 e.g 97 to 100.

Thought I would give it a go as I was planning a trip to Heathrow.

Wow, what a difference, not sure how much BHP or Torque increased by, but you could definately feel the difference, especially on part throttle. The acceleration between 80-100 in sixth was on a par with the missus' Megane 225, and that's one swift bottom !

I think it cost me £10, which I feel is excellent value, considering I only use on average one tank a month.

They also do one that is supposed to increase the octane rating by 7 points, might give that a go next.

Keep using it constantly and see what happens to your engine in a few months.You will have a big repair bill.

My mechanic runs his Drag/Time Attack R32 and R34GTR Skylines on 74 Racing 106 octane race fuel.You have to service the engine much more regulary than normal if you run hi-octane fuel or octane boosters all the time.

1 drum(2 galons) of 76 Racing Fuel is 130 pounds sterling.

Aarrrghhh!!! not another re-incarnation of Mycroft!

Anyone from the coupe forum will remember Mycroft and his Toyota Soarer........

Apologies for the delay.

Yes it appears there is more than one Mycroft, and I have also come across confessions of people who trolled using his name.

Tell me - what did he do to the coupe folk ? He obviously wound them up big time.
(I can't see myself because their forum is down at the moment).
I can see snippets of stuff in the google cache, so he obviously made an impact when they renamed the forum after his visit!

..assuming it wasn't one of the Mycroft imposters?

BTW is Sandys from A/O a moderator on the coupe site? There is a moderator called Sandy with an Alfa GT avatar there (think its the same avatar as Sandys).
Coincidence?.. I think not.

In any case the ocatene booster thread relates to Mycrofts "day job" as a Petrochemical PHD chappy who gets to blow stuff up,
there is a wealth of technical detail there and I think his expert knowledge and background in lecturing stand out pretty clearly.
Ever you ever wanted to know about RON, MON, PON, calorific values and how octane boosters work (or seem to work) - there is a lot there.
I can only imagine the amount of time and effort that was invested.

Overall I would have to say that it is one of the most excellent threads I have come across on the internet to date!

..Well I suppose there was this one too..

http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/me...tid=0&from =3

Cheers,

TB

Originally Posted by ukoldschool

Aarrrghhh!!! not another re-incarnation of Mycroft!

Anyone from the coupe forum will remember Mycroft and his Toyota Soarer........

Originally Posted by al147gta

The acceleration between 80-100 in sixth was on a par with the missus' Megane 225, and that's one swift bottom !

You've got a 147 GTA and she has a Megane 225? Wow - a match made in heaven?!! Would love to hear a detailed comparison (and see the cars side by side if you have a picture) - Me and the wife often did that in our BMW days...

I have used Octaine Booster for many years in all my cars. It does make a difference. I would say an extra 5-10% more power.

GTACharlie here goes :

Looks : I think the Alfa wins hands down, although the Megane is growing on me.

Quality : Another win for Alfa on the all important door closing test. The Alfa feels a lot more solid, despite the Megane being slightly heavier. Megane is much more relaxed on long journeys with very impressive nosie insulation. Had it at 130 mph the other day, and I good have been doing 50.

Engine : This is very close, Alfa wins for noise and the way it pulls from any gear any rev, but you need to rev the Alfa past 5k rpm to put any distance on the Megane. However, on part throttle the Megane just romps away, very much like my old 330d.

Handling : Compared to our old 172, both are very poor, combination of a big lump up front in the Alfa, and the worst steering in the world in the Megane. This is due to it being electronically controlled, and with seven settings it makes it very difficult to place on the road, although you do eventually learn to trust it. Out of the two the Alfa feels much more planted. Both also seem quite sensitive to choice of tyres.

@ Trailbraker

Yes - Mycroft did come into the fiat coupe forum, think it was actually him though (the thread I remember best was him saying that the coupe design and that of the XK Jaguar were both derived from his beloved Toyota Soarer ) Needless to say that arguement didnt reallyt stack up and now the name Mycroft is one of riddicule....... although I havnt been there for ages either as its now a blocked site from work.

Not sure id Sandyd is an admin but I know he did used to post there a lot as he used to have a coupe before his GTA, before the current GT

The internet is a small world.......

Originally Posted by al147gta

GTACharlie here goes :

Looks : I think the Alfa wins hands down, although the Megane is growing on me.

Quality : Another win for Alfa on the all important door closing test. The Alfa feels a lot more solid, despite the Megane being slightly heavier. Megane is much more relaxed on long journeys with very impressive nosie insulation. Had it at 130 mph the other day, and I good have been doing 50.

Engine : This is very close, Alfa wins for noise and the way it pulls from any gear any rev, but you need to rev the Alfa past 5k rpm to put any distance on the Megane. However, on part throttle the Megane just romps away, very much like my old 330d.

Handling : Compared to our old 172, both are very poor, combination of a big lump up front in the Alfa, and the worst steering in the world in the Megane. This is due to it being electronically controlled, and with seven settings it makes it very difficult to place on the road, although you do eventually learn to trust it. Out of the two the Alfa feels much more planted. Both also seem quite sensitive to choice of tyres.

I did a short test drive of a Megane shortly after I bought my GTA - at another time or place in my life, I might have chosen the Megane. Right now, I face 15-20km of bumper to bumper rush hour traffic, and for the first time in my life, found myself frustrated with a manual transmision - since I hate automatics, and had recently driven a friends 911 tiptro, I knew I wanted a clutchless manual. Having already owned a 156 2.5 SW, I knew a Selsespeed 147 GTA would be great. I have been nothing but joyfully happy with it since my purchase 8 months ago, but having driven Impreza Stis for awhile, I am also a big fan of well done turbos - and I must say, the quirky looks of the Megane are (at least to me) immediatly appealing. It would never be mistaken for a bland Japanese econo box, or a bloated over-styled American car. It just oozes French character! Unfortunately, I too, felt the steering to be very uncommunicative. Great car choices though! Please post a combo picture if you have one!