How to boost your octane using various formulas

[staxripa]

Originally Posted by bobhanaghan

i went out and found some toluene also known as toluol and it cost almost 20 bucks a gallon. And on the back of the can it says that it is 100 percent pure. anyone know why it cost so much

the cost of materials at a paint store varies greatly depending one one thing, the mood of the salesman. i am a painting contractor by trade and have been for 8 years now. one salesman can charge you 36.00 a 5 gal. can and the next week you come back and get charged 50.00. the pricing lvls are chosen by the salesman at the time of purchase. sherwin williams is the worst for inconstant pricing, even with a national account they may not feel like contacting your home store and checking the price lvl you agreed on with your sales rep, therfor just chosing at random a price to charge you on the spot, i know it sounds unbeliveable, but its true. the best thing to do is call ahead and get a price from a salesman and try to act as if you know what your talking abought, even ask if your getting the best price possable, try telling them youll be buying alot of it in the future and you need to find the best priced retailer to do buisness with.

[fyreant]

im interested in these altenate fuels.. do we have any logged evidence that they wont cause harm??

[4-BNGR]

Has anybody run Isopropyl Alcohol? I've used Toluene and Xylene with prior success.

[SophieSleeps]

I recently ran 1 gallon of Toluene with a full tank and datalogged no difference when using the same map as I always do.

I typically see 1-2 counts of knock now and then. I continued to see the same.

Which tells me 1 of 2 things.

1. Toluene doesn't work that well when mixed in about 8%
2. My knock is not necessarily real knock but just the sensor picking up ****.

[4cdndctn]

I find xylene readily more available and a lower cost. Sherwin Williams is the only place around me that carries toluene. I found no difference between the two (not data logging) but there was undoubtedly a difference between using them and not.
I did find a big difference when I switched from 100% denatured alcohol to 25/75 H2O/alky in my SMC kit (tried it) and will not be doing that again...

[w evo]

Originally Posted by djh

If you can get toluene cheap, that's great, and you can easily run about 20%, but the 114 octane number you find on all the web sites is meaningless. That number is a "Project 45" blending octane number, derived under conditions that have no relationship to today's world. See Bruce Hamilton's GAS FAQ http://www.faqs.org/faqs/autos/gasoline-faq.

Toluene is about 100 octane when blended with modern pump gas.

I'm a chemist, trust me on this one!

Dave

so are you saying that the anti-knock index of toluene is 100 or that toluene when mixed with pump gas gives a non-linear octane response?

[w evo]

bump

[TMRVA]

sunoco in va sells 110 octane but it is like 5.50/gal.

[w evo]

that is actually pretty cheap for 110...i wish i was in va.

[NYREDEVO]

Question - Does adding higher octane gas make any real difference if your not tuned specially for it?

[w evo]

Originally Posted by NYREDEVO

Question - Does adding higher octane gas make any real difference if your not tuned specially for it?

No. As long as you are using the proper octane gas to begin with (91-93) then using higher octane gas will not make a difference in hp.

[c_sautter]

Dang, and here I am buying Gumout octane booster and it seems to be doing is lowering my gas mileage. So I have a couple of questions that I didn't find answers to. Does doing any of these mixtures harm your car, especially if it's stock? It seems as though it makes no difference whether you use regular 91 or a mix. Also, does using a mix do anything but make you use up all the gas, meaning better mileage?

[cangriracing]

well did the calculations 9 gallons of 93 pump plus 4 gallons of xylene= 100 octane. Thing is im tuned for 23 pounds on the stock evo 9 turbo an this gave me 312 whp. Will it be safe and make a difference if i crank it up to 25 psi running this mixture? if so how much more of hp? oh im still have the stock fuelpump even though i already bought a walbro thanks in advance

[Mojo Rising]

4 gallons?!?!?!

You really want to stick to about 10% mixture or so. 4 gallons is more like 30%. Thats pretty harsh on the tank, lines and seals, I'd say.

A chime in from the experts on this?

I wish I could find xylene for a decent price. Anyone know where to get it in the Seattle area for cheap?

[cangriracing]

yeah pitch in the intial post says up to 30% of xylene want to know from an expert on this