Notices
Series I Tech Garage The place to discuss anything technical about the RX-8 that doesn't fit into any of the categories below.

Premium gas or Octane boost?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Rate Thread
 
Old 05-10-2012, 08:59 PM
  #1  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
Carrutt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Premium gas or Octane boost?

Hey guys, I sort of thought of a way to possibly save some money on gas and I need your opinions.

Im sure you all know the answer to this and have deffinetly thought of it before but im new to this lol

Ive been pumping Premium gasoline into this car and we all know gas is not cheap and this is not a fuel efficent machine. So i was wondering instead of paying top dollar for 91% octance fuel if I could put regular 87% plus add octane boost?
Old 05-10-2012, 09:01 PM
  #2  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
Carrutt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Note * Even with premium gas I still get a low octane reading...
Old 05-10-2012, 09:05 PM
  #3  
Registered
 
Old Rotor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Northern California
Posts: 2,196
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Carrutt
Note * Even with premium gas I still get a low octane reading...
Please expand on "low octane reading"?
Old 05-10-2012, 09:28 PM
  #4  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
Carrutt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My engine light was on and my dad did a reading and the code was octance level not high enough
Old 05-10-2012, 09:33 PM
  #5  
Voids warranties
 
godesshunter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: southern new england
Posts: 1,632
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Carrutt
My engine light was on and my dad did a reading and the code was octance level not high enough
I've never heard of a code like that...What was the code number?
Old 05-10-2012, 09:37 PM
  #6  
Registered
iTrader: (15)
 
paimon.soror's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Between Cones
Posts: 7,560
Received 25 Likes on 23 Posts
gunna go out on a limb here and say that his engine was probably knocking and they assumed it was low octane ....

i would start investigating the fuel pump..
Old 05-10-2012, 09:45 PM
  #7  
Registered
iTrader: (2)
 
RIWWP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 16,684
Likes: 0
Received 239 Likes on 109 Posts
If you read the fine print on octane booster additives, the "points" that they raise the octane is tenths of a point. As in .1, .2, etc...So, if it claims to increase the octane of 10 gallons by 3 points, then you would need approximately 33 bottles to increase the octane of a 16 gallon tank (our size) from 87 to 93.


It's cheaper to just fill up with 93.


I would suspect that there is something else going on here, and not a knocking problem, and especially no CEL that says "octane too low" (there isn't a CEL in our ECU for that)

Paimon is likely right in that they are making an assumption, and I would say an incorrect assumption at that.

How about you actually provide us with the full details of what it is that you are experiencing...
Old 05-10-2012, 09:45 PM
  #8  
Registered
 
jsight's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 76
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Any octane booster that's good enough to get from 87 (Regular) to 91 is going to cost more than the fuel price difference.

If you are getting knock on good premium fuel, then there is something else wrong.
Old 05-10-2012, 09:48 PM
  #9  
Metatron
iTrader: (1)
 
StealthTL's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: A Pacific Island.
Posts: 7,280
Received 173 Likes on 130 Posts
One can of octane boost raises the overall octane by 2 or 3 'points of an octane' - so it would make your 87 into 87.3

Most of these snake oils have just changed their names to 'system cleaner' or 'performance booster', because they mostly work by removing deposits in the chamber, which can cause detonation.

A mis-fire code can be caused by old plugs - how old are yours?
Old 05-10-2012, 10:01 PM
  #10  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
Carrutt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It's not knocking and I'm not making an assumption.. I'll get the code reader out tomorrow and tell you guys what i'm talking about...
Old 05-11-2012, 07:18 AM
  #11  
FULLY SEMI AUTOMATIC
iTrader: (9)
 
200.mph's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: BALLS DEEP
Posts: 5,639
Received 2,363 Likes on 1,992 Posts
i only put 93-94 octane in my 8. this is not a car you want to cheap out on
Old 05-11-2012, 07:49 AM
  #12  
Registered
iTrader: (3)
 
olddragger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: macon, georgia
Posts: 10,828
Likes: 0
Received 38 Likes on 27 Posts
dont doubt you are having trouble dude. But a lot of us are very familar with every trouble code that the pcm and or the can bus uses. There is not one that reads "octane too low"
Actually no engine or no system can make that determination. I wish there was one!

But, to answer your basic question, (you are thinking about things and exploring ideas and I like that), no, octane boosters that you can get at a store, will not be enough. There are "real" octane boosters out there--like torco/tolulene etc, but the cost of them is far higher than the cost difference between 87--93 octane.
You can tune your car to run on 87 octane if you want.
Old 05-11-2012, 08:09 AM
  #13  
Registered
iTrader: (2)
 
RIWWP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 16,684
Likes: 0
Received 239 Likes on 109 Posts
Here is the thread with the list of CELs: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/rx-8-technical-info-cel-codes-pcm-pin-list-collision-guide-26291/

No octane reference.
Old 05-11-2012, 09:15 AM
  #14  
Registered
 
jasonrxeight's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Omaha, NE
Posts: 3,487
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Octane is not always related to gasoline. for example, if you add ethanol to gasoline, it boosts octane, but ethanol produces less energy compare to gasoline. so even the octane is higher, doesnt mean it contains the same energy compare to high octane pure gasoline.
less energy in the fuel means worse fuel consumption so you are better off with filling up with premium instead of using lower octane and add octane booster.
Octane only means how stable the mixture is under high compression.

Last edited by jasonrxeight; 05-11-2012 at 09:19 AM.
Old 05-11-2012, 04:00 PM
  #15  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
Carrutt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the advice guys!, I kinda figured it couldnt be that easy :P
Old 02-09-2015, 07:24 AM
  #16  
Registered
iTrader: (15)
 
paimon.soror's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Between Cones
Posts: 7,560
Received 25 Likes on 23 Posts
Cleanup on Aisle 5
Old 02-09-2016, 05:25 PM
  #17  
New Member
 
AkaHemi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Royal Purple 11757 Max-Boost Octane Booster and Stabilizer

Has anyone tried the "Royal Purple 11757 Max-Boost Octane Booster and Stabilizer" with a lower than recommended octane fuel? It seems to have good reviews and is a number one seller on amazon. It boasts to be capable of improving octane by 3 whole numbers and not points so for instance 91 to 94.
Old 02-09-2016, 05:33 PM
  #18  
SARX Legend
iTrader: (46)
 
9krpmrx8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 33,784
Received 452 Likes on 366 Posts
Snake oil. Quit bumping threads to get your post count up.
Old 02-09-2016, 09:25 PM
  #19  
New Member
 
AkaHemi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Was not a matter of getting my post count up, it was a matter of getting my question out there to receive as much feedback as possible.
Old 02-10-2016, 12:49 AM
  #20  
Registered
iTrader: (2)
 
RIWWP's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 16,684
Likes: 0
Received 239 Likes on 109 Posts
Originally Posted by AkaHemi
Was not a matter of getting my post count up, it was a matter of getting my question out there to receive as much feedback as possible.
Wrong method. Please read the rules that you agreed to when you signed up for the account.

RX8Club.com - FAQ: RX8Club.com Forum Rules
13. Multiple posts about the same thing across many forums are considered "spamming" the site and may result in the poster being banned.
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
theblinkof
Series I Trouble Shooting
33
10-04-2023 05:24 PM
mdl0209
Series I Trouble Shooting
14
05-23-2019 05:46 PM
Eliseo Esquivel
RX-8 Discussion
2
09-30-2015 08:28 PM
jasonrxeight
RX-8's For Sale/Wanted
2
09-30-2015 01:53 PM
Zube6115
Series I Trouble Shooting
8
09-30-2015 12:57 PM



You have already rated this thread Rating: Thread Rating: 0 votes,  average.

Quick Reply: Premium gas or Octane boost?



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:21 PM.