legacycentral bbs

Really good article on octane & timing.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/72498/

Very interesting. We can get 94 here. You can get 104 or something ridiculous somewhere around here and i've seen it at pumps in NC. I guess I won't dump any booster on top of these grades. It's usually cheaper to get a tank of 94 than to get 91 + a bottle of booster.

But most off the shelf octane booster is designed to raise octane by one point only, from 93 to 93.1 not from 93-94! Its a waste of money.

First, you have to buy the right stuff. Stores have stuff listed as "off-road use only" that is much stronger than "street" formulas. Plus the article points out that it helps crappy California gas combust better. So if you are stuck filling up with 91 octane it should help a little if you are going to the track or something.

All I have to say about this subject is that Californian drivers gets screwed royally. We used to have 92 up until ~2 years ago when everyone changed to 91. Why we can't get 92 or even the 93 that other states get is beyond me. Especially with the number of drivers out here. Another GREAT benefit of living in Cali.

-Brian

It's all driven by emissions.....I don't understand why higher octane is worse on emissions.....

I know why they only have 91 ocatane in higher elevation, and it's because there's less air, but for forced fed engines....you could probably benefit from the higher octane, regardless of elevation.

It's not about emissions; it's the general market...

Gasoline starts as a mix, and then they have to separate it out into the various grades. Here on the east coast, relatively little premium fuel is sold. So, they separate it out into a little bit of high-octane premium and a lot of low-octane regular.

In California, lots of people pump their cars full of premium fuel. So, they have to make a lot of premium as well as a lot of regular. That means that the premium fuel just can't be as good, since there just isn't enough to go around.

This is a simplification, but you get the basic idea.

thanks for giving me one more reason to hate all those people who drive their BMWs 20 mph under the speed limits!