All posts by FTE

What Are The Benefits Of Petrol Additives?

February 6, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

What are the benefits of petrol additives? And can they help?

I’ve spent years advising drivers in this area.

Petrol additives can improve fuel stability, clean injectors, lubricate and boost octane levels.

They work by breaking down deposits, dispersing water, and improving combustion efficiency, offering a cleaner burn and smoother engine performance.

However, they aren’t always necessary depending on the country.

UK and EU fuel is of reasonably high quality, unlike other countries like the USA.

They are best used when additional cleaning or protection are required.

Exhaust Smoke

What Does The Color Of Exhaust Smoke Indicate?

February 2, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

What does the color of exhaust smoke indicate?

Smoke color is key to understanding underlying engine issues and I’ve successfully diagnosed hundreds of smoke issues for drivers. Exhaust smoke color can reveal what’s happening inside your engine.

Blue or blue-tinted smoke often signals oil burning, a possible sign of worn piston rings, leaky valve seals, or turbo seals.

White smoke can indicate coolant leaks into the combustion chamber, suggesting a head gasket issue.

Black smoke is usually a sign of incomplete combustion, often related to a fuel system problem.

If you see persistent blue smoke, check your oil level regularly to monitor consumption.

With black smoke, try a fuel cleaner as a process of elimination.

With white smoke, check the engine coolant level and test the coolant for exhaust gases.

DPF

What Happens If A DPF Is Blocked?

February 2, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

What Happens If A DPF Is Blocked?

If your vehicle suddenly feels like it’s struggling to breathe, it could be a DPF issue.

I’ve seen this countless times at Fuel Tech Experts, where a blocked Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) is often the culprit.

When a DPF is blocked, exhaust gases can’t escape efficiently, leading to increased back pressure.

This can cause poor performance and can even trigger a warning light.

The first thing to try is getting the engine up to full operating temperature, driving at higher RPMs to see if a forced regeneration occurs.

If that doesn’t work, then try a high-quality DPF cleaner.

If the conditions for regeneration aren’t met, such as consistent short trips, the soot continues to build, worsening the blockage.

If this sounds familiar, give it a go and let me know how you get on.

Diesel Cleaner

Do diesel cleaners / injector cleaners work?

February 2, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

Do diesel cleaners / injector cleaners work?

I have spent 15 years formulating and testing fuel cleaning chemistry.

Numerous studies and tests show that diesel cleaners with premium amine-based detergents can restore lost engine power and improve fuel economy in engines that have deteriorated due to deposit buildup.

However, cheap products with minimal active ingredients are largely ineffective, creating mixed consumer opinions and skepticism.

Choose proven products with amine and polyether-amine detergents and higher percentage active ingredients.

Look for brands that have undergone standardized testing. Premium cleaners cost £20 or more but can help prevent expensive injector replacement while maintaining optimal performance.

Engine Break-in

Engine Break In On A Dyno?

February 2, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

Engine Break In On A Dyno? Is it safe?

Dyno break-in offers precise control but requires specific techniques.

Here’s how to do it right.

Dyno break-in allows controlled loading and precise monitoring but requires careful heat management.

Poor airflow and heat buildup can cause problems during dyno break-in.

You must use varied load and breaking cycles.

Monitor temperatures closely and ensure adequate cooling.

Where possible, combine dyno break-in with road break-in for optimal results.

Remember, continually vary the loads and revs, building up gradually.

Petrol Additives

How can petrol additives reduce emissions?

February 2, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

How can petrol additives reduce emissions? Can additives really cut emissions?

I’ve helped drivers lower emissions with fuel treatment strategies. Petrol additives can reduce emissions by cleaning fuel injectors and enhancing combustion efficiency.

This leads to less unburnt fuel and fewer harmful emissions.

They are typically available as single-use and regular use products, providing a cleaner burn and marginally improved engine performance.

However, the effects are usually less noticeable than with diesel engine cleaners and additives, where a cetane increase can make a noticeable difference in diesel engine performance and emissions reduction.

MAF

Why Clean A MAF Sensor?

February 2, 2020 FTE Leave a comment

Why Clean A MAF Sensor?

Regular MAF cleaning prevents expensive sensor replacement and maintains optimal engine performance.

MAF sensors accumulate dirt, oil, and debris that affect airflow measurement accuracy.

Contaminated sensors provide incorrect readings, causing poor fuel economy, rough idle, and performance problems.

Clean MAF sensors every 30000-50000 miles or when experiencing performance symptoms.

Preventive cleaning costs £10 versus £150+ for sensor replacement.

Engine Oils

Best Synthetic Motor Oil

May 25, 2011 FTE Leave a comment

Synthetic motor oils have been around since World War II, although they were mainly used in the aviation industry back then. It wasn’t until decades later that the automotive sector pulled its finger out and started incorporating synthetic technology into the engine oil. Although more expensive, there is no doubt they offer much more significant benefits than conventional mineral oils for most automotive applications.

We will not bore you with Ester this or PAO that because it doesn’t have to be complicated; after all, the role of oil is to lubricate, cool, clean, and protect, and the best synthetic motor oils have one quality that makes them stand out from all other kinds of oil: they satisfy these four criteria very well. They can also withstand higher operating temperatures without breaking down while remaining effective at lower operating temperatures.

So you are looking for the best synthetic motor oil? Well, it doesn’t exist. What might be suitable for one engine may not be ideal for another, but we are discussing extremes here. Also, there are many similarities when comparing the highest quality synthetic blends. Many revered brands exist, such as Fuchs, Amsoil, Motul, Rock Oil, Millers, Mobil 1, Castrol, Red Line, and so on. However, it is vital that you trust the brand/supplier and then ensure that you choose the correct specification, approval, and viscosity for your engine, whether standard or modified.

Does a shear point difference of 180 versus 185 degrees matter when the oil temperature never exceeds 110 degrees, even during the most spirited driving? The very best engine oils exceed the recognized standards anyway. Our advice is if you want the best, gain trust in a brand and choose the best that the brand has to offer for your particular engine.

Why this approach? Being in the trade, we know what goes on firsthand behind the scenes. The consumer is oblivious, but we will reveal some truths because it’s one big con. This may upset a few, but we would be remiss if we told it to you any other way.

1. A £50 or $50 gallon of oil probably contains around £5 or $5 worth of ingredients.

2. There are strict controls on what base stock and additive pack you can use in order to meet the specifications set out by the vehicle manufacturer. This means that most approved and “meets the spec” engine oils are very similar or even identical in some cases.

3. This means an oil manufacturer can’t improve on many of these oils without blending out of spec, because they are limited on base stocks and must use the same additive pack as everyone else.

4. This means most approved oils are THE SAME, regardless of brand. It is just one big marketing competition!

5. Many oil specifications are inferior by design, and vehicle manufacturers want to keep it that way. Oil companies are trying to find ways to improve oils while still staying within the specs, but it is almost impossible when you are restricted to using the same additive pack as your competitors. This is why many now supply non-approved oils, which are superior to the approved range.

Remember, it’s a marketing competition, not a product performance competition. The best engine oil technology is reserved for specialist applications such as motorsport.

Again, if you are looking for the best motor oil, our advice is to research, gain the trust of a reputable brand, and ensure that you purchase from a legitimate vendor that will provide you with honest and accurate advice on the best oil for your particular engine needs.

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Engine Oils

What is the Best Motor Oil – Our View

April 4, 2011 FTE Leave a comment

Motor oil is used to lubricate, cool, and protect. It lubricates the moving parts and keeps your engine clean and cool by absorbing and dissipating some heat generated through friction and the combustion process. Its additive pack is also designed to collect particulates and other contaminants and transport them to the oil filter.

To understand the best motor oils for your car, you need to know different oils and what they can do for or to your engine. Quality of oil will mean other things to different people, but the better you know your engine and how it works, the easier it is for you to identify the best motor oil for your engine.

There are synthetic motor oils, synthetic blended motor oils, and regular motor oils. You need to know the difference and the attributes of all three.

Let’s have a look at synthetic motor oils. They can withstand greater temperatures while remaining stable. They are the best motor oils concerning protection and lubricity capability. They are generally better at reducing friction. They have one weakness – they can penetrate and leak more easily, but only on much older vehicles. They are also expensive, but on the upside, and depending on the quality of the additive pack, they have a longer change cycle. You can usually keep the oil in your engine for a more extended period before it needs changing. Being the best, they are widely used in performance vehicles and long-life service intervals, where the demands on oil are far greater.

Blended synthetic motor oils are blends of synthetic and regular mineral oils. This means that they have picked the best qualities of both oil types. They are usually a good compromise and the best motor oil for mid-range vehicles as they offer a good compromise between protection and cost. They can endure the more demanding driving conditions while not costing the earth. The fact that they are blended also brings down their price. Because of the mix with mineral-based oil, the risk of leakage you would get with synthetic motor oil is significantly reduced. Still, again, this only applies to older vehicles.

Lastly, we have regular mineral oil. This is considered the most inferior kind of engine oil on the market. They are, of course, the cheapest and are generally more suited for the much older or specialized vehicle. They are more susceptible to leaving the sludge behind in the crankcase. This is because they break down much easier than their synthetic counterparts.

When choosing the best motor oil, you’ll find many brands in the market. There are prominent stand-out brands as well as lesser-known ones. The key is ensuring that they satisfy the relevant SAE, API tests, etc., and are suitable for your vehicle. Check with the owner manual and choose a suitable oil based on its suitability (specification-wise), how often you change the oil (synthetic for more extended changes), and the type of driving you do.

As for the best, look for authentic, fully synthetic (PAO, Ester) base stocks with the latest nano additive packs.

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Biodiesel & Biofuels

What is Biodiesel and Biodiesel Production

April 4, 2011 FTE Leave a comment

Fuel prices are rising daily, making operating even at a domestic level more expensive. Anything that uses petroleum or associated products has become more expensive. The only alternative is to look for a source of fuel that is renewable and, at the same time, cheap. So far, biodiesel, a biofuel, seems to be the answer.

Biodiesel is a kind of fuel that’s made from plant and animal oils. Plants are preferred because their production is easier and cheaper than animals. On a commercial scale, the most used are soybeans, sunflower seeds, canola, and other recycled vegetable-based oils.

Biodiesel production seems to be gaining popularity because it’s generally a cheaper and more efficient way of powering up and because it’s more environmentally friendly with fewer pollutants. Some tests have shown emissions to be nil.

It also has a positive effect on reducing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Fossil fuel emissions produce plenty of these and are “allegedly” responsible for much of the climate damage present today.

Producing biodiesel is an easy enough process so long as you obtain the correct equipment and necessary materials. As an individual, it wouldn’t be unwise to start thinking about how to make this a part of the way you power your life; the more fossil fuels deplete, the more expensive they will become.

Biodiesel, on the other hand, is relatively cheap to produce. The only thing that might cost you is the initial capital to buy the equipment, but after that, the materials you will use are cheap and easily obtainable. The supplier usually dictates commercial biodiesel costs based on where and how much he sources his raw materials.

You will not need to change your engine if you plan to start using biodiesel, providing it is fortified with the correct additives. Most engines today are compliant, although you should get a warranty that covers biodiesel use. There are advantages to your engine for using biodiesel; it is a great lubricant, but it is important to blend it correctly and fortify it with the correct additives to improve flow, protect against gelling and waxing, raise cetane, correct pH, and improve the combustion quality.

Biodiesel Production Process

The process involves chemically altering the molecular structure of organic oils. It requires a catalyst and alcohol. The organic oil is heated to a specific temperature to initiate the chemical reaction, and then the catalyst and the alcohol are added.

They are then mixed for a while and left to settle. The resulting oil will be in several layers. The topmost is biodiesel, which at this stage is called an ester.

The lower layers contain soap and glycerine. This layer facilitates separation. The soap and glycerine are drained, and the biodiesel is purified and dried. It is then filtered to remove any particulate matter before it is ready to use.

Equipment for making biodiesel has come on a long way; it is now highly automated, and you can create high-quality biofuel faster and more efficiently.

You can have your equipment custom-made depending on your needs, or you can purchase DIY using kits with instructions that are downloadable from the net for free. It’s best to start small, so you can fully understand the process. If you’re going to buy a processor, estimate your needs. It will determine the size of the processor that you will buy. They range from £500 to several thousand pounds. You will pay around £200 for a DIY kit, but kits for more complex systems will cost you more.

Microwave technology has now been incorporated into processors to make the process faster and improve the quality of the final product. It also makes it more energy efficient than the older biodiesel production because the chemical process is shorter.

It is the future. Ensure the fuel is fortified with the correct additives and can outperform standard pump fuel.

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Octane Boosters

Octane Boosters – Which is Best?

August 8, 2008 FTE 23 Comments

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Please note that this article and respective tests are old and outdated. The octane market has changed significantly over the past decade due to increased legislation on the use of anti-knock compounds, which are toxic and now heavily restricted in the UK and EU market. Products containing more than 0.3% volume of MMT, Fe etc, can only be sold to professionals and are illegal to sell to the public. This is why you see manufacturers moving out of this market because <0.3% is inadequate for even a weak octane booster. Amazon will no longer sell such products. Products like NF Race should not be on the market and it is only a matter of time before the HSE catch up with the importers of non-compliant octane boosters.

So are octane boosters all they’re cracked up to be? Furthermore, do they really increase the octane rating as much as advertised?

Octane boosters are popular in the performance scene because they often regain power lost through detonation. Sold for around $10 – $50 (£7 – £30) in a handy bottle, they’re a convenient fuel additive and horsepower helper. But with so many brands on the market, you may be fooled into thinking they’re all as effective as one another.

Well, they’re not! Differing chemical compounds, additives and even volumes, mixed in with a good percentage of advertising, ‘independent” testing and testimonials all conspire to confuse the consumer away from the single most important point: does it improve the octane rating? Let’s find out the truth.

Firstly, Do I Need an Octane Booster? If you haven’t already done so then read our article “Do you really need an octane booster” first.

If you have determined the need for an octane booster then continue…

For this test we tracked down nine common makes and variations of octane booster; two fuel “additives,” a straight race fuel and a drum of Toluene. Where there were several different “levels” of octane boosters in the one brand, we chose the strongest version.

The biggest claims the manufacturers have is the amount of “points” they claim to increase. This can be ambiguous as a “point” can relate to either 1.0 RON (Research Octane Number) octane points, or 0.1RON octane points.

The list of entrants in our octane Olympics included:

• STP Octane Booster
• Wynns Octane 10+ Power Booster
• Amsoil Series 2000 Octane Boost
• Super 104+ Octane Booster
• VP C5 Fuel Additive
• ELF HTX 330 Racing Fuel Stabilizer
• Nulon Pro Strength Octane Booster
• PowerFuel Super Street Nitro Based
• PowerFuel Max Race Nitro Based
• NF Octane Booster Racing Formula
• NOS Octane Booster Racing Formula
• Toluene
• VP Motorsport 103 Unleaded Racing Fuel

The Test

To conduct these tests we contracted independent laboratory Intertek Testing Services, who would test our products on a “knock engine.” We also had to find a base fuel to add our boosters to so we went to the closest public petrol station, which happened to be Shell.

Being a performance-based test, we chose premium unleaded fuel as this represents the most common high performance fuel (i.e.: if you start with regular unleaded, you’re wasting money!) We should add that “some” boosters would have improved the octane rating of regular unleaded proportionately more than our tests with PULP.

With a RON rating at a minimum of 95, we first established the exact octane of the PULP. The biggest surprise was our randomly select Shell resulted in a quite high 96.8 RON. We precisely measured and mixed each additive to the PULP, according to the manufacturer’s recommendations and poured each into the knock engine’s tank. The compression ratio was then slowly increased until it started to knock, gaining a threshold of detonation and subsequently a maximum RON rating.

Of less importance but still worth mentioning is the design of the bottles: since most people will be pouring it straight into a tank, the design of a bottle is important to prevent any spillage on paintwork causing damage. So let’s look at the results!

Octane Points

As mentioned earlier, it’s very easy to confuse octane ratings as there are a number of separate international standards. MON (Motor Octane Number) is the number derived from a fuel when it’s applied to a test engine run at 3000rpm rather than 600rpm and with higher inlet temps and ignition advance. An known importer of 104+ fuel suggested MON is seen as a more real-world test. Although none of the fuel companies promote the MON figure which is normally between 7 and 10 numbers less than RON (Research Octane Number). Intertek’s Graeme Marks believes RON provides the general public with an idea of which additive works more effectively. And being the most commonly-used reference, we’ve decided to use RON for all our tests.

The Results

BASELINE OCTANE 96.8

11th PowerFuel Super Street Nitro Based – 946ml treats 35 litres RRP: $35
Octane Improvement: 97.0 (+0.2 RON)

Right from the start, we were told PowerFuel’s additives weren’t necessarily octane boosters, but horsepower helpers. We kept this in mind when testing both the products, but of the two, only the Super Street claimed it was specifically designed to increase the octane rating of PULP. With a 20-percent nitro mix, Super Street Nitro-Based still improved octane ever so slightly (0.2RON) but the real test for these two would really come on dyno power runs.

10th PowerFuel MaxRace Nitro Based – 946ml treats 35 litres RRP: $45
Octane Improvement: 97.0 (+0.2 RON)

Containing another 15 percent more nitromethane than the SuperStreet formula, MaxRace doesn’t claim to increase octane, but the verbal recommendation was the same, i.e.: its main characteristic is to boost horsepower, not octane. For a fair comparison of these two additives, you need to look at the power they produce. As for octane, it proved very similar toe the SuperStreet formula bumping up octane ever so slightly.

9th STP Octane Booster – 350ml treats 57 litres RRP: $10.95
Octane Improvement: 97.4 (+0.6 RON)

One of the cheapest of the group, the STP was also one of the hardest to find. Auto stores either didn’t stock it, or had simply run out! Claiming to increase the octane 2-5 points, in a well-designed-for-pouring bottle, the STP – used in the ratio determined by the label – improved the octane marginally by just over half a point. A little disappointing unless you interpret STP’s claim actually meant 0.2-0.5 points. Then it’s a good result!

8th Wynns Octane 10+ Power Booster – 325ml treats 60 litres RRP: $10
Octane Improvement: 97.6 (+0.8 RON)

Wynns was the cheapest of the lot and claimed an increase between two and five points, again not actually listing what a “point” related to. Strangely though the 10+ could indicate 1RON and if this is the case going by our tests it almost lived up to its name. But, not quite, increasing the octane rating by 0.8RON.

7th Super 104+ Octane Boost – 473ml treats 83 litres RRP: $25.95
Octane Improvement: 97.5 (+0.9 RON)

The acknowledged winner of all previous testing, Super 104+’s bottle stated we should expect an increase between four and seven point. With a new formula introduced about 12 months ago, identified by an “Eagle” logo on the back of the bottle, the Super 104+ seems to have lost its edge with a marginal gain of just less than 1.0RON.

6th VP Racing C5 – 355ml treats 75 litres RRP: $19.95
Octane Improvement: 98.1 (+1.3 RON)

VP has a strong reputation with fuels and its high octane formulas are very popular with drag racers. VP Racing’s C5 Fuel additive lacked information concerning its contents or claims, but the C5 additive still provided a reasonable increase of 1.3RON.

5th NOS Octane Booster Racing Formula – 355ml treats 60 litres RRP: $28
Octane Improvement: 98.6 (+1.8 RON)

NOS, a relatively new octane booster, comes in “1/10th” scale bottles designed to emulate the actual nitrous bottles of its successful NOS systems. The Racing Formula is the strongest of three concentrates and containing Hydrotreated Aliphatics and Methylcyclopentadienyl Manganese Tricarbonyl (try saying that 10 times in a row), it contains a lead replacement which NOS claims increases the octane rating by as much as seven points. Obviously not recommended for street use, it also included with a handy pouring spout. In testing, it proved a good result improving the octane rating by almost 2 RON.

4th ELF 330 Fuel Stabilizer – 1000ml treats 50 litres RRP: $45
Octane Improvement: 98.6 (+1.8 RON)

“If you spill it on your paintwork, don’t rub it off – rinse it with water” were the words of warning. We were also told to “pre-mix” the ELF before adding it in a fuel tank (which we were doing anyway) as the ELF has a tendency to settle to the bottom of fuel if it’s either not mixed properly or left to sit. This was made somewhat more difficult by the design of the bottle, which tends to drip when pouring. With some nasty stuff known as Aniline, the ELF 330 doesn’t claim any numbers, but provided a decent 1.8 RON point improvement.

3rd Amsoil Series 2000 Octane Boost – 354ml treats 57 litres RRP: $23
Octane Improvement: 98.8 (+2.0 RON)

Recommended for off-road and racing use, the Amsoil Series 2000 claimed to increase the octane rating by up to seven points. It came up a little short, but still proved surprisingly good with a full 2.0 RON improvement. This was good enough for the bronze medal in our Octane Booster Olympics.

2nd Toluene (Toluol) – 20 litres treats 100 litres RRP: $48
Octane Improvement: 99.3 (+2.5 RON)

Since toluene (pronounced toll-you-een – also known as methyl benzine) isn’t a commercially advertised octane booster, we were unsure of exactly what ratio to mix the clear Toluene to the fuel. From personal experience, and although we had seen high percentages increase octane even further, 30 percent was considered the maximum. Available only from various fuel distributors (it is a special order through services stations), under advice we ran a 20 percent mix (quite a lot more than the others) and saw an impressive improvement of 2.5 RON. This achieved the silver medal.

1st NF Octane Booster Racing Formula – 250 ml treats 80 litres RRP: $29.95
Octane Improvement: 99.6 (+2.8 RON)

An Australian-made product from Perth, the NF Octane Booster Racing Formula was the smallest bottle in the field, but looking at the mixing ratio, also the strongest relying on an incredibly small dose – a mere 3 percent! Claiming to increase octane as much as 6.0 RON , NF took the gold medal in a surprising tie. If it were a split decision based on concentration though, it would be the clear winner.

1st Nulon Pro Strength Octane Booster – 500 ml treats 60 litres RRP: $20.95
Octane Improvement: 99.6 (+2.8 RON)

The Australian-made Nulon Pro Strength Octane Booster is the top of the range Nulon fuel product, claiming to boost octane “up to seven number”. The Pro Strength gained a joint gold-medal equalling NF’s 2.8RON increase.

Race Fuel

VP Motorsport 103 fuel – Used straight fuel (20-litre minimum) RRP: $70
Octane Improvement: 107 (+10.2RON)

Purely for interest, we also decided to test a straight racing fuel. While there are many available (such as ELF) for no particular reason we chose VP. The highest octane VP fuel which was still totally street-legal was the Motorsport 103. Working out at $3.50 per litre and “designed for maximum power and throttle response”, the VP was very impressive with an octane rating of 107RON – more than 10RON points more than PULP. Obviously more expensive than the boosters but if octane is problem, racing fuel like VP may be the answer.

Further Information

As the name suggests, a knock engine is designed to test the detonation or anti-knock rating of fuels and fuel additives. It’s a slow revving engine capable of running most fossil fuels through an adjustable compression ratio. As the comp ratio increases, it accurately measures the intensity of the knock and determines the fuel’s octane rating.

The world standard is a one-cylinder two-valve four-stroke engine with exposed valve gear. Archaic in appearance, a “carby” is fed from any one of three fuel bowls to allow three different fuels to be run back to back. The mixture is actually controlled via gravity feed and by raising or lowering the float level of each bowl!

Run under load via a belt-drive linking the flywheel and load system, it ensures a real world situation and ensuring minimal variation between tests, oil temperature, intake air density and air temperature are all monitored and controlled.

The engine is somewhat agricultural; however its unique ability to vary the compression ratio while running between 5.0:1 and 15.0:1 is quite amazing. The operator simply winds a handle and the entire head and cylinder assembly moves up and down relative to the crankshaft.

A knock sensor measures both the frequency and intensity of the ping (as displayed on a knock metre). Figures are then cross-referenced on a chart using the information provided by the knock meter, plus the height of the head and barrel. Finally, knock intensity is figured in and the fuel’s octane rating determined.

Taking two hours to warm, this $200,000 engine is super robust and rarely needs rebuilding. Individual tests can then proceed at approximately $120 per test sample.

Being subjected to so much detonation, you can only imagine how much maintenance an engine of this nature must need. Interestingly, this isn’t the case as the piston and rod assembly are rejects from a monstrous ship engine (just kidding)! They’re huge with an incredibly thick piston crown contributing to a combined gudgeon pin and piston weight of 1794 grams! Likewise, the rod weighs an astonishing 1929 grams. The bottom line is these engines which have replacement value of over $200,000 and almost never require rebuilding.

Dyno Boosters

Ultimately, the role of an octane booster is to regain horsepower lost through detonation or retarded ignition timing due to detonation. But two of our products, the nitro additives, weren’t specifically designed to increase octane. Instead, they contained a mix of nitromethane (the petrol Top Fuellers run) in a “percentage” concentrate. Power Fuel’s Super Street and Max Race additives had 20-percent and 35-percent nitro respectively, and the Australian importer specifically claimed they would increase power, not necessarily octane.

So, we took those two products and the two best-performing octane boosters to MRT Performance for some Dyno Dynamics dyno testing. Interestingly, we were going to use MRT’s rally Civic, which normally runs on avgas. On PULP – even with the booster – it was pinging too much, so a Jap-spec EF Honda Civic was used with a 1.6-litre VTEC and about 10.0:1 comp ratio.

The graphs tell the story though, and to be fair to the products, with variables such as heat soak, the results weren’t as conclusive as could be gained from an engine dyno. But that is not to say the products don’t work. As our test proves, they do, but it’s not as easily measured on a chassis dyno. Plus the Civic had no detonation problems on PULP, further hampering the apparent effectiveness of the boosters.

Summary

Both the Nulon Pro Strength and the NF Racing Formula rated the best octane boosters in our test. And considering that less NF was needed than Nulon, it evens out a little with a slightly higher cost. Still, both proved extremely effective at increasing octane, even outranking Toluene, which needs much higher levels of concentration.

The VP Motorsport 103 fuel was an interesting exercise, and if a little more effort (i.e.: buying it from the selected outlets) is worth the octane, it’s a good representation of what to expect from straight racing fuel.

The FuelTechExperts Team

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Octane Boosters

Do You Really Need an Octane Booster?

July 18, 2008 FTE 1 Comment

We get asked time and time again if octane boosters work. The answer is yes and no because it depends on the application and what you are trying to achieve. Let us clarify.

Firstly, we need to understand why octane boosters exist in the first place – to prevent the onset of detonation. Detonation is described as: “Excessively rapid burning of the fuel mixture, often caused by auto-ignition due to excessive temperatures in the combustion chamber, incorrect ignition timing, lean mixtures, too high a compression ratio, or unsuitable fuel.” A too-low an octane rating of the given fuel. Heard as a faint, metallic rattle, detonation is accompanied by a loss of power and can cause severe damage to piston crowns. It is also known as pinking.

The significance of detonation is such that many companies produce fuel additives designed to increase the inherent octane rating of a given fuel. The proliferation of octane boosters has, in part, come about in recent times thanks to low-quality fuels, particularly with the demise of leaded fuel, which had a much higher octane rating.

This presents a problem for high-performance cars designed to run on higher octane or 100 RON Japanese fuel. Japanese import performance cars, Subaru’s STI WRX, for example, run an ECU program for 98 to 100 octane fuel and may detonate on lower octane fuels if the ECU cannot compensate for the lower octane. Some have even had ECU upgrades that require 102 RON fuel, which is readily available in Japan but not in Europe or the US, or certainly not from a conventional gas station.

Usually, octane boosters would be of little use if an engine is not detonating. However, with more sophisticated ECU/EFI programming, many engines can optimize the engine management system by advancing the ignition timing and thus benefit from higher octane fuel. This means more power. They are also advantageous as an “octane buffer” for highly tuned vehicles. For example, suppose your vehicle’s fuelling and ignition are mapped for 98 octane, and you are using 98 octane fuels. In that case, it may be beneficial to use an octane booster to increase the octane to 99 or 100 as a safety margin in the event of having “degraded” fuel, etc.

Another example is Honda’s S2000 2.0-liter engine, which runs a high 11.0:1 compression ratio and relies on advanced engine management as much as quality fuel. However, it can sustain its power on a lower octane pump fuel because the ECU compensates. This is achieved by reducing the ignition timing, which results in a degradation in performance. This is where a modern vehicle with advanced engine management can take advantage of a higher octane fuel or a base pump fuel plus an octane booster.

Also, any turbo owner who has experimented with boost will know if you run too much, it will detonate, so improving the octane is vital for maximum performance. However, non-performance vehicles designed and mapped to run comfortably on base pump fuel, say 95 RON, will not gain a performance advantage. Sure, many octane boosters offer other benefits, such as valve protection, but they will provide additional power unless the vehicle in question has been remapped, chipped, or tuned in so that it can take advantage of a higher octane fuel.

If you take a 25 year old Ford Fiesta designed to run on 95 RON pump fuel, there will be no performance increase from using an octane booster. But if you have the ECU (fuel and ignition) remapped for higher octane, then it will be necessary to use either a higher octane fuel or a base fuel plus an octane booster to achieve the power safely. Octane boosters are popular in the performance scene because they often regain power lost through detonation due to tuning upgrades.

Unfortunately, some popular TV car shows have been quick to rubbish the use of octane boosters. One, for example, demonstrated the use of several products on low-performance cars with basic engine management, such as a Peugeot 106, basic Clio, etc. We could have told you the results before they even started. They were all vehicles designed to run on standard octane pump fuel, and their ECUs were not sophisticated enough to take advantage of a higher octane fuel, let alone an octane booster. Of course, it doesn’t help when many manufacturers put ridiculous claims on their labels that octane boosters will increase performance on all vehicles when they clearly won’t.

To summarise:

You can/should use an octane booster if:

1. You have a modern, high-performance vehicle and wish to make the most of the available power, and you cannot easily obtain a good quality high octane fuel in your given area.

2. Your vehicle manual specifies a particular high octane fuel (i.e., 98 RON super unleaded), but you can only find 97 RON or below. To clarify, many modern cars will adapt accordingly if using a lower octane fuel than that specified, but a reduction in performance will result.

3. You suspect that you may have a tank of old or degraded fuel where the octane value has deteriorated.
Your engine has been explicitly mapped for a higher octane fuel, and/or the engine has been mapped very closely to the edge (detonation threshold), and you require an increase in octane to provide a buffer.

4. You have modified your vehicle in other ways, such as an increase in the turbo boost pressure making detonation much more likely.

5. You are about to go on a track day where the engine will spend most of its time under considerable stress, and you wish to prevent the onset of detonation under prolonged high-stress conditions.

6. You are not looking for a performance increase but wish to lubricate and protect the valves using an octane booster in small regular dosages.

We hope this helps clarify any confusion.

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